During the auction portion of Alicia Keys’ Black Ball Redux, one man was ready to jump his bid from $100,000 to $250,000 for a trip to South Africa – if Keys would join him and his friends.

“I’ll go for a little more,” Keys said Thursday night at the Apollo Theater, where her charity’s annual gala was held.

The man – pharmaceutical billionaire Stewart Rahr – didn’t raise his bid, but he later pledged $1 million to Keep a Child Alive, helping the R&B singer raise more than $1.3 million.

Keys’ charity assists those affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa and India. Thursday’s event was originally planned for Nov. 1, but was canceled due to Superstorm Sandy.

“There are places in the world where Keep a Child Alive serves where they have a Hurricane Sandy every day,” Keys said in an interview on the red carpet. “They don’t have electricity, they don’t have heat … and that made me more invigorated to make sure this Black Ball happened.”

Props to Billboard [AlLindstrom]