JPMorgan Asset Management has won entrepreneur Sir Alan Sugar’s City of London contest to raise money for the Hackney Empire, an east London theatre. Eight firms competed in the challenge, based on TV programme The Apprentice, which started in the UK in October. The aim was to raise as much money as possible. JPMorgan raised almost £98,000 of the £195,000 total.
The eight firms hosted fashion shows, galas and auctions in their bid to win. Most of JPMorgan’s funds were raised from a gala charity dinner, but perhaps most intriguing was what was dubbed a slave auction. JPMorgan AM’s UK and international CEOs auctioned their services to employees as chef and chauffeur for one night.
The anonymous bidder will put the slaves to work in the next month. What price the winner at the end of the evening fixing the CEOs with a glare and telling them “You’re fired” in the style of Sugar and his US predecessor Donald Trump on the hit TV show?
