An auction to have lunch with Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff to launch in early May
The lunch featured Berkshire Hathaway's Warren Buffett for many years
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A lunch with Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff will hit the virtual auction block in early May as a San Francisco-based nonprofit looks to raise funds.
Glide will field bids for the "Power of One Charity Lunch Auction" with Benioff from May 5-10, according to a Tuesday press release put out by eBay on the nonprofit’s behalf. It is working with the online marketplace to conduct the auction, like it has for many years.
"I’m humbled to continue my friend @WarrenBuffett’s legacy w/ the Power of One Charity Lunch," the billionaire Salesforce CEO said on X. "Thank you to @GLIDEsf for their great work to support our amazing city of SF. And I’ll always be grateful for the passion of Susie Buffett and leadership of Warren & Reverend Cecil Williams."
Marc Benioff, billionaire and co-CEO of Salesforce.com Inc., appears during a panel session on day two of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 18, 2023. (Stefan Wermuth/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
EBay and the nonprofit have set bidding at $25,000 to start. Whoever winds up winning will get a "memorable lunch for eight" with Benioff, the press release said.
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Glide had collaborated with Warren Buffett, the longtime CEO of Berkshire Hathaway and a billionaire investor, on the auctions for over two decades. The origins of the lunch trace back to his late wife, Susie.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BRK.B | BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC. | 469.58 | +0.67 | +0.14% |
| BRK.A | BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC. | 703,137.50 | -215.25 | -0.03% |
| CRM | SALESFORCE INC. | 325.67 | +2.33 | +0.72% |
The more than two decades of lunches with Buffett helped the non-profit bring in $53 million worth of funds for its "transformative programs and services that lift people out of poverty, hunger, and homelessness, and advance equity through systems change," according to the press release.
The total includes the "record-breaking" $19 million from 2022’s lunch auction. That year marked the last one Buffett planned to do, as FOX Business reported at the time.
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Buffett, who turned 93 in late August, said the lunch "is in the right hands" with Benioff.
Philanthropist Warren Buffett is joined onstage by 24 other philanthropists and influential business people featured on the Forbes list of 100 Greatest Business Minds during the Forbes Media Centennial Celebration at Pier 60 in New York City on Sept. (Daniel Zuchnik/WireImage / Getty Images)
"He is going to do a wonderful job improving on what I did over the years," the "Oracle of Omaha" said. "With Marc’s enthusiasm and commitment, along with GLIDE’s leadership and volunteers, GLIDE will be able to continue providing its vital services for San Francisco."
Both men have been active when it comes to philanthropy-related efforts over the years.
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Buffett has disbursed tens of billions in charitable contributions to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and a few nonprofits linked to Buffett’s family.
Meanwhile, Benioff has made donations for various causes, including the environment, homelessness and health care.