Early bids for final charity lunch with Buffett top $3M

Category: Business

Listening

Unlocking Word Meanings

Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.

  1. bidding / ˈbɪd ɪŋ / (n.) – the act of offering a specific amount of money to pay for something
    Example:

    We saw heavy bidding on the jewelry taken back from the sunken ship.


  2. drive (something) up / draɪvʌp / (phrasal v.) – to cause prices to go up quickly
    Example:

    The war drove gasoline prices up.


  3. pick (someone’s) brain / pɪk breɪn / (idiom) – to ask an expert for useful information or advice
    Example:

    I went to a farmer to pick his brain on how I can grow some vegetables in my own yard.


  4. eclectic / ɪˈklɛk tɪk / (adj.) – having different kinds of things from various sources
    Example:

    This restaurant has an eclectic menu. It serves many dishes from countries around the world.


  5. assortment / əˈsɔrt mənt / (n.) – a group of different types of things or people
    Example:

    There’s a popular store downtown that sells an assortment of wines and beers.


Article

Read the text below.

Bidding for a final, private lunch with Warren Buffett, an event that has raised tens of millions for a California charity, has already topped $3 million.


It will be the first private lunch offered with the billionaire since a record-setting bid in 2019. The past two auctions were called off due to the pandemic and Buffett has said this will be the last.


The online auction that raises money to support the Glide Foundation’s work to help the homeless in San Francisco began on June 12 and continued through June 17.


So far only four bidders have participated and driven the price up to $3,000,100, but the biggest bids don’t usually come until closer to the end of the eBay auction. Bidding during the last event reached an unprecedented $4,567,888.


Buffett has raised nearly $34.5 million for Glide since the auction began in 2000. Many of the past winners paid high prices for the chance to pick Buffett’s brain about investing and talk about life lessons with the 91-year-old.


Glide earned Buffett’s support when his first wife, Susie, introduced him to the charity after she started volunteering there. He has said Glide impressed him with the way it helps people in difficult situations find hope again in life. Glide provides meals, health care, job training, rehabilitation and housing support to the poor and homeless.


Buffett’s Omaha, Nebraska, conglomerate, Berkshire Hathaway, owns an eclectic assortment of more than 90 companies including BNSF railroad, Geico insurance, several major utilities and a number of manufacturing and retail businesses. Berkshire also holds major stock investments in Apple, Bank of America, Chevron, Coca-Cola and other companies.


This article was provided by The Associated Press.


Viewpoint Discussion

Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.

Discussion A

  • Many past winners joined the auction to pick Buffett’s brain about investing and talk about life lessons. If you were one of the winners, what would you discuss with him? Why? Discuss.
  • If you have a chance to have dinner and talk with a famous CEO in your country, who would it be? Why? Discuss.

Discussion B

  • One of the bidders’ goals for joining the auction is to get a chance to learn about investing and other life lessons from Buffett. Do you think it’s important to have a mentor or adviser? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • If you were given a chance to become a mentor or an adviser to someone younger than you, what kind of advice would you be willing to share with him/her (ex. financial advice, career advice, etc.)? Discuss.