A chance to break bread with billionaire investor Warren Buffett drew a high bid of $25,400 in the first hours of a five-day charity auction on eBay Inc. The winner of the 10th-annual fundraiser gets to bring seven friends to a New York steakhouse to query Buffett, the world?s second-richest man, about his business strategy and investment philosophy. Last year, Chinese hedge-fund manager Zhao Danyang won with a $2.11 million bid, three times the previous record for the event. Bidding is set to close June 26.
?If you had a chance to sit down for a meal with Newton or Galileo or Einstein or Gandhi, and spend two or three hours with them, would you do it, and what kind of price tag would you put on that?? asked Mohnish Pabrai, who partnered with fellow investment manager Guy Spier to win the auction with a $650,100 bid in 2007. ?I got more than my money?s worth,? he said.
Buffett, the world?s most celebrated investor, transformed failing textile maker Berkshire Hathaway Inc into a $134 billion company by acquiring out-of-favour securities and businesses in industries ranging from insurance and utilities to candy-making and underwear. Shares of the Omaha, Nebraska-based company traded at about $15 when he took control in 1965. They sell for $87,250 now.
Proceeds from the auction benefit the Glide Foundation, a San Francisco-based charity where Buffett?s late first wife volunteered. Glide, founded in the 1960s by the Rev Cecil Williams, provides job training, medical care, counseling and other services for the homeless, the HIV-positive and victims of domestic violence.
?He basically built one of the great organisations I?ve seen for helping people that are really down and out,? Buffett said in a Bloomberg Television interview at last year?s lunch. ?It takes people who have hit bottom and brings them back. I?ve seen it with my own eyes.?
Past auction winners include David Einhorn, founder of hedge fund Greenlight Capital LLC, who paid $250,100 in 2003, the first year the bidding was conducted by San Jose-based eBay. Bidders must pre-qualify at GlideLunch WithWarrenBuffett.com. Many bidders wait until the last minutes to avoid driving up the price early.
?I just made sure I had lots of ammo,? said Pabrai of his bidding strategy. ?There?s a declining number of lunches left every year, and because Warren?s reputation grows every year, in spite of the financial crisis I would be very surprised if the lunch didn?t go into seven figures this year.?
Pabrai is the founder of Irvine, California-based Pabrai Investment Funds. Spier is principal at hedge fund Aquamarine Funds LLC. Both own Berkshire shares.
Zhao, last year?s winner, will meet Buffett, 78, for lunch this week at Smith & Wollensky on 49th Street in Manhattan. Alan Stillman, the founder of the steakhouse, is donating $10,000 to Glide for the right to host the event.