Philanthropists Take a Dubbing

Queen Elizabeth II conferred honorary knighthoods on two philanthropists--one known for giving away millions to charity and the other for getting people to donate. American billionaire John Paul Getty II and Irish-born rock singer Bob Geldof bowed before the monarch as she placed red ribbons with the insignia of knighthood around their necks at Buckingham Palace in London. Getty, 53, has lived in Britain for 15 years and has quietly given an estimated $112 million to British institutions and charities. Giving money away, he said, “is a jolly good thing to do.” Geldof, 32, sprang to fame last year by raising millions of dollars around the world to fight famine in Africa by harnessing the appeal of music in Band Aid, Live Aid and Sport Aid. As the queen placed the ribbon around Geldof’s neck she said, “This is a small token for the work you have done.” “Believe me, it was harder work getting into this (formal) suit,” the normally casually dressed Geldof replied. Smiling, the monarch said: “Yes. I expect it was, but you look very nice.”

--Followers of guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh have slashed the asking price from $44 million to $28.5 million for their ranch-commune in Oregon. The 64,229-acre site was purchased in 1981 for $5.75 million by the guru’s organization and served as home to his disciples until last fall, when he fled the country after pleading guilty to one count of immigration fraud. Joe DeJager said the ranch-commune was listed with his office for $28.5 million despite an audit that set the value of land and improvements at $60 million. Almost 300 buildings remain on the ranch site, despite months of sales of everything from the guru’s jewelry to airplanes.

--Watermelon, ice cream and the University of Massachusetts Oompah Band were offered to lure residents of Amherst, Mass., to a special town meeting to take care of some unfinished business. It took about 40 minutes for the enticements to snag enough people for a quorum, but, once done, residents passed the one article on the agenda--allowing the town to issue a bond for $2.3 million to add to a new landfill--by a 113-1 vote. “We even had to send the town constable to one of the sporting events nearby to make quorum,” Town Moderator William Field said. “It was a nice cooperative venture.”

--A milk can Zero Mostel used as a prop in “Fiddler on the Roof” was sold for $150 at a Manhattan auction house. The can, used by Mostel when he played Tevye in the Broadway show, was among 50 items from the late actor’s estate auctioned at William Doyle Galleries. Mostel died in 1977 and his wife, Kathryn, died this year. The couple’s sons are dissolving the estate, auction house spokeswoman Maryalice Adams said.