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(Reuters) – An anonymous bidder has agreed to pay a record $ 4,567,888 at an annual charity auction for a private luncheon with Warren Buffett, billionaire president of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., takes a break playing bridge as part of the company's annual meeting weekend in Omaha, Nebraska, May 6, 2018. REUTERS / Rick Wilking
The winning bid, which had been submitted during a five-day online auction on eBay and completed Friday night, was nearly a third higher than the previous record of $ 3,356,789. Auction Auction 2012 and 2016.
The benefits will accrue to the Glide Foundation, a charitable organization in San Francisco's Tenderloin District, serving the poor, homeless or those struggling with substance abuse.
Buffett, 88, has raised approximately $ 34.2 million for Glide in 20 annual auctions, which began in 2000 and were transferred to eBay in 2003. His first wife, Susan, died in 2004, introduced him to Glide. after volunteering for charity.
"Mr. Buffett is delighted, we just talked to him," Glide president Karen Hanrahan told Reuters at the end of the auction. Buffett is committed to continuing the auction as long as he can. He has been a thought-provoking partner in thinking about Glide's future and how to organize it for the next 50 years. "
The winning bidder and up to seven friends can dine at Smith & Wollensky's steakhouse restaurant in Manhattan with Buffett, who said he would discuss anything other than his next investments.
This year's auction attracted 18 bids from five bidders.
The best bid would also be enough to buy 15 Clbad A or 23,137 shares of Berkshire, based in Omaha, Nebraska, with more than 90 businesses, including Car Insurer Geico and the railroad. BNSF.
Previous winners included hedge fund manager David Einhorn of Greenlight Capital in 2003 and Ted Weschler, who is now one of Buffett's portfolio managers at Berkshire in 2010 and 2011.
Glide's budget covers approximately 2,000 free meals a day, shelter, HIV and hepatitis C testing, job training, and after-school and after-school programs.
"What this means for us as an organization is huge," said Hanrahan, referring to the auction. "It will help many thousands of people in this city."
According to Glide, these bidders won their bids:
2000: Pete Budlong, $ 25,000
2001: Jim Halperin and Scott Tilson, $ 20,000
2002: Jim Halperin and Scott Tilson, $ 25,000
2003: David Einhorn, Greenlight Capital, $ 250,100
2004: Jason Choo, Singapore, $ 202,100
2005: Anonymous, $ 351,100
2006: Yongping Duan, California, $ 620,100
2007: Mohnish Pabrai, Guy Spier and Harina Kapoor, $ 650,100
2008: Zhao Danyang, Pure Heart Asset Management, China, $ 2,110,100
2009: Courtenay Wolfe, Salida Capital, Canada, $ 1,680,300
2010: Ted Weschler, $ 2,626,311
2011: Ted Weschler, $ 2,626,411
2012: Anonymous, $ 3,356,789
2013: Anonymous, $ 1,000,100
2014: Andy Chua, Singapore, $ 2,166,766
2015: Zhu Ye, Dalian Zeus Entertainment Co, China, $ 2,345,678
2016: Anonymous, $ 3,356,789
2017: anonymous, $ 2,679,001
2018: Anonymous, $ 3,300,100
2019: Anonymous, $ 4,567,888
Report by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Edited by Paul Simao
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