Warren Buffett is being forced to hear more about cryptocurrency.
Justin Sun, CEO of decentralized gaming platform Tron, spent $4.6 million in a charity auction held on eBay last week to win a “Power Lunch” with the billionaire investor. Sun will be able to take seven guests with him to the Smith and Wollensky Steakhouse, New York, to eat prime cuts of beef and discuss anything he wishes.
This is the very same Warren Buffett who has previously said Bitcoin is a “delusion,” “with no unique value” and has gone so far as to call it “rat poison squared.” Buffett has even specifically stated that—while his investment company Berkshire Hathaway probably has indirect investments—he has no intention to get involved with Bitcoin or blockchain technology in general. Will Justin Sun be able to change his mind?
“I’m looking forward to meeting a true pioneer in investing,” Sun said, in a press release, “I’m excited to talk to Warren Buffett about the promise of blockchain and to get valuable tips and insights from him about entrepreneurship and making bold bets on the future.”
This is the 20th consecutive year Buffet has held the charity auction. The winning bid of $4,567,888 was more than a million dollars than the previous record of $3,456,789, first made in 2012 and later equalled in 2016. Bidding for the private lunch started on Sunday, May 26 and closed on Friday, May 31—with a sudden flurry of last minute bids.
All proceeds of the charity auction will go to the Glide Foundation, a homeless charity focused on those living in the Tenderloin area of San Francisco. Buffett was introduced to the charity by his late wife Susie Buffett.
Prior to the announcement, Sun teased followers on Twitter that he had a 70 percent chance of winning “something huge and amazing”. Ever the marketer, Sun’s tease campaign on Twitter drove the price of his own coin TRX up 33 percent, while the price of Bitcoin stayed relatively stable. Not even Buffett has that kind of power.