Strong Bidding for Warren Buffett Lunch In Last Day of Charity Auction

Bidding for next year's charity lunch with Warren Buffett has accelerated as the auction goes into its final day.

The high bid stands at $456,789 with less than 10 hours remaining until the eBay auction closes at 10p ET tonight (Friday.)

Bidding started at $25,000 last Sunday, passed $100,000 on Tuesday, and topped $400,000 this morning.

It's still short of last year's record $2.1 million, but the real action in eBay auctions typically comes in the final minutes of bidding.

There are doubts we'll see a new record this year, with the U.S. economy in a "shambles," as Buffett described it in a live CNBC interview Wednesday before hosting lunch for the person who bid that $2.1 million.

Still, there are also hopes. The beneficiary of the auction, San Francisco's Glide Foundation, notes to the WSJ's Digits blog that the pace of bidding is well ahead of last year.

But a spokesperson tells me she does not expect a new record high this year. "If we break what it did the year before last at $650,100 we will certainly be cheering!"

Hedge fund manager Zhao Danyang has no regrets about putting down over two million dollars to lunch with Buffett. He tells Fortune Magazine his fund has been up 600 percent over six years, thanks to a book he read about Buffett's investment strategy. "Over the last few years I made money. I contribute my success to Warren."

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