Calling the shots: Celebs hit the phones in 9/11 tribute to traders
It was the day the trading floor took on an extra edge of excitement.
Alongside the dealers, movers and shakers earlier today, the desks of BGC featured personalities from the world of sport, showbiz and royalty, who tried their hand at making money, but this time for charity.
In its annual tribute to more than 700 employees who lost their lives in the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks, BGC opened its floors to A-listers in a bid to raise millions of pounds.
City traders watched on as Jimmy Carr hit the phones at the opening bell, drumming up more than 20 deals on the 19th floor of Canary Wharf’s One Churchill Place.
Carr, who hosted the event, told City PM: “I got on the phone to sell but I had no idea what the words mean…it’s like a different language!”
Attempting to sell stocks to one Glaswegian buyer over the phone, the 8 out of 10 Cats TV host joked: “Your drug habit isn’t going to pay for itself”.
Sporting the traditional brightly-coloured trading jackets, celebrities and traders packed out the dealing room in brokerage company BGC’s 14th year of running the event.
For one footballing ex-manager, the finance game was not so much of a challenge: “It’s easy…I think I might apply for a job as a trader” Harry Redknapp said.
BGC president Shaun D. Lynn told City PM: “I should’ve been there on the day, but my wife was seven months pregnant and we thought my youngest child was going to come, so I delayed my trip…Today we try to turn the worst day of our lives into a lovely day, remembering and recognising and celebrating.”
Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, told City PM that she found the trading floor “absolutely terrifying”.
However, she added: “All the traders here have no idea about the difference they are making to all these charities. It is fantastic.”
Pop star Nicole Sherzinger also joined in with the City spirit, trading on two phones at once as she shouted "show me the money".