'i Make A Lot Of Money': Meet The Auctioneer Who Dazzles Elton John's Oscar Party

“What you’re looking for arsenic an auctioneer is personification who’s genuinely fearless onstage,” says auctioneer Lydia Fenet. Except erstwhile they’re onstage adjacent to Elton John, who hosts his eponymous AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party and fundraiser annually, for which Fenet has been nan auctioneer for nan past 4 years.

The erstwhile Christie’s auctioneer, author, podcaster and motivational speaker is usually unflappable connected nan podium.

“It feels very earthy and comfortable to me, and I make a batch of money. When I get up there, it’s maine astatine my peak. When someone’s having that overmuch fun, it’s difficult not to person nosy pinch them,” Fenet tells The Envelope of her atypical style connected nan auction block.

Fenet has go thing of a personage successful her ain correct successful nan auction world. “I person been connected each shape successful each metropolis for each ample organization,” she says matter-of-factly. “Anyone [who knows] thing astir kindness auctions will cognize my name.”

It’s fitting, then, that she had to audition to get into nan section successful which she’s go truthful renowned. After 4 years astatine Christie’s, she attended an unfastened telephone for labor and was nan only female to pass.

“That full audition process is to find retired whether that personification has nan expertise to guidelines onstage and, contempt everything that’s happening, enactment successful power of nan room and nan communicative [within it],” she says.

Counter to nan stereotype of nan auctioneer arsenic dry, monotone and much often than not male, Fenet learned astir 10 years into her two-decade-plus profession that harnessing her affable characteristic and consciousness of joke would promote donors to unfastened their wallets wider.

“I had been sick each day, truthful I sewage onstage that nighttime and was conscionable myself,” she says. “I started joking pinch nan crowd. It was astir apt nan first clip successful astir 800 auctions erstwhile group stopped talking [and started paying attraction to me]. So nan adjacent time, I conscionable went for broke, and location was a man who turned his chair astir to watch me, which was nan first clip that had ever happened.”

Since then, Fenet has helped charities specified arsenic nan Robin Hood Foundation, nan Breast Cancer Research Foundation and, of course, nan Elton John AIDS Foundation raise much than $1 billion.

The first twelvemonth Fenet came connected committee pinch John, successful 2022, she almost tripled nan magnitude of donations from nan twelvemonth anterior and has kept increasing nan haul pinch each consequent auction. But, successful Fenet’s mind, thing compares to nan 2024 party, erstwhile she sold a Yamaha soft bedazzled pinch John’s look for $360,000. While Fenet was selling, John regaled nan assemblage pinch nan strains of “Tiny Dancer” and “Your Song.”

“I retrieve thinking, ‘Don’t achromatic out,’” she exclaims. “And also, ‘Call your mom and dada because they’re not going to judge it!’ That mightiness person been nan item [of my life].”

Though Fenet is personally looking guardant to seeing Timothée Chalamet, Michael B. Jordan, and Leonardo DiCaprio — whom she’s auctioneered successful beforehand of astatine myriad personage fundraisers — duke it retired successful nan lead character category, she says nan Academy Awards are “just a fabulous L.A. backdrop” and that John is nan existent prima of nan night.

“It’s much astir [the truth that] this is his foundation, group perfectly emotion him and respect what he’s done,” Fenet says. “There are electrical and magic things that tin hap successful that room, truthful we want to beryllium intentional astir nan items.”

This clip around, nan tons will see Chopard jewelry, which past twelvemonth went for $250,000; a customized pinball instrumentality by Jersey Jack; and a backstage meal pinch John and his hubby (and instauration committee member) David Furnish.

Despite her lively auction style, Fenet isn’t supra shedding a tear erstwhile nan auction — and nan magnitude of money — moves her. “There are a batch of moments erstwhile I’m backstage being like, ‘Pull it together!’ But we’re each human,” she concedes. “I’m a conduit. If I do my occupation well, group who were readying to springiness conscionable springiness more.”