The top bidder for a lunch with Omaha investor Warren Buffett not only beat out the lone competitor Friday but also topped his, her or their own bid to set a record for the annual fundraiser and for charity auctions on eBay.
The Glide Foundation of San Francisco will receive $2,626,411 from the anonymous donor, the second year in a row that an anonymous bidder set a record.
Buffett will host a steak lunch for eight people at the Smith & Wollensky restaurant in New York City.
The auction, which opened Sunday, saw back-and-forth bids, starting from the $25,000 minimum and moving to $100,000, $1,000,011, $1,511,011, $2,000,011 and $2,345,678 Monday.
There the bidding stopped until the official end of the auction at 9:30 p.m. CDT Friday.
But after the auction ended, the winner decided to top last year’s record of $2,646,311 by $100.
The Glide Foundation was a favorite of Buffett’s late wife, Susan Thompson Buffett. This is the 13th year in a row that Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., has helped raise money through the lunch auction.
The combined proceeds total nearly $12 million.
Founded 45 years ago by the Rev. Cecil Williams and Janice Mirikitani, the foundation operates a variety of programs that include meals, housing, health care and training to break the cycle of poverty and return people to useful lives.
Contact the writer:
402-444-1080, steve.jordon@owh.com
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