The push to deal more effectively with the region’s homeless crisis got a cash infusion last week, when Richard Riordan hosted a fundraising dinner to benefit Mark Ridley-Thomas’ Communities United to End Homelessness. “We’re sort of strange bedfellows, MRT and me,” said the former Republican mayor, who added that Ridley-Thomas reached out to him to help in the effort to support Measure H on the upcoming ballot. Riordan said the target was $300,000 for the event, with a minimum ask of $2,000 (he added that organizers might look askance at those who wrote checks for just the minimum). The pro-Measure H campaign has thus far raised upwards of $1 million, a significant amount of money for a March election. Los Angeles County finance records show support for Communities United to End Homelessness coming from Austin Beutner ($25,000) and Herbert Hatanaka ($10,000), along with the California Community Foundation ($100,000) and a number of corporate givers. The city, said Riordan, has fallen short in combatting homelessness and blamed the spread of homeless away from Skid Row on the gentrification that has overtaken downtown, where SRO hotels have been purchased and renovated into glitzier offerings. The former mayor is under no illusions that all the homeless will be housed one day. “The best thing we can do is hand out the best tents, the clothing that keeps homeless warm, and the best sleeping bags to keep them warm. The vast majority want to sleep on the streets.” … Los Angeles was represented in another conversation about inequality, this one on the other side of the world. Among those attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, were Max Nikias, who went as a guest of the Global University Leaders Forum, which helped create the Davos agenda; Ken Moelis, who was there to push an agenda of growth rather than wealth redistribution; and David Agus, who was among those on a panel discussing the “Hospital of the Future.” … With the parties and protests over, it was down to business in Washington last week for L.A.’s two richest people. Dropping in on President Donald Trump was Elon Musk, in D.C. to join other corporate executives who chatted with the president about manufacturing. Also circling the new administration was Patrick Soon-Shiong, about whom there is talk of becoming a “health care czar.” … In board news, John Kilroy was named last week to the board of MGM Resorts International and Megan Chernin joined the J. Paul Getty Trust board. … From the Department of Can’t Resist: David DiCristofaro has gone where few bank presidents have gone before. He and William Shatner handed out grants last week to charities supported by the annual Priceline.com Hollywood Charity Horse Show Sponsored by Wells Fargo. The event, for the benefit of children with special needs in Los Angeles, benefitted Ahead With Horses, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Hollenbeck Police Activities League, The Painted Turtle, and others. “We’ve been working with Bill and Elizabeth Shatner for about 10 years,” DiCristofaro said. “Bill’s just a terrific guy, a strong philanthropist who believes in giving back to the community.” About 100 people attended the Studio City event, which raised about $500,000. … Talk about a sweet side gig. John Tu might have a net worth north of $7 billion, but it doesn’t keep him from working the occasional fundraiser with his band, JT & Friends. Tu, a drummer, and the 40-piece band are on tap to play Southern California Public Radio’s annual gala. This year’s event, in March, honors Jaime Jarrín and the late Steve Julian. … Having stepped in to save Santa Monica’s Vidiots, Meagan Ellison’s Annapurna Pictures is backing the foundation that owns the landmark as it pulls up stakes for an undisclosed location. The store is set to close Feb. 15, a victim of rising rents. It will “cocoon” for a while before reopening in a “more widely accessible location.”