Warren Buffett's early childhood house sold for a premium price, and it's headed for a charitable use.
That's because the buyer is John Morgan, the Minneapolis businessman who in past auctions paid $100,000 for a portrait of Buffett and $210,000 for Buffett's wallet to benefit Girls Inc., Morgan's favorite charity.
"I wanted to make sure it didn't fall into the wrong hands," Morgan said of the house. "Now the fun begins."
An anonymous bidder agreed Friday to pay more than $2.6 million for a lunch with billionaire investor Warren Buffett, offering a final amount after the auction closed that topped last year’s bid that set a record for the most expensive charity item ever sold on eBay.
All proceeds go to the Glide Foundation, which provides social services to the poor and homeless in San Francisco.
Billionaire Warren Buffett said philanthropists must be prepared for some efforts to fail, and that major charitable initiatives are taking too little risk if they meet their goals every time.
“Intelligent charity, big-time charity should tackle things where it’ll fail,” Buffett, 80, said Tuesday at a press conference in Bangalore, India. “If you succeed in everything you’re doing in charity, you’re attempting things that are too easy.”
BEIJING - Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates and billionaire investor Warren Buffett plan to sell the art of giving to China's super rich in a visit later this month that's already sparked some soul searching among the world's second-largest number of billionaires. Reactions to Gates and Buffett's trip have been swift and varied: One prominent Chinese philanthropist quickly pledged his entire fortune to charity, while the head of a private foundation said Chinese businesses should be leery of emulating American-style charity donations before essential corporate standards such as worker's rights are improved.
November 11, 2009, The New York Times — AFTER years in the shadows, the everyday donor is emerging as philanthropy’s newest hero, the driver of a more down-to-earth approach to charity. Sure, Bill and Melinda Gates, Warren Buffett, Bono and other celebrity mega-donors still have their place, but now high-profile charities are homing in on smaller donations, while new charities are being organized around the principle of modest giving.
SEATTLE, August 12, 2009 — Thrive by Five Washington and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today announced $8 million in new, joint funding to support two community partnerships that were launched last year and show progress in helping prepare children to enter kindergarten ready to learn. Research shows that kids who have access to high-quality early learning experiences are more likely to be successful in school and life.
