Look To The Stars News: Glide

Warren Buffett Lunch Auction Raises $1.68 Million

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:00:00 -0000

In an update to last week’s story about Warren Buffett’s annual charity dinner auction, we can now reveal that one lucky bidder handed over $1.68 to share a meal with the billionaire.

Proceeds from the auction will go to Glide, a diverse, cutting-edge church and nonprofit offering innovative programs to poor and marginalized people. The foundation serves 700,000 free meals a year and provides dozens of other social services on a $12 million budget.

The winning bidder will be able to take up to seven friends to have lunch with Warren Buffett – the world’s second richest person – at Smith & Wollensky’s steakhouse in New York. Buffett’s lunches have now raised more than $5.92 million for the charity since the auctions began in 2000.

Annual Buffett Lunch Auction Bidding Hits $75,000

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:15:00 -0000

Written by Steve Purcell

Each year around June, former World’s Richest Man Warren Buffett auctions off the opportunity to dine with him, and the well-heeled winners’ bids go straight to charity.

In the 6 previous years that Buffett has presented this opportunity, financiers and entrepreneurs keen to share his legendary market wisdom have handed over more than $4.2 million, primarily to Glide, a charity that supports San Francisco’s homeless community.

The 2006 lunch went for $610,000, while 2007’s fetched $650,000, and last year’s pre-market-collapse lunch cost the winner a record $2.1 million.

Just 2 days into the 2009 auction, hosted at eBay, slated to finish on Friday 26th, bidding has reached $75,000, comparable to the 2007 bidding. We’ll report back with the final result.

Buffett also eats other meals for charity, auctioning off his dinner company in 2007 in support of the James Redford Institute for Transplant Awareness.

In 2006 he sold his town car at charity auction to benefit Girls Inc. The vehicle sported his personalized “THRIFTY” license plate, but the real beneficiary of his thrift that year was the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, to which he pledged $37bn — the bulk of his fortune.

Buffett Shares With Charities

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 12:30:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

A Chinese businessman jumped at the chance to dine with Warren Buffett for charity last week.

Hedge fund manager Zhao Danyang offered a winning bid of $2.1 million for a chance to have lunch with the Berkshire Hathaway chairman, with all profits going to Glide to benefit their programs for the hungry. The bid goes far beyond last year’s winning bid of $650,000, and 2006’s winning bid of $620,000.

“We danced in the streets there for a short time,” said the Rev. Cecil Williams from Glide. “The streets of San Francisco! We were dancing and singing!”

The 77-year-old billionaire also announced this week that he is donating 512,169 Class B shares of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. stock to three charitable foundations in keeping with his plan to give away the bulk of his fortune. Most of the shares – worth $3,999 each and totaling over $2.1 billion – will go to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Buffett has already announced he will give 10 million shares to the Gates Foundation over the next few years, with a further 1 million shares going to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation and 350,000 shares for each of the three foundations run by his three children.

A Chance To Buffet With Buffett

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 12:30:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Fancy having lunch with one of the richest men on the planet? Now could be your chance, with an auction being run this week offering the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to dine with Warren Buffett.

The auction opened on Sunday and has already reached bids of over $77,000, with the final proceeds going to the Glide Foundation, a nonprofit in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district that offers programs for the poor, hungry and homeless. The 77-year-old billionaire investor started donating the private lunches to charity in 2000, and last year’s winner forked out more than $650,000 to enjoy a buffet with Buffett.

And there’ll certainly be no embarrassing lapses in conversation at the table – you can take up to seven friends to enjoy the meal, which will be held at Manhattan steakhouse Smith & Wollensky.

Earlier this year, Forbes magazine estimated Buffet’s net worth at being around $62 billion, and the investor has already pledged most of that to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in his will.

The auction can be accessed via eBay and ends this Friday (June 27).

$650,100 Charity Bid Wins Lunch With Buffett

Sun, 01 Jul 2007 13:31:24 -0000

Written by Steve Purcell

Two investors have bid $650,100 to have lunch with billionaire Warren Buffett. The annual event benefits the San Francisco homeless charity Glide.

43-year-old Mohnish Pabrai – who manages $600 million for Pabrai Investment Funds – teamed up with a friend to win this year’s auction, having bid unsuccessfully in the previous four auctions.

“We are elated,” Pabrai said. "We wanted to make sure that this year we blew everyone out of the water.

This year’s bid topped last year’s winning bid of $630,000, bringing the total raised in the last 5 years to over $2.13 million.

According to Cecil Williams, Glide’s chief executive officer, the charity serves 700,000 free meals a year and provides dozens of other social services on a $12 million budget.

Lunch With Buffett Sells For $620k

Sun, 02 Jul 2006 09:23:48 -0000

Written by Steve Purcell

An opportunity to dine with investor and philanthropist Warren Buffett has sold at online auction for $620,100, which will go to the charity Glide.

The winning bidder was Californian investor Yongping Duan. As reported here earlier the bids for this yearly event far exceeded the levels reached in previous years.

Glide is a San Francisco charity offering support to the poor and marginalized people.

Bids For Charity Lunch With Warren Buffet Reach $455,000

Sat, 24 Jun 2006 09:28:12 -0000

Written by Steve Purcell

Wealthy investors have entered a bidding frenzy for this year’s charity lunch with the world’s second richest man, Warren Buffett.

Each year since 2000 Buffett has auctioned off an eight-person lunch with himself, donating the proceeds to San Francisco charity Glide, which helps the poor and homeless. In the last three years alone, the lunch has raised $850,000.

Bidding on eBay for this year’s lunch at a New York steakhouse has escalated faster than expected; the current highest bid is $455,100, with 5 full days remaining before the auction closes.

Look To The Stars News: Glide

Warren Buffett Lunch Auction Raises $1.68 Million

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