Someone has made the most of winning a chance to dine with the legendary Warren Buffett. For the 21st and final time, the billionaire businessman auctioned a private lunch to benefit a San Francisco charity for no less than a whopping $19 million. According to the eBay listing, an anonymous bidder and up to seven guests got themselves the meal of a lifetime with the 91-year-old billionaire and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. chairman at Smith & Wollensky in New York.
Two decades ago, Warren Buffett’s first wife, Susie, initiated the idea of a charity lunch with her husband with the money going to support GLIDE. This program helps people out of poverty and homelessness. That first lunch, in 2000, went for $25,000. New York’s Smith & Wollensky, one of Buffett’s favorite places, is where he has hosted the lunch since the first auction in 2000. In 2019, Tron founder Justin Sun won a charity bid for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to run shoulders with Buffet over a meal for a cool $4.5 million.
“Warren Buffett’s friendship and generosity over the past 22 years have been invaluable in deepening Glide’s impact on the systems that drive poverty and inequity,” said the organization’s president and CEO, Karen. “His legacy will have a lasting positive impact on Glide and the clients we serve.” According to Reuters, Buffet has raised more than $53.2 million for Glide in the 21 auctions.
