Warren Buffett is no ordinary man. This octogenarian is one of the most respected business magnates around the world. He is also a philanthropist, a speaker, a very successful investor and is one of the richest men in the world.
But, how much would you pay to have a private lunch with this man?
An anonymous bidder has offered to pay a whopping $4.5 million to have a private lunch with this eminent personality. The bid was made after a five-day auction on eBay and this record price shattered the previous record of $3.5 million set in 2012 and 2016.
The proceeds of this will go to a charity called Glide Organization, which is based out of San Francisco. This charitable institution deals with alleviating poverty and homelessness. According to its website, “GLIDE’s mission is to create a radically inclusive, just and loving community mobilized to alleviate suffering and break the cycles of poverty and marginalization.”
Buffett has been associated with this charitable organization for over two decades now. He was introduced to this institution by his wife, Susan who volunteered for it. Further, he has raised a massive $34.2 million across 20 annual auctions that started off first in 2000.
The bid starts off at a mere $25,000 and remarkably, has ended with very high bids in the past few years.
The winner of the bid, accompanied by seven friends, will have lunch with Buffett at the Smith & Wollensky steakhouse in Manhattan. And Buffett says he is open to discussing anything under the sun than his next investments.
According to Glide, the following is the list of bidders that have won the auction in the previous years:
2000: Pete Budlong, $25,000
2001: Jim Halperin and Scott Tilson, $20,000
2002: Jim Halperin and Scott Tilson, $25,000
2003: David Einhorn, Greenlight Capital, $250,100
2004: Jason Choo, Singapore, $202,100
2005: Anonymous, $351,100
2006: Yongping Duan, California, $620,100
2007: Mohnish Pabrai, Guy Spier, Harina Kapoor, $650,100
2008: Zhao Danyang, Pure Heart Asset Management, China, $2,110,100
2009: Courtenay Wolfe, Salida Capital, Canada, $1,680,300
2010: Ted Weschler, $2,626,311
2011: Ted Weschler, $2,626,411
2012: Anonymous, $3,456,789
2013: Anonymous, $1,000,100
2014: Andy Chua, Singapore, $2,166,766
2015: Zhu Ye, Dalian Zeus Entertainment Co, China, $2,345,678
2016: Anonymous, $3,456,789
2017: Anonymous, $2,679,001
2018: Anonymous, $3,300,100
2019: Anonymous, $4,567,888
Who is Warren Buffett?
Born on 30 August 1930, Warren Buffett is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Berkshire Hathaway, an American multinational conglomerate. It is one of the largest companies in the world by revenue and one of the biggest financial services companies in the world.
Berkshire Hathaway owns brands such as Duracell, BNSF, Lubrizol, and GEICO and also owns a stake in Kraft Heinz Company, United Airlines, Delta Airlines, Wells Fargo, Apple, and the Coca-Cola Company.
Popularly known as ‘Wizard,’ and ‘Oracle,’ Buffett is renowned for his prudence and frugality in personal life despite being one of the richest in the world. Also, his adherence to values in terms of business and investments are followed across the world by new entrepreneurs.
Buffett is also a notable philanthropist and has pledged 99 per cent of his wealth to charity. He also founded The Giving Pledge with another notable entrepreneur and philanthropist, Bill Gates. This initiative encourages billionaires across the world to donate more than half of their fortunes to charitable causes.
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