Warren Buffett Is Partnering With an NBA Star to Revive a Two-Decades-Long Tradition
The billionaire spearheaded the initiative for over two decades, but stopped the practice in 2022.
Key Takeaways
- Warren Buffett is bringing back his famed charity lunch as a new eBay auction, this time teaming up with Stephen and Ayesha Curry.
- Proceeds from the winning bid will be split between the Glide Foundation and the Curry family鈥檚 Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation.
- The online auction will run on eBay from the evening of April 7 to the evening of April 14 (PDT), with the top bidder allowed to bring up to seven guests to the lunch.
Warren Buffett鈥檚 legendary charity lunch is making a comeback 鈥 and this year, there鈥檚 an unexpected twist, reports.
Buffett will host the lunch alongside NBA star and two-time MVP Stephen Curry and his wife, author and entrepreneur Ayesha Curry. The fundraising auction will bring the investing legend and the celebrity couple together in one place, per CNBC.
鈥淭his event is about coming together again 鈥 in a new way 鈥 with people I admire, to support work that truly matters,鈥 Buffett said in a statement. 鈥淧artnering with Stephen and Ayesha to help launch something new in support of these communities is something I鈥檓 very happy to be part of.鈥
Online bidding will start on May 7 at 7:30 p.m. PDT and close on May 14 at 7:30 p.m. PDT. The winning bidder and up to seven guests will have an exclusive lunch with Buffett and the Currys in Omaha, Nebraska, on June 24. It鈥檚 unclear which restaurant will host the lunch.
Buffett, the 95-year-old Berkshire Hathaway chairman, hosted annual charity lunch auctions for the Glide Foundation for over two decades, raising over $50 million total to support the San Francisco charity dedicated to fighting poverty and homelessness. He retired from hosting the lunches in 2022. The final lunch he attended raised $19 million.
The newly revived initiative will donate all proceeds to the Glide Foundation and to the charitable group founded by the Curry family, the Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation, which focuses on childhood literacy and nutrition. The auction proceeds will be equally split between the two organizations.
How the lunches started
Buffett told CNBC in an interview that he started the lunch tradition back in 2000 after his late wife, Susie, encouraged him to do something to raise awareness about the Glide Foundation. She was living in San Francisco at the time and saw the positive effect that the foundation had on the local community. The charity provides essential services, like meals, shelter and health testing.
鈥淪he [Susie] actually selected the idea of a lunch,鈥 Buffett shared. 鈥淭he first three lunches brought $25,000 each because they were localized. And then we got the idea of going on eBay. Then we started getting business from around the world.鈥
The lunch 鈥渋nspires people鈥 to donate, Buffett said. He initially stopped doing the lunches because he 鈥渞an out of gas,鈥 he joked. However, he promised the late Rev. Cecil Williams, who spearheaded the Glide Foundation, that he would do one more lunch before retiring for good.
Buffett chose to partner with the Currys this time around because their foundation provides support to children in the Bay Area, per CNBC. He said he had a long phone conversation with Stephen Curry about the project.
鈥淪teph [Curry] is the hero of millions and millions of people,鈥 Buffett told CNBC.
Previous lunch winners include David Einhorn, founder of the hedge fund Greenlight Capital, for lunch with Buffett in 2003. Ted Weschler, a hedge fund manager, won the charity auction in , paying a combined total of over $5 million.
Key Takeaways
- Warren Buffett is bringing back his famed charity lunch as a new eBay auction, this time teaming up with Stephen and Ayesha Curry.
- Proceeds from the winning bid will be split between the Glide Foundation and the Curry family鈥檚 Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation.
- The online auction will run on eBay from the evening of April 7 to the evening of April 14 (PDT), with the top bidder allowed to bring up to seven guests to the lunch.
Warren Buffett鈥檚 legendary charity lunch is making a comeback 鈥 and this year, there鈥檚 an unexpected twist, reports.
Buffett will host the lunch alongside NBA star and two-time MVP Stephen Curry and his wife, author and entrepreneur Ayesha Curry. The fundraising auction will bring the investing legend and the celebrity couple together in one place, per CNBC.
鈥淭his event is about coming together again 鈥 in a new way 鈥 with people I admire, to support work that truly matters,鈥 Buffett said in a statement. 鈥淧artnering with Stephen and Ayesha to help launch something new in support of these communities is something I鈥檓 very happy to be part of.鈥