Which San Francisco foundation benefits from Warren Buffett's annual lunch auction?

The San Francisco foundation that benefited from Warren Buffett’s annual lunch auction was Glide Foundation. The charity received proceeds from Buffett’s “Power Lunch” auctions, which offered winning bidders the chance to dine with him and discuss investing, business and life.

Glide serves people experiencing poverty and homelessness in San Francisco through meals, housing support, healthcare, counseling and other services. Buffett’s connection with the organization began with the lunch auctions hosted through eBay. The first auction was held in 2000, and the event continued for more than two decades before the 2022 auction was announced as the grand finale.

The sums grew dramatically over time. Early winning bids were measured in tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars; later auctions reached millions. The 2022 finale produced a record $19,000,100 bid, bringing the auctions’ cumulative proceeds to more than $53 million. A common mix-up is confusing Glide with the restaurant where the lunch traditionally took place: Smith & Wollensky hosted the meal, but Glide was the charitable beneficiary.