China's Dalian Zeus Entertainment offered US$2.35 million ($3.3 million) in an online charity auction to win a lunch meeting with investor Warren Buffett.
The developer of online video games was the high bidder when the week-long auction wrapped up at the weekend in San Francisco, the Glide Foundation, beneficiary of the annual event, said.
Buffett, 84, the chairman and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway, has raised more than US$20 million for Glide through the auctions. Glide provides meals, affordable housing and counselling for the poor in San Francisco. It is a source of "unconditional love" for the city's neediest residents, the billionaire investor said in a video.
"For him to believe in us is not even a compliment - it's an honour," said Janice Mirikitani, co-founder of Glide with her husband, Reverend Cecil Williams.
The bidding reached US$2,345,678 as of 7.30pm Friday in San Francisco, according to eBay. The US$3.46 million record for the event, now in its 16th year, was set in 2012 by an anonymous bidder. The winning offer last year was US$2.17 million.
