Lunch with Buffett? Auction hits $80,000

Want to lunch with legendary investor Warren Buffett? All it takes is a few mouse clicks on online market place eBay, though you should be prepared to shell out thousands of dollars for an invite.

An online auction for having luncheon with billionaire Buffett is already in progress and the highest bid stands at $80,000 at present.

The opening bid for the auction, which began on June 6, was $25,000. The auction will close on June 11 at 7:30 p.m. PDT (Pacific Daylight Time).

Buffett, the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, is famed for his successful investment strategies and is as well known for his personal integrity, the eBay website wrote.

The winner of the auction and seven others will get to dine with Buffett at the Smith & Wollensky steakhouse in New York. "100 per cent of the proceeds go towards the benefit of non-profit organisation Glide Foundation," the website stated.

The Glide Foundation is a San Francisco-based non-profit organisation that provides meals, health and child care, housing and job training for the poor and homeless.

The record amount which has been bid till now on the annual auction was $2,110,100 by Hong Kong-based investor Zhao Danyang in 2008.

Last year, Salida Capital Corp, a Toronto-based wealth management firm, had won the online auction for the power lunch with a $1,680,300 bid.

Previous auctions held by Buffett in favour of Glide Foundation in the past ten years have raised over $5.9 million.