Legendary investor, Warren Buffett’s annual charity lunch auction is now at $430,000 in the final day of the auction. The charity is for the Glide Foundation. While $430K is a nice amount for the charity, it doesn’t even compare to last year’s record of $2.63 million.
The weeklong auction was held on eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY) and attracted quit a few bids but the auction definitely started off slow. The winner, of course, will have a lunch will Warren Buffett at the Smith & Wollensky steakhouse in New York.
The 13 year old charity event has raised over $11 million for the Glide Foundation which serves the homeless. The charity is based in San Francisco and they serve meals to the homeless and needy in the city’s Tenderloin district.
Warren Buffett, one of the wealthiest people in the US, has already pledged the majority of his fortune to charity. Buffett made his fortune by turning Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) (NYSE:BRK.B) from a textile mill into an insurance, energy and railroad giant that has a market cap of around $200 billion. Buffett learned his investing skills from the founder of value investing, Ben Graham.
Over the past few years, Buffett has received some criticism for being too political and using his “power” to help promote political ideas. Whether you agree with this or not, Buffett has seen many different faces of the market and he would know what works and what doesn’t when it comes to government role in the markets. That’s why his opinions should be heard at least.
Earlier this year, Warren Buffett admitted that he has prostate cancer which has sent the financial world buzzing as to who will be Buffett’s successor. At this time, it is still relatively unknown as to who Warren Buffett will appoint to take over his role at Berkshire Hathaway. Regardless, I believe that Berkshire’s story doesn’t change but certainly it will be a tough day in the financial world to see Buffett step down.
The bottom line is that Warren Buffett is a great investor and business leader that uses his standing to help charity every year. Regardless of his political opinions or beliefs, that is a very kind gesture that shouldn’t be overlooked. Unfortunately, Buffett will have to step down one day but you can bet that he will put in a successor that is capable of leading Berkshire Hathaway.
