Warren Buffett lunch auctioned off for $3.5 million
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Chairman and CEO Warren E. Buffett smiles at the New York Stock Exchange before ringing the opening bell on September 30, 2011 in New York City.
An anonymous dining companion will pay $3.5 million to have lunch with billionaire investor Warren Buffett, Reuters reported.
The person bid that amount in the annual charity auction for the Glide Foundation, which provides services for the homeless in San Francisco, the Associated Press reported. The organization has auctioned off lunch with Buffett for the past 13 years, and this year’s winning bid, which beat out offers from 10 other active bidders, is the most anyone has paid to eat with Buffett, head of Berkshire Hathaway.
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After receiving news of the winning bid, “we are shouting, dancing, rejoicing and celebrating,” Glide’s founder, the Rev. Cecil Williams, said in a statement, according to the AP.
The Buffett lunch has generated $11.5 million for the Glide Foundation over the years, Reuters reported. The organization’s annual budget is $17 million, according to the AP.
Hedge fund manager Ted Weschler bid $2.6 million to win last year’s auction, Reuters reported. Buffett later hired him as an investment manager at Berkshire Hathaway.
Typically, Buffett and the Glide auction lunch winner meet at New York’s Smith and Wollensky steak house and chat for several hours, the AP reported. Buffett won’t talk about potential investments, but is happy to hold forth on subjects like family and philanthropy.
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