OMAHA (AP) – The auction of a high-tech portrait of Warren Buffett didn’t come close to matching the USD19 million someone paid earlier this year for a private lunch with the billionaire, but it still raised USD75,100 for one of his favourite charities.
The eBay auction wrapped up on Tuesday evening on Buffett’s 92nd birthday. The portrait created by Motiva Art features a grid of letters over the picture that light up to spell out 11 of the Berkshire Hathaway CEO’s best-known quotes including, “It’s only when the tide goes out that you learn who has been swimming naked.”
A previous portrait of Buffett painted by performance artist Michael Israel in 10 minutes outside the Berkshire annual meeting attracted a USD100,000 price in 2008.
The lunch auction Buffett has done for years to benefit the Glide Foundation that helps the homeless in San Francisco always attracts big bids because it offers exclusive access to the investor who is willing to answer almost any question except what he might buy next. This year’s auction generated a remarkable amount of money because Buffett said it was going to be the final one.
But he has auctioned off a number of unusual items over the years to benefit Girls Inc of Omaha, which provides educational, cultural and recreational programmes for young women in Buffett’s hometown. That non-profit will get all the proceeds from this week’s art auction.
