Buffett will auction charity steak lunch

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WARREN BUFFETT is again auctioning a steak lunch to benefit a San Francisco charity, after 2009’s bidding failed to generate a record bid for the first time since 2004.
The 11th annual auction benefits the non-profit Glide Foundation in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district, which offers meals, health and child care, housing and job training for the poor. In 2009, Salida Capital Corporation, a Toronto-based wealth management firm, won the right to dine with the world’s third-richest person with a $1,680,300 bid. That was below the record $2,110,100 bid in 2008 by Hong King-based investor Zhao Danyang.
Known for its lively Sunday morning services including gospel music, Glide said it has struggled with the nation’s economic troubles, with donations falling nearly 20 per cent.
The Reverend Cecil Williams, 80, who founded Glide and leads its affiliated Church, said in an interview that Buffett’s lunch covers about one-tenth of Glide’s $17 million annual budget.
“Our lines for help are much longer this year than they’ve been in almost any year,” Williams said. “We are so proud that we have not had to close the doors on people to say ‘we have no more.’ That’s why Warren Buffett’s dedication and commitment every year to Glide is so significant.”
The auction will be held on eBay Inc’s website from June 6 to June 11.
The winner and up to seven others will dine with Buffett at the Smith & Wollensky steakhouse in New York. Previous auctions have raised more than $5.9 million. Buffett is the world’s third-richest person, worth $47 billion according to Forbes magazine. He built his fortune through his Omaha, Nebraska-based insurance and investment company Berkshire Hathaway Inc. It is unclear how Buffett’s increased visibility might affect this year’s bidding.