Monaco resident and Russian born Vasily Klyukin was the highest bidder paying € 1.2 million for a Virgin Galactic trip into space at the amfAR (Foundation for AIDS Research) auction during the 66th Cannes Film Festival.

The space trip goes for $250.000 (roughly € 187,000) but the charity auction started at $1 million with the added attraction of going to space with a celebrity guest that resulted to be Great Gatsby actor Leonardo DiCaprio. The Cinema Against AIDS XX exceeded all expectations by raising nearly $25 million (€ 19 million) in a single night helping amfAR on its continued fight against HIV/AIDS, in their most successful benefit event to date.

Klyukin agreed to give an exclusive interview also published here.

Photo: Vasily Klyukin and his wife Anna Vishnevskaya at the Hotel du Cap Eden Roc – by Julian Michel