股神巴菲特將再次拍賣慈善午餐
Warren Buffett is again auctioning a steak lunch to benefit a San Francisco charity, after last year's bidding failed to generate a record bid for the first time since 2004.
The 11th annual auction benefits the nonprofit Glide Foundation in San Francisco's Tenderloin district, which offers meals, health and child care, housing and job training for the poor.
Last year Salida Capital Corp, a Toronto-based wealth management firm, won the right to dine with the world's third-richest person with a $1,680,300 bid. That was below the record $2,110,100 bid in 2008 by Hong Kong-based investor Zhao Danyang.
Known for its lively Sunday morning services including gospel music, Glide said it has struggled with the nation's economic troubles, with donations falling nearly 20 percent.
The Rev. Cecil Williams, 80, who founded Glide and leads its affiliated church, said in an interview that Buffett's lunch covers about one-tenth of Glide's $17 million annual budget.
"Our lines for help are much longer this year than they've been in almost any year," Williams said. "We are so proud that we have not had to close the doors on people to say 'we have no more.' That's why Warren Buffett's dedication and commitment every year to Glide is so significant."
The auction will be held on eBay Inc's website from June 6 to June 11. The winner and up to seven others will dine with Buffett at the Smith & Wollensky steakhouse in New York. Previous auctions have raised more than $5.9 million.
Buffett is the world's third-richest person, worth $47 billion according to Forbes magazine. He built his fortune through his Omaha, Nebraska-based insurance and investment company Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
“股神”沃倫•巴菲特將再次拍賣慈善牛排午餐，爲舊金山一家慈善機構籌集資金。去年，他的慈善午餐拍賣價自2004年以來首次未能創歷史新高。
這將是巴菲特第11次拍賣慈善午餐，此次拍賣的受益方是舊金山田德隆區的非贏利機構格萊德基金會。該基金會主要爲窮人提供食物、醫療、兒童保健、住房和就業培訓服務等。
去年，總部位於多倫多的財富管理公司——賽利達資本集團以168.03萬美元的價格中標，贏得與這位全球第三大富豪共進午餐的機會。該價格低於2008年香港投資商趙丹陽211.01萬美元的中標價。
格萊德基金會稱，由於美國經濟陷入困境，其所收到的捐款減少了近20%。格萊德基金會以其生動的早禱告禮聞名，儀式上還會播放福音音樂。
該基金會的創始人、其所附屬教堂的負責人、80歲的雷夫•塞西爾•威廉姆斯牧師在一次訪談中說，巴菲特午餐的收益佔格萊德基金會1700萬美元年度預算的約十分之一。
威廉姆斯說：“今年我們需要幫助的人超過以往任何一年。但讓我們感到自豪的是，我們可以不將人們拒之門外，告訴他們‘我們已經沒的可給了’。這就是爲什麼沃倫•巴菲特每年對格萊德的捐助如此重要的原因。”
這次拍賣將於6月6日到11日在易趣網上進行。中標者可偕同其他最多七個人與巴菲特在紐約的史密斯與沃倫斯基牛排館共進午餐。往年巴菲特午餐所拍得的善款已超過590萬美元。
據《福布斯》雜誌統計，巴菲特是全球第三大富豪，個人資產達到470億美元。他的財富主要來源於他總部位於內布拉斯加州奧馬哈市的伯克希爾·哈撒韋保險與投資公司。
Vocabulary:
morning service: 晨禱禮拜
affiliated: closely connected to or controlled by a group or an organization 隸屬的
