Russell Simmons held a fundraiser for various
educational charities at his East Hampton, NY home on July 27. The event, which
was hosted by Rosie Perez, honored Black Enterprise founder Earl Graves, Radio
One founder and chairwoman Kathy Hughes, "Sex In The City" star Cynthia
Nixon & Martha Stewart for their social achievements.
Simmons drew heat from various mainstream media
outlets for honoring Martha Stewart, due to IMclone stock debacle. Stewart has
been accused of insider trading, because she allegedly sold her IMclone stock
to buyers, after the CEO of the company told her a drug they were working on
would not meet an FDA approval and that the stock price would drop dramatically.
"F*ck fair weather friends," Simmons
told AllHipHop.com. She has been a good friend to me personally and has done
more for underprivileged kids in exposing them to the arts than she gets credit
for."
The event cost $1000 a plate to attend and according
to Simmons, the event raised almost $1 million dollars. Simmons said that while
hip-hop moguls Jay-Z and Dame Dash didn’t attend, they dropped $10,000 in for
the cause of education. Other notables that attended were Katie Couric, Tyra
Banks & Dick Gregory.