Russell Simmons cozied up to a bevy of beauties Wednesday night to raise money for Shine on Sierra Leone, a charity for the impoverished African nation. And although the party at Simmons’ downtown pad was $1,000 a head, the 100-odd men there were the ones who ended up picking up the tab while the hip-hop impresario whooped it up with his model friends, including gorgeous Bar Refaeli.
“I brought 200 beautiful girls and 100 of my richest friends,” Simmons told the crowd. “Beautiful girls and rich men writing checks!”
Though Simmons was photographed getting cozy with Aussie hottie Sophie Monk at the Maxim Hot 100 party in LA last week and had been rumored to be dating model Heidi Allende, neither was at the charity bash, hosted by Andre Balazs, Christy Turlington, Jamison Ernest and Selita Ebanks. But he was seen getting close to a mystery blonde.
Guests had to sign waivers as the event was taped for Simmons’ reality show, “American Mogul,” on the Oxygen network. Music honcho Kevin Liles, director Brett Ratner and actor Fisher Stevens partied with Ann-Dexter Jones and Refaeli, and models Doutzen Kroes and Veronica Webb.
Recently divorced Webb was overheard asking Salvatore Strazullo — the lawyer now representing an exotic dancer who claims she was impregnated by NFL star Albert Haynesworth — if he was married. When he replied that he was going through a divorce, she jokingly replied, “Well, call me in six months, then.”
Locked out was actress Meredith Ostrom, who was the longtime girlfriend of Duran Duran’s Nick Rhodes and was recently spotted on a date with Topper Mortimer. Ostrom was blocked at the door by a publicist, but later turned up at the after-party at the Boom Boom Room.
Before the benefit, which raised $300,000 for the charity, Turlington screened a copy of her documentary on infant mortality, “No Woman, No Cry,” at the Tribeca Grand.