For the first time in several years, legendary investor and former Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK)(NYSE:BRK) CEO Warren Buffett teamed up with a charity for a one-of-a-kind lunch experience. This year's lunch experience also includes NBA great Stephen Curry and his wife, Ayesha Curry, an entrepreneur and author. Here's how much the winning bid was for lunch with the trio.
Warren Buffett Charity Lunch Raises Millions
Hosted on eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY) from May 7 through May 14, an auction for lunch with Buffett and the two Currys has reached its conclusion.
On Thursday night, the auction closed with a winning bid of $9,000,100.000. A total of 172 bids were placed by pre-qualified users, with a starting bid of $50,000.
The proceeds from the auction will be split between GLIDE Foundation and Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation, with Buffett matching the winning bid.
Buffett has supported GLIDE for years, raising more than $54 million for the charity since 2000, including $19 million paid for the famous lunch auction in 2022. The charity helps provide meals, shelter, and job training for vulnerable populations.
Eat. Learn. Play. was founded by the Currys and focuses on childhood literacy, lifestyles and nutrition.
The lunch will be held in Omaha, Nebraska, on June 24. The winning bidder may bring up to 7 guests.
Is $9 Million Bid Worth It?
The $9 million winning bid may end up being a bargain compared to the $19 million paid in 2019, but it is the second-highest amount paid by an individual for the annual charity lunch auction.
Whether the bid is worth it will come down to what the winner gets out of the lunch and their time spent with Buffett and the Currys.
With the Currys taking part in this year’s lunch, a winner could share lunch with a legendary investor, an NBA superstar and an entrepreneur, proving a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to ask for investment advice, sports advice and business advice.
One of the past winners of the charity lunch was hedge fund manager Ted Weschler, who won in 2010 and 2011. Weschler was later hired by Buffett to work at Berkshire Hathaway, where he is currently an investment manager.
The first several lunches came with winning bids of $25,000 to $351,000.
In 2008, the event raised $2.1 million and began a streak in which winners paid $1 million or more for lunch with Buffett.
In 2019, cryptocurrency entrepreneur Justin Sun paid $4.57 million to win the auction.
No charity lunch auctions were held in 2020 or 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Each of the last eight winners has paid at least $2.16 million to win the lunch. Five of the last six winners have paid more than $3 million to win. The last three winning bids were $4.57 million, $19 million, and $9 million.
Photo Courtesy: Photo Agency on Shutterstock.com
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