Lunch With Warren Buffett Goes for $3.5M

If this is how much lunch costs, one shudders to think of dinner. A private lunch with investor Warren Buffett was sold for $3.5 million yesterday, at a charity auction to help the homeless in San Francisco, reports the AP. While the Glide Foundation has raised $11.5 million over its past 13 auctions, it never had a bidding war like this one for the Buffett lunch.

Last year's winning bid for the Buffett lunch went for $2.6 million—paid for by a hedge fund manager (surprise, surprise). In fact, the last four winners have all topped $2 million. Buffett has been slowly giving away his fortune since 2006, much of it to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Past winners have often spent the long lunch talking about philanthropy, says Buffett, although last year's winner was hired by Buffett to help manage Berkshire Hathaway's investment portfolio. (More Warren Buffett stories.)