Lunch with Warren Buffett auctioned for the lowest in six years at just over a Million Dollars
Last year the winning bid was a record US $ 3.46 m
The winning bidder,yet to be disclosed,and seven friends will lunch with Buffett at his favourite Manhattan steakhouse Smith & Wollensky
The Annual Charity Auction is held on eBay with San Francisco based charity GLIDE receiving the proceeds to buffer it’s Annual Outlay of US $ 17 m to provide health and meal services to the area’s poor ~ It has so far collected US $ 15 m over 14 annual auctions
Twice the winning bidder in two recent consecutive years 2010 and 2011 when he bid US $ 2.63 m,Ted Weschler is now an Investment Manager with Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway
So why this surprising lower winning bid of just over a Million Dollars when there was great expectation that this year’s winning bid would surpass last year’s record of US $ 3.46 m !
What do you Think !? Any one of the 10 ‘Thinking Aloud’ reasons below or something else !?
My choice would be 1 ! ~ I don’t think even Warren Buffett would have paid US $ 3.46 m like last year to have lunch with himself ! ~ if he did he would not have been true to his own Value Investment Philosophy
- Finally Bidders are understanding Buffett’s own Lesson on Value vs Price !
- Law of Gravity at work
- USA finally realises it’s far far away from an Economic Recovery
- Warren Buffett’s allure is receding as Berkshire Shareholders realize that they have not gained in the last 13 years ~ Check out this March 2013 post of mine on my company website Warren Buffett’s Latest Investment Insights ~ but have BH Shareholders really benefited !? ~ 12-Mar-2013
- The Steak’s Quality at Smith & Wollensky was much better in earlier years ! and this time there may not be Starters and Dessert !
- Like Nasdaq on Facebook Listing Day,eBay too experienced technical glitches that rejected all bids over the winning bid of just over a Million Dollars ~ Upper Circuit Issues !
- All Bids were screened by FBI as a National Security Measure and as all Bids over the winning one were Anonymous they were rejected ~ this is a shift from the policy adopted till last year ~ Also SEC and IRS are tough on Insider Trading and it’s not as easy to make quick and big money, of which some part often goes to Charity to assuage any guilt pangs
- Berkshire Hathaway has stopped Hiring and therefore one would not get as lucky as 2010 and 2011 winner Ted Weschler who got a job with BH later
- This Year Warren Buffett,like happens at all BH Annual Shareholder Meetings in May, is insisting to showcase all BH businesses as stalls at the steakhouse and the winning bidder is obliged to buy from each and every one of the 100 !
- The Charity GLIDE has a ‘Call’ Clause inserted wherein if they fall short in their Collections of their Annual Outlay of US $ 17 m they can invoke this Clause and the Winning Bidder will have to donate the shortfall !