Mogul's Night Richly Rewarding
Author: George Rush and Joanna Molloy
Publication: The Daily News (New York)
Date: January 25, 2001

Oprah Winfrey held back tears, AOL Time Warner honcho Gerald Levin blasted President Bush, and financier Ted Forstmann jammed merrily with rocker Glenn Frey Tuesday night.

Yes, supporters of the Silver Lining Foundation got their full serving of emotions at a Waldorf fund-raiser, "A Night Under the Colorado Sky," for the charity, which organizes adventure weeks in Aspen for children with cancer.

Honoree Forstmann, who gave $1.7 million to the charity in 1997, had Winfrey and other guests misting up when he revealed his younger brother Nick's struggle with cancer.

"He's my hero," the leveraged-buyout specialist said of his brother, with whom he waged some of the most memorable corporate plays of the '80s. (Their bid for Nabisco was immortalized in the book and movie "Barbarians at the Gate.")

The speech earned Forstmann a hug from Winfrey.

Levin applauded his fellow mogul and questioned the Bush administration's commitment to fighting cancer.

"I want to know why we're talking about building a missile defense system," he declared, "and not talking about doing more stem cell research."

Not that the evening didn't have its laughs.

Having been seen huddling at the dinner with Viacom chief Sumner Redstone, Levin announced, "We've decided to merge our companies." Such a kidder.

Emcee Jon Stewart had some firm words for Cindy Crawford.

"I'm tired of you looking at me like I'm a piece of meat," the comic told the supermodel. "I have a brain, too."

A moment later, Stewart turned the shade of raw filet mignon when a handsome gent joked, "We just took a poll of the gay staff, and they do see you as a piece of meat."

Dress for the event, which raised more than $2 million, was "Aspen Black Tie." The guests, who included Arianna Huffington and MTV boss Tom Freston, did their best to figure out what that meant. While John McEnroe clipped on his bow tie at the last minute, many wore string bolos. ABC newsman Sam Donaldson wore a tux and jeans. Billy Zane sported Nike sneakers, and a tie around his waist.

Forstmann, once linked with Liz Hurley, came stag. He closed out the evening rocking the keyboards with Frey's band. The dealmaker, nicknamed "TF" by Frey, banged out classics like "Some Kind of Wonderful" and "I Hear You Knocking."

Solo Tour Index :: Benefits Index :: Silver Lining 2001