Marc Benioff lunch auction raises $1.5M for charity in first year post Warren Buffett
- The annual lunch auction, previously hosted by Warren Buffett, raised $1.5 million for charity in its first year without him.
- The winning bid of $200,100 was made for a private lunch with Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce.
- Despite the lower bid compared to previous years, the event was successful in raising funds for a good cause.
The winner of a private lunch with Marc Benioff bid $200,100. This may seem low compared to past bids for lunch with Warren Buffett, but the winner also pledged to donate $1.5 million to a charity for the homeless in California. The auction on eBay, which raises money for the Glide Foundation in San Francisco, ended on Friday night. This year, the prize was lunch with Benioff, who is the Chairman and CEO of Salesforce. Buffett had raised $53 million for Glide over more than 20 years of lunches. The winner of the lunch with Benioff chose to stay anonymous, similar to many winners of lunches with Buffett in the past. Buffett, who is 93 years old, decided that the 2022 auction would be his last as he reduced his public appearances. However, just last weekend, he spent the entire day answering questions from thousands of his shareholders at the annual meeting of his company, Berkshire Hathaway. The final auction with Buffett raised $19 million. The money raised from the auction will help Glide provide meals, healthcare, job training, rehabilitation, and housing for the poor and homeless. Although it is a small part of Glide's $31 million annual budget, it will still make a difference. Buffett became a supporter of the charity after his first wife introduced him to it. He admired how Glide gave hope to people in difficult situations. The Buffett auctions began in 2000 and took place every year until the pandemic caused a break for a couple of years. Since 2008, every winning bid for lunch with Buffett has been over $1 million.