OMAHA, Neb. — So, who is going to pick up the check?
An anonymous bidder forked out a record $19 million to eat lunch with billionaire Warren Buffett at a New York City steakhouse, The Wall Street Journal reported. It marks the 21st and final time that Buffett, 91, has auctioned a private lunch to benefit Glide, a San Francisco-based charity that helps homeless people and those in poverty, CNBC reported.
The meal with the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway was offered on an eBay auction, The Associated Press reported. The winner can bring up to seven guests. The record bid more than quadrupled the last winning bid -- $4.6 million -- which was made by cryptocurrency entrepreneur Justin Sun in the 2019 auction, according to The Wall Street Journal. That meal was delayed for six months so Sun could recover from kidney stones, according to the newspaper.
They finally sat down to lunch in January 2020.
“It was one of the best moments of my life,” Sun told the newspaper.
Previous winners include Ted Weschler, who is now one of Berkshire’s portfolio managers; Greenlight Capital President David Einhorn; and a Chinese gaming company, which placed a winning bid of $2,345,678, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The COVID-19 pandemic prevented auctions in 2020 and 2021, CNBC reported.
Buffett has helped raise more than $53 million for Glide, a favorite cause of his late wife, Susan, who died in 2004, The Wall Street Journal reported.
“It’s been nothing but good,” Buffett said of the lunch in a news release. “I’ve met a lot of interesting people from all over the world. The one universal characteristic is that they feel the money is going to be put to very good uses.”
This year’s lunch will be held at the Smith & Wollensky steakhouse in Manhattan, CNBC reported.
Buffett will talk about almost anything, but not where he may invest next, according to the news outlet.