An anonymous donor has paid more than nine million dollars in a charity auction to secure a private lunch with basketball star Stephen Curry and billionaire investor Warren Buffett. To maximize the philanthropic impact of the event, Buffett has pledged to match the winning bid, ensuring that both of their preferred charitable organisations benefit equally from the proceeds.
Revival of a philanthropic tradition
The online auction, hosted on eBay, sought to revive a highly successful fundraising tradition originally established by Buffett. Over more than two decades, his annual charity lunches generated $53 million for the GLIDE Foundation, a San Francisco-based organisation dedicated to combating homelessness and poverty.
This year's revamped event, which concluded on Thursday evening, split its focus to also raise funds for Eat.Learn.Play., a foundation established by Curry and his wife to support underprivileged children. The anonymous winner placed a final bid of $9,000,100 to secure the private lunch, which is scheduled to take place next month in Omaha, Nebraska, the hometown of the 95-year-old investment tycoon.
In an official statement, the Curry family expressed deep gratitude for the record-breaking contribution, noting that the initiative reflects a shared belief that when different generations and institutions unite for a common purpose, they can create a more permanent impact for people in need.
The history of the Buffett lunch auctions
The legendary lunch auctions began in 2000 and remained an annual fixture until the pandemic forced a two-year hiatus. Since 2008, every single winning bid to dine with the Berkshire Hathaway chairman has exceeded $1 million. Buffett initially decided to discontinue the event after a bidder paid a record-breaking $19 million for a lunch in 2022.
A subsequent attempt to sustain the concept in 2024 featured a charity lunch with Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, which raised $1.5 million, though that specific iteration did not continue. The revival of the event occurred after Buffett personally contacted the Curry family earlier this year to propose the joint auction.
Source: ABC News
