Indian Portrait

A wonderful herd of lifesize "elephants" have made their way onto the streets of London. To raise money, each of the elephants has been sponsored and will be auctioned. One of the most popular elephants is a white-coloured elephant beside an enormous bronze flower, also white, by the sculptor Mark Quinn, one of four elephants sponsored by the Indian private equity investor Cyrus Vandrevala and his wife, Priya.

The parade was launched in Trafalgar Square and sees over 260 brightly painted elephants located over central London, each decorated by a different artist or celebrity. The elephants will brighten and beautify the city in every park, street corner and building from May to July 2010. This is said to be London’s biggest outdoor art event on record. One of the patrons who made this possible was the equity investor Cyrus Vandrevala. He has also participated in Russian Midsummer Fantasy in aid of the Raisa Gorbechev Foundation, which fights childhood cancer.   

Last week took part the annual Elton John’s White Tie and Tiara Ball to Windsor Castle. The guest list included Tom Ford, David Walliams and model Lily Cole. Elton and Lady Gaga performed a duet together (a mash-up of her song Speechless and his composition Your Song) while there was an auction of celebrity lots: Damien Hirst has donated an Audi (the new A1 model) which has been turned into a spin painting, Anselm Kiefer has donated a sculpture and bidders had the chance to go on tour with Elton and David Furnish to see their funding in action.

Thomas Hughes-Hallett, the CEO of Marie Curie Cancer Care who was the auctioneer at the Russian Midsummer Ball, believes it is only thanks to the current crop of super auction heroes that record sums are still being raised for charity. He says: "It is never certain how an auction will go and when people like Richard Caring, Cyrus Vandrevala and John Caudwell step up to the plate it makes a huge difference to the sums raised and to the help given to those in need."

The Russian Midsummer Ball raised £1.7 million, shared between the Raisa Gorbachev Foundation and the UK Marie Curie cancer charity. Cyrus Vandrevala was an important bidder at that event too, last year. The private equity investor bid £75,000 and joined President Gorbachev with his family in Moscow.

Last Bank Holliday, the elephant parade was launched in Trafalgar Square and sees over 260 brightly painted life-size elephants located over central London this summer, each decorated by a different artist or celebrity. Among those artists was the sculptor Mark Quinn, responsible for the creation of one of the most beautiful elephants. His sculpture was sponsored by the equity investor Cyrus Vandrevala.

Cyrus Vandrevala also contribute substantially to the health of Londoners via medical practices and the NHS. One example of these contributions is The Cyrus and Priya Vandrevala Foundation who have newly entered the Mental Healthcare field and have made a significant presence by starting the first 24x7 mental healthcare helpline.

The Russian Midsummer fantasy Ball was held in Hampton Court last 5th June. Evgeny Lebedev  transformed the grounds of his house into a Russian church, with a bell tower and the roof of the temporary dining room based on that in St Basil’s Cathedral. The fifth Russian Midsummer Fantasy was in aid of the Raisa Gorbechev Foundation, which fights childhood cancer.   Among the bidders were Richard Caring, Cyrus Vandrevala and John Caudwell.

The most coveted auction prize is dinner with the Man Who Changed the World.  Last year private equity investor Cyrus Vandrevala bid £75,000 for it and joined President Gorbachev with his family in Moscow; the previous year it went to Hugh Grant, and before that the mobile phone tycoon John Caudwell.  Another auction prize will be an original Francis Bacon lithograph, given by his estate. 

Wealthy Indian people have made their mark on many aspects of

London

In connection with social events, Cyrus Vandrevala has cooperated with the Elephant Parade held last Bank holiday through

London

There is a truly risen of rich people in India. As their number is rapidly growing, they take their large families and move to London, becoming “Bollygarchs”. Their name refers to “Bollywood”- the capital of Indian cinema and “oligarch”. Among these group is Cyrus Vandrevala; a visionary private equity investor, who started investing in technology businesses in his 20’s and now has global investments in a multiple of public and private companies. He has made his mark as a man of style in London having lived at Claridge's for six months before buying a house in Holland Park for £20m.

One of the advantages of foreign investment is that it helps in the economic progress of the country where the investment is being made. Cyrus Vandrevala is one of the people responsible for the recent financial and culture contribution in England. He participated last year of the Russian Midsummer Fantasy in aid of the Raisa Gorbechev Foundation, which fights childhood cancer.