Late Surge Sets Record for Warren Buffett Lunch

In the hours before bidding ended tonight on this year's auction for charity of a lunch with Warren Buffett, it looked like the Buffett meal bubble had burst. The high bid just after 5p Eastern was a bit over $300,000.

But when eBay's electronic gavel fell at 10p ET, the apparent winning bid was $650,100, topping last year's record $620,100 by $30,000. (The year before the winner paid $351,100.)

According to the site, eight bidders were in the running and it looks like the high bid was just $100 more than what the runner-up had on the table.

There's not too much information right now about the buyer. He or she goes by the eBay user name of 'mpabrai' and, based on one of his/her feedbacks, bought U2 concert tickets on the site two summers ago. (He or she also pays promptly, which will no doubt be a relief to the Glide Foundation, which gets 100% of the proceeds.)

If you're the bidder who lost out by a hundred bucks for this year's lunch, don't be too discouraged. It appears there's always the possibility of a second chance. Bloomberg reports that a Hong Kong businessman whose bid also fell $100 short last year will get to sit down for a meal with Mr. Buffett anyway, after promising to make a donation of an "undisclosed" amount.

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