It's easy to be oblivious to the world's troubles, but a single personal connection can provide a quick reality check. For Korean-born Christine Chu, that came when the gallery owner saw on television the devastation in the southern US. Only a month earlier, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour - a friend of her husband, investor Franklin Chu - was a dinner guest at their Peak home. Now, his state was a victim of Hurricane Katrina.

So, what can an art-loving tai-tai do? Organise an exhibition of her fine European paintings, custom furniture, Limoges porcelain and silk flowers and give 15 per cent of all the proceeds to the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund.

Chu says: 'I've been an art collector for a long time. I usually like classics and old-master pieces, specialising in still life. I know the trend is to contemporary art but you can find that everywhere. Classics from the 18th and 19th century are not so easy.'