Warren Buffett, who turns 96 this summer, is bringing back his famed annual charity lunch after a four-year pause. But this year, the format gets a refresh. The retired billionaire investor is teaming up with the Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation (ELP), a Bay Area nonprofit founded by NBA star Stephen Curry and his wife, Ayesha.
Buffett launched the annual charity lunch in 2000 to benefit San Francisco’s GLIDE Foundation, a social justice nonprofit focused on fighting poverty and inequality. Except for two pandemic years, he maintained the tradition until 2022, helping raise more than $54 million over two decades. The event’s highest winning bid came in 2022, when an anonymous donor paid a record-breaking $19 million.
Following Buffett’s hiatus, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff stepped in to continue the legacy, raising $1.5 million for GLIDE in 2024. Now, Buffett is returning to host his first charity lunch since retiring as Berkshire Hathaway CEO in 2025.
Bidding for the 2026 lunch opens on eBay on May 7, with a winner and seven guests invited to join Buffett and the Currys for a private experience in Buffett’s hometown of Omaha, Neb. on June 24.
Traditionally, the lunch spotlighted Buffett himself. The new iteration, however, will center on a multigenerational, collaborative discussion between Buffett and the Currys. The couple founded ELP in 2019 to provide schoolchildren in Oakland, Calif. with nutritious meals, educational tools and sports opportunities. This year’s partnership will split proceeds between GLIDE and ELP.
Buffett said his initial hiatus began when he “ran out of gas” at age 92. The recent passing of GLIDE co-founder Reverend Cecil Williams inspired him to bring the event back. “All he wanted was this to continue,” Buffett told CNBC this week. He added that this year’s revival aims to attract a younger partner who can carry on the tradition alongside the Currys.
In an added show of generosity, Buffett announced that he will personally match this year’s winning bid, dividing his contribution equally between GLIDE and ELP.
“What’s so powerful about this moment is that it honors everything Warren has built while opening the door to what philanthropy can look like going forward,” Chris Helfrich, President and CEO of the Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation, told Observer. “By bringing Stephen and Ayesha into it, that impact expands in a very real way. It introduces new energy, new audiences and ultimately increases what we’re able to do for the communities we support.”
Buffett praised the Currys’ dedication to Oakland’s youth, telling CNBC: “They have a deep and sustained interest in helping the children of Oakland enjoy better futures and, in a big way, have given life to that belief. Stephen has not sought plaudits or, on any scale, funding from others.”
Previous lunches often included GLIDE leaders and were held at Smith & Wollensky Steakhouse in New York City. This year’s event will shift to a still-undisclosed Omaha location chosen by Buffett.
Past winners of the charity auction include Chinese crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun and hedge fund manager Ted Weschler, who later joined Berkshire Hathaway as an investment manager after winning in 2011.
Online bidding for the 2026 lunch begins May 7 at 7:30 p.m. PT and closes May 14 at the same time. Interested participants must complete a prequalification form with their name, address, occupation, social media handles and group affiliations. Bidding starts at $50,000, though past auctions have routinely surpassed $1 million.
