Speaking to the 47%: The $105,000 champagne tower featured at Obama fundraiser hosted by Jay-Z and Beyonce





President Barack Obama attended a fundraiser at Jay-Z's 40/40 Club in Manhattan that featured a champagne tower of 350 bottles worth $105,000 - more than twice the median household income of an American family.

The tower of $300-a-bottle Armand de Brignac Brut Gold, known as 'Ace of Spades' because of its label, is a permanent fixture at the club.

'It’s floor-to-ceiling gold bottles in the entire space,' a 40/40 representative told the New York Post. 'It’s beautiful—breathtaking. It’s the first thing you see when you walk in.'

The median income for an American family was $51,413 in 2011.

$105,000: The champagne tower at the Tower 40/40 Club that costs twice the average income of a US family

Friends in high places: President Obama chats up Beyonce and Jay-Z at the $105,000 New York City champagne fundraiser the couple threw for him on Tuesday night

Some 100 people attended the $40,000-per-person event, which took place after Obama spoke to 200 donors at a $12,500-per-family reception at the Waldorf Astoria. The total campaign cash haul for the day was $6 million.

At the 40/40 Club, the singer Beyonce introduced Obama and said that she and her husband Jay-Z 'believe in his vision'.

Obama said: 'Let me just begin by saying to Jay and Bey, thank you so much for your friendship. We are so grateful. Michelle and Malia and Sasha are mad at me because they are not here.

'That doesn’t usually happen. Usually they’re like, we’re glad you’re going–we don’t need to go. But every time they get a chance to see these two they are thrilled, partly because they are just both so generous, particularly to my kids. And Malia and Sasha just love both of them.'

Classy: Obama told the guests, including Solange Knowles, seen arriving for the event (right), that he couldn't think of a better role model for his girls than Beyonce, because of her 'poise' (pictured with Jay Z last month)

40/40 Club: Obama also compared himself to Jay-Z at the event, saying he knows'what my life is like. We both have daughters, and our wives are more popular than we are.'

Obama stated that Beyonce “couldn’t be a better role model for our daughters because she carries herself with such class and poise'.

He then compared himself to Jay-Z. 'Jay-Z now knows what my life is like. We both have daughters, and our wives are more popular than we are. So we’ve got a little bond there. It’s hard, but it’s okay.'

Like him, Beyonce and Jay-Z came from humble backgrounds, he said. 'And the good thing about so many of us here–and I know, I speak for Jay and Bey–is we remember what it’s like not having anything, and we know people who were just as talented as us that didn’t get the same break, the same chance.

'We remember some of our parents or grandparents who came here as immigrants and got a little bit of help along the way to go to that school or be able to start that first business.'

Armand de Brignac first gained widespread attention in the video for Jay-Z's song 'Show Me What You Got' in 2006. It showed Jay-Z being presented with the distinctive gold bottle in a silver briefcase.

Celebrity circles: The President also appeared on Letterman last night where he said he stands up for 'ALL America' following the 47% furor over Romney's secret tapes

David Beckham and George Clooney, a prominent Obama supporter, are among those said to enjoy Armand de Brignac.

The name Armand de Brignac is taken from the hero of a 1950s romantic novel. It is produced in the village of Chigny Les Roses in Champagne-Ardennes.

Both Obama and his opponent Mitt Romney are frantically holding fundraisers even in the final stretch of the campaign to raise to avoid being swamped by attacks ads.

And it was at a $50,000-a-head May fundraiser in Boca Raton, Florida, some months ago that Romney made his controversial comments about his job being to not worry about the 47 per cent of Americans who do not pay income tax.

Obama accused Mitt Romney of 'writing off big chunks of the country' and rebuked his rival's claims that nearly half of all Americans believe they are 'victims' entitled to sponge off the government.

On the Late Show with David Letterman, Obama added that anyone seeking the presidency ought to be for 'everyone, not just for some' and talked about the hard work of single mothers and auto workers.



