Would most people rather have dinner with 27-year-old Hollywood actress Charlize Theron or lunch with a 72 year old man from Omaha, Nebraska? When the man in question is Warren Buffett, the legendary investor, he wins apparently wins hands down.
An eBay auction for lunch with Mr Buffett had yesterday attracted a top bid of $105,100 as a midnight deadline approached in New York. A similar charity auction for dinner with Ms Theron, now starring in the remake of The Italian Job, was a snip by comparison at $43,200, won, incidentally, by a man in California.
The lunch will take place in New York with up to eight guests between May 5 and 14 next year.
A venue has not been named, but bidders will no doubt hope for something a little swankier than Gorat's, the no-nonsense steakhouse patronised by Mr Buffett in Omaha. Despite being worth $30bn, he famously leads a modest life style.
Proceeds from the auction will go toward a San Francisco-based charity called the Glide Foundation, which provides services to homeless people.
A spokesman for eBay said charities turned to the online auction platform to reach a wider audience. "It enables them to go beyond their traditional mailing list or local backers," he said.
With 12 hours to go, the auction had attracted 120 bids and was being led by mysterious eBay user pabrai. EBay will not disclose the identity of its members.
For those who cannot quite afford to compete for lunch with the sage of Omaha, then there are alternatives. A number of auctions are running offering a date with Warren Buffett fans.
Elliot B. describes himself as a 28-year-old "nice guy" who "could use some cash". The lunch, he notes, "is Dutch, meaning you pay your half and I pay mine". The top bid so far was $6.50.
Mr Buffett fell from favour during the dotcom boom for his aversion to hi-tech stocks. But his "old fashioned" method of investing in companies for the long term has since won him new fans. He favours firms like Coca-Cola, which make products he says he understands and uses.
His annual meeting in Omaha attracts tens of thousands people from across the world who come to hear him speak and to mingle at one of the weekend's events.
