It’s been something of a roller-coaster of a week for oddball billionaire M. Patrick Carroll.
The real estate mogul burst onto the New York scene recently with all credit-cards blazing, outbidding Leonardo DiCaprio at charity benefits, picking up the tab for entire restaurants, and dropping millions of dollars on art in minutes.
Page Six reported earlier this week that he got booted from an ultra exclusive party in Capri, Italy, after getting in an allegedly tipsy fracas with a neighboring table.
But now we hear he was back to his big-spending philanthropic ways the next night at during the Unicef gala, being fêted as the highest donor for dropping $2 million during the auction on a vintage car and “Top Gun Experience.”
The gala, attended by Vanessa Hudgens, Leni Klum, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jared Leto and the band Haim and featuring a performance by Jennifer Lopez, raised eight million euros total for Ukrainian and Syrian relief efforts.
Lopez celebrated her performance with Benny Medina and Casey Affleck at Da Paolino, a source tells us. Her new husband Ben Affleck, we hear, was not there as he had already flown out.
Carroll got himself in trouble in the days running up to the LuisaViaRoma x Unicef gala during a pre-party for the event. As we previously reported, Carroll told pals later that he got into a confrontation with biotech billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli when he wandered into his area and started chatting up some ladies.
According to camp Carroll, Bertarelli — who is estimated to be worth $8.5 billion — was irked by the intrusion and either Bertarelli or his heavies descended on Carroll.
But another source insisted, “Ernesto was nowhere near him.”
A rep for the event told us, “Ernesto was not involved in the . . . scene despite other reports to the contrary and was nowhere near the situation.”
Carroll’s lawyer, Duncan Levin, told us, “What was meant to be a fun night out for all in Capri became unnecessary drama. Everyone has spoken and things are good now.”
Jamie Foxx also held a pre-party for the gala on a yacht with hospitality guru Richie Akiva.
Back in June, free-spending Carroll got onstage at a gala for C.A.R.E. for Special Children in NYC, promising to donate $1 million if other guests would collectively could match him.
“Once the pot got to $900,000, Patrick upped the amount to $1.5 million, so people had to keep bidding,” a witness told us at the time, adding that after attendees jumped in to bid further, DiCaprio “put in the remaining $50,000 needed.”
Meanwhile, we’re told that on another occasion he picked up the tab for everyone dining at Akiva’s private club The Ned, including Gigi Hadid, and that he also dropped by Vito Schnabel’s gallery recently and dropped $2 million in 30 minutes on five pieces.
We look forward to seeing if next week is more of a “landing ear-first on the sidewalk” kinda week or a “impulsively dropping a mill on an Aston Martin” kinda of week. Or both!
