Record bid to lunch with Warren Buffett
Published:Sunday | June 10, 2012 | 12:00 AM
OMAHA, Nebraska (AP):
The cost to dine with investor Warren Buffett has apparently spiked in value, with one deep-pocketed bidder forking over nearly US$3.5 million during a charity auction.
The annual auction for a private lunch with the Nebraska billionaire closed following a flurry of activity in the final hours Friday night. In the end, the highest bid was record-breaking.
The auction benefits the Glide Foundation, which helps the homeless in San Francisco. Buffett has raised more than US$11.5 million for the group in 13 past auctions.
The event provides a significant portion of Glide's roughly US$17 million annual budget that pays for social services to the poor and homeless.
"We just had a most amazing, shocking experience occur in our great city," Glide's founder, the Reverend Cecil Williams, said in a statement Friday night. "We are shouting, dancing, rejoicing and celebrating."