Summary
A weeklong charity auction on eBay closed with a winning bid of $9,000,100 to secure a private dinner with billionaire investor Warren Buffett and basketball player Stephen Curry. The auction ended on Thursday, according to eBay's website. The identity of the high bidder was not publicly available at the time of the auction's close.
Event details
The dinner is scheduled for June 24 in Omaha, Nebraska, where Berkshire Hathaway, the conglomerate led by Buffett, is headquartered. The successful bidder will be joined by Buffett, Curry and Ayesha Curry, and may bring up to seven guests of their choosing.
Beneficiaries and match
Proceeds from the auction will be shared between two nonprofit organizations: the Glide Foundation and Eat. Learn. Play. The charities have said Buffett will match the winning bid for each organization, which increases the total contribution to around $27 million.
Berkshire, Glide and Eat. Learn. Play. did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside business hours.
About the nonprofits
Glide operates in San Francisco's Tenderloin district and provides services for people experiencing poverty, homelessness and substance abuse. Buffett has supported Glide through these auctions for years; between 2000 and 2022, he raised about $53.2 million for Glide across 21 auctions. His involvement with Glide followed volunteer work there by his first wife, Susan, who died in 2004.
Eat. Learn. Play. was founded by Stephen and Ayesha Curry and concentrates on providing nutritious meals, promoting childhood literacy and encouraging physically active lifestyles.
Context on past auctions
eBay said the $19 million winning bid in the 2022 auction remains the largest sum ever recorded in its charity auction history. The current auction's winning bid of $9,000,100 is the amount that will be matched and divided between the two named nonprofits as described.
About Warren Buffett
Buffett, who is 95 years old, serves as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and was its chief executive for six decades. He has stated that he plans to give away nearly all of his remaining fortune. Forbes magazine estimates his remaining wealth at $143.5 billion, which Buffett is donating to a charitable trust administered by his three children.
Key points
- The auction on eBay closed at a winning bid of $9,000,100 for a dinner with Warren Buffett and Stephen Curry.
- Proceeds will be split between the Glide Foundation and Eat. Learn. Play., with Buffett matching the winning bid for each charity, bringing the total donation to about $27 million.
- The dinner will occur on June 24 in Omaha and may include up to seven guests selected by the auction winner.
Risks and uncertainties
- The identity of the winning bidder was not disclosed at the auction's close, leaving details about the attendees uncertain until further notice.
- Berkshire, Glide and Eat. Learn. Play. did not provide immediate comment outside business hours, so additional confirmation or details from those organizations were not available at the time of reporting.
This report focuses on the auction result, the planned charity recipients and the match commitment from Buffett, based on information posted by eBay and statements from the named nonprofits.