How Much Does Lunch With Warren Buffett Cost? Probably More Than You Think
If money were no object, how much would you spend to eat lunch with Warren Buffett?
For a lucky few, the answer is well over a $1 million. In fact, just one day into an auction to dine with Buffett, the top bid has surpassed the million-dollar mark.
Now 84-years-old, Warren Buffett is perhaps the most successful investor in history. He’s long been ranked among the wealthiest people in the world, taking the top spot in 2008. As recently as this year, Buffett was ranked No. 3.
Each year, Warren Buffett auctions a “power lunch” to help raise money for the GLIDE Foundation. Buffett holds the auction for the annual auction on eBay, and as of Monday night, the highest bid for 2015 was $1,000,100.
Bidding for the 2015 auction opened Sunday and will run until 7:30 p.m. PDT on June 5. The opening bid was $25,000 and all bidders must pre-qualify.
A meal with Warren Buffett still sells like hotcakes » http://t.co/nt6Kzh86lu pic.twitter.com/PAOq4WpOWl
— CNBC (@CNBC) June 2, 2015
The GLIDE Foundation provides assistance to poor and homeless individuals. As the Inquisitr previously reported, Buffett believes poverty is one of the greatest problems faced by Americans.
The lunch is often held at the Smith & Wollensky steakhouse in Manhattan, and those who have dined with Buffett report that he usually orders medium-rare steak and Cherry Coke.
In the past, winners of the annual power lunch have paid as much as $3.5 million, which was the record set in 2012.
Can you imagine paying millions of dollars to eat lunch with Warren Buffett? Andy Chua, a man from Singapore, can. In 2014, Chua paid $2.2 million to share lunch with Buffett.
In recent years, the price of the lunch has jumped dramatically. For example, in 2008, Guy Spier paid just $650,100 for the honor of dining with Buffett.
According to Time, the jump in price could be attributed to a hope for career advancement and networking opportunities. After all, the strategy paid off for at least one buyer, according to the magazine. In both 2010 and 2011, Ted Weschler paid more than $2.6 million to dine with Buffett, and because Warren was so impressed with him, Buffett hired Weschler to run part of his investment portfolio. Today, Weschler is expected to be Warren Buffett’s successor when Buffett retires, according to the magazine.
For Weschler, winning the auction to eat with Buffett seems to have paid off, but can others say the same thing?
In a 2008 article written for Time, Spier said that the $650,100 he and a friend spent was absolutely worth it.
“It was worth every dime. Buffett is the most successful investor in history, yet he has reached that pinnacle while also being supremely ethical.”
So the question remains: If you had millions, would you spend it to eat lunch with Warren Buffett?
[Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images]
