One last chance for bidders to Dine With Warren Buffett is a $2.89 million opening bid, as the 91-year-old billionaire auctioned off his final lunch to raise money for a San Francisco charity.
Berkshire Hathaway’s chairman has raised more than $34.2 million since 2000 for Glide, a nonprofit that provides food, shelter, HIV and hepatitis C testing, jobs to the poor, homeless and substance abusers. Provides training and children’s programs.
Buffett’s first wife, Susan, who died in 2004, introduced him to Glide after volunteering for the charity.
This year’s auction started on eBay on Sunday night and will end on Friday.
The winner and seven guests will dine with buffets at the Smith & Wolensky Steakhouse in Manhattan.
Almost all topics are fair except Buffett’s current and future investment plans.
The auction is Buffett’s 21st, but the first since 2019 because of the pandemic.
The bidding started at $25,000 and reached the seven-figure mark within eight hours. As of Monday morning only six people had placed bids, including a high of $2,892,617.
Past winners include crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun, who paid a record $4.57 million in 2019, and money manager Ted Weschler, who won the 2010 and 2011 auctions and later became Berkshire’s portfolio manager.
The steaks — a Buffett favorite — cost $57 to $78 per person at Smith & Wolensky’s before tax and tip. Wine costs from $50 to $12,005 per bottle.
According to Forbes magazine, despite donating nearly half of his Berkshire shares since 2006, Buffett was worth $106 billion as of Friday, making him the fifth-richest person worldwide.
