Power lunch with Buffett fetches record $2.6m

Warren Buffett’s annual charity lunch auction raised a record $2.63m, following a week of bidding after the winner offered extra cash to break the record.

The revised winning bid for a steakhouse meal with 80-year old billionaire the Sage of Omaha beat by $100 the record set last year by an unidentified donor, according to Bloomberg.

This year’s contest is the 12th benefiting San Francisco’s Glide charity. The victorious bidder, who had won the auction earlier with a pledge of $2.35m, was not immediately identified.

Past winners have said they were motivated to bid by Buffett’s stature and the charitable cause their funds support.

Greenlight Capital Inc.’s David Einhorn, who won the 2003 auction with a $250,100 bid, said at the time he wanted to “learn from the master”.

Guy Spier of Aquamarine Funds LLC said he has used his recognition as winner in 2007 to open doors to new business contacts, Bloomberg reports.