Buffett Auctions Autographed Ice Cream Spoon to Aid Children's Hospitals
Warren Buffett, who raised a record $2.63 million last month in an auction for his charity lunch, has autographed a five-pound ice-cream spoon that will be sold to the highest bidder to raise funds for children’s hospitals.
Bidding for the oversized spoon, sponsored by the Dairy Queen unit at Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc., is run by EBay Inc. and will be held through July 30, according to a Business Wire statement distributed today by the ice-cream company and the Children’s Miracle Network. The top bid for the spoon was $2,357 as of 4:15 p.m. in New York.
Buffett, the world’s third-richest person, has promised to give 99 percent of his fortune to charity. Buffett’s chosen charities include programs to ease world hunger, boost education in the U.S. and promote access to abortions. Last month he announced an effort to coax fellow billionaires into committing at least half their wealth to philanthropy.
“Fate’s distribution of long straws is wildly capricious” Buffett wrote in a letter on Fortune’s website last month saying the rich have a special responsibility to aid the needy.
He made his largest donation since the 2008 financial crisis this year, giving $1.6 billion to the foundation established by Bill Gates.
Buffett has held 11 auctions in which the winning bidder and guests get to lunch with him. This year’s lunch bid surpassed the previous record of $2.11 million in 2008.
To contact the reporter on this story: Inyoung Hwang in New York at Ihwang7@bloomberg.net
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