Cannes 2013: Leonardo DiCaprio space flight goes for $1.5 million

A guest at a charity auction at Cannes has paid 1.2 million euros ($1.5 million) for a trip into space with Leonardo DiCaprio.

AmFAR, a nonprofit devoted to AIDS research, held the auction Thursday night at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc as part of its 20th annual Cinema Against AIDS event at the French film festival.

The winning bidder paid to travel into orbit on a Virgin Galactic spaceship in a seat next to DiCaprio’s sometime in 2014.

PHOTOS: Cannes Film Festival 2013

DiCaprio, who is at Cannes promoting “The Great Gatsby,” was in attendance at the charity event, which also included a dinner and fashion show.

Another pair of seats on the same flight sold to a different bidder for $1.8 million euros ($2.3 million). The winning bidders were not identified.

CHEAT SHEET: Cannes Film Festival 2013

Virgin Galactic, a commercial spaceflight company owned by Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, has accepted more than $70 million in deposits from about 580 individuals who wish to travel to space.

The company is currently accepting bookings for the trips for a deposit of $200,000.

Cinema Against AIDS events have raised more than $80 million since 1993.

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