An anonymous bidder went all out to pay a record amount of $19 million in a charity auction for lunch with business tycoon Warren Buffett. The charity lunch is organized to benefit the San-Francisco-based charity GLIDE. The NGO assists the homeless and poor people. The bidder paid a staggering amount of $19,000,100 at the annual auction to help homeless charity Glide.
Last Sunday, the winner outbid 43 other bidders. He will attend the private lunch with up to seven guests at the Smith & Wollensky steakhouse in New York City. Warren Buffett has been part of lunch since it was first launched in the year 2000. Currently, the charity has earned around $53 million. However, it is the last auction in which he will participate in. This may have resulted in the record bid.
Record-breaking bid for Warren Buffett’s last auction lunch
“On behalf of GLIDE and those we serve, I thank Warren Buffett for his unwavering generosity, partnership and dedication, and for his incredible contribution to our mission,” said Karen Hanrahan, president and CEO, of Glide Foundation.
Warren’s first wife, Susie, connected him to the organization after she began volunteering there, and he became a supporter. This year’s lunch will be the first private lunch with the 91-year-old billionaire since cryptocurrency entrepreneur Justin Sun’s $4.5 million record-breaking bid in 2019. COVID-19 implications forced the cancellation of the last two auctions. Moreover, Buffett has stated that this will be his final auction.
eBay CEO Jamie Iannone said, “We are incredibly proud that Warren Buffett’s final Power Lunch has broken our all-time record of funds raised, with all proceeds supporting Glide’s efforts to create pathways out of crisis and transform lives.”
Warren Buffett has promised to give away 99 percent of his wealth to charity, either during his lifetime or after he dies. He presented 14 million Berkshire Hathaway stocks valued at $4 billion to charity earlier this week. Buffett is the eighth richest person on the planet, with a net worth of $93 billion. His net worth dropped over $13 billion in the previous week, owing in part to the charity made.