When is a $1M meal a bargain? When it's with Warren Buffett. This year's winning bid for the annual charity get-together is way down from last year's. See how the market for lunch with the Oracle has changed over the years.
Warren Buffett's annual lunch auction, a fundraiser for San Francisco's Glide Foundation, raised about $1 million, less than a third of last year's total.
The event drew 106 bids from 8 people, according to EBay Inc.'s website. The winner, who wasn't immediately identified, and seven companions get to dine with Buffett at the Smith & Wollensky steakhouse in New York.
Buffett, 82, the world's third-richest man, has promised to donate his fortune to charity and has sought similar commitments from other billionaires under the Giving Pledge campaign. He has helped raise $15 million for Glide with his lunch auctions, including last year's winning bid of $3.46 million.
Here are the Glide Lunch With Warren Buffett Results: Year Winner Winning Bid 2000 Anonymous $25,000; 2001 Anonymous $18,000 2002; Anonymous $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, Harina Kapoor $650,100; 2008 Zhao Danyang, China $2,110,100; 2009 Salida Capital, Canada $1,680,300; 2010 Ted Weschler $2,626,311 2011 Ted Weschler $2,626,411; 2012 Anonymous $3,456,789