Buffett Charity Auction Hits $900,100, Ahead Of 2009 Pace

Warren Buffett's annual charity auction hit $900,100 early Thursday, well ahead of last year's pace with a day and a half remaining.

A single bidder twice increased the bid in increments of about $100,000 at 8 a.m. New York time, only to be topped by someone who had previously entered a higher provisional bid on the eBay Inc. (EBAY) auction. The winner gets to bring seven friends to a steak lunch with Buffett, the renowned investor who serves as chairman and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRKA, BRKB).

Last year, when the winning bid was $1.68 million, the contest stood at about $351,000 with 36 hours to go, and didn't cross $900,000 until about four hours remained.

The money goes to the Glide Foundation, a San Francisco charity that provides free food, health care, job training and shelters for battered women and the homeless. Glide served 931,551 meals to the needy last year, a 16% increase from 2008.

Buffett, 79 years old, first learned of Glide through his late wife, Susan, who volunteered there. The 10 previous auctions have raised about $6 million in total for the group, with more than half that amount coming in the last two years. The 2008 auction set a record when Zhao Danyang of Pureheart Asset Management in Hong Kong won with a bid of $2.11 million.

This year's contest lasts until the evening of June 11, when the last hour of bidding will be broadcast on a screen at a party thrown by Glide in San Francisco.

Eight bidders have submitted a total of 44 bids so far. Aspiring contestants must prequalify at http://www.glidelunchwithwarrenbuffett.com. The steakhouse where the annual lunch takes place, New York's Smith & Wollensky, pays $10,000 for the right to host the event.

Donations to the largest U.S. charities increased by a median rate of 14% in the first quarter, according to a data on giving compiled by the Chronicle of Philanthropy. The increase was helped by an outpouring of support for organizations raising money for Haitian earthquake relief after that disaster struck in January.

Buffett, ranked the world's third-richest man by Forbes, pledged the bulk of his massive fortune to charity in 2006. The largest recipient of his Berkshire stock is the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which combats disease and global poverty, and funds U.S. education initiatives. Foundations run by Buffett's family members also are getting funds.

-By Erik Holm, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2892; [e-mail]