There are no free lunches – but there can be some very, very expensive ones. A Chinese gaming company tycoon is shelling out a cool $2.35 million for the privilege of lunching with Warren Buffett.
Buffett, 84, is currently the 2nd richest man in the world with an estimated net worth of $50 billion. Known as the Oracle of Omaha, he’s famous for his preternatural understanding of the stock market. There’s a whole legion of investors that follow his every move, and his stock picks can make or break companies.
Wall Street hopefuls therefore place a premium on picking his brains. Glide Foundation, the charity that conducts these lunches, said Zhu Ye, chairman of Beijing-based Dalian Zeus Entertainment Co, submitted the highest of 76 bids to win the five-day auction on eBay.
Ye will be able to invite up to 7 of his friends to dine with Buffet at the Smith & Wollensky steakhouse in Manhattan. In the hour-long lunch, Buffett will be willing to talk about basically everything, expect what stocks he’s going to buy or sell.
The charity has been running these lunches for over 10 years. The record for the highest amount paid for these lunches was in 2012, when an anonymous bidder had paid an astonishing $3.4 million to lunch with Buffett.