When Warren Buffett signs his name to something, it immediately gains value, amounting to $75,100.
That was the winning price made on Tuesday by an anonymous eBay user for a one-of-a-kind piece of art that featured a 26-inch Buffett autographed print with inspirational statements from the tycoon, like “Women make me optimistic about America.”
Girls Inc. of Omaha, the local affiliate of the national nonprofit organization that offers mentoring and support to girls and young women from low-income communities across the nation, will get 100% of the sale’s earnings. Girls Inc. of Omaha is Warren Buffett’s hometown chapter.
Motiva, an art technology company with its headquarters in Israel and which produced the artwork on Buffett’s behalf, managed the charity art auction. The quotation in question is from an interview Buffett gave to Yahoo Finance in 2018, during which he spoke about the #MeToo movement and the advantages of having more women in leadership positions.
“I think of doubling the talent that is effectively employed, or at least has the chance to be, [and] it makes me very optimistic about this country,” stated Buffett at the time.
Buffett has participated in charity auctions before. The chance to have lunch with the millionaire at a later time was up for auction in June, and the winning bidder paid $19 million in secret. It was the 21st and final time Buffett held an auction to raise money for the San Francisco-based charity Glide, and it was the highest price ever paid for the opportunity to dine with Buffett.
In the past, Buffett auctioned off two of his cars to raise money for Girls Inc. In order to raise $73,200 for the foundation in 2007, he put up a Lincoln Town Car for auction on eBay. In 2015, he auctioned off his Cadillac to generate an additional $122,500 for the organization.
The billionaire has long been a supporter of the charitable organization that was once known as the Girls Club of America. He won $2.2 million in a public bet that the S&P 500 will outperform hedge funds over a ten-year period, ending in 2018, and he gave that money to charity in 2018.
Happy Birthday Warren Buffett!
— Motiva Art (@motiva_art_) August 30, 2022
One of the greatest investors & most generous philanthropist turns 92 today!
Today, his signed Motiva will be auctioned off at 4pm PST/7pm EST.
Watch the live auction here:https://t.co/pkkSc6VFxq pic.twitter.com/CVo5uDBWE1
On Buffett’s 92nd birthday, Motiva’s auction came to a close. The art gallery wished the billionaire a happy birthday on Twitter and referred to him as “one of the greatest investors and most generous philanthropists[s].”
According to Bloomberg, Buffett’s estimated net worth as of right now is $99.4 billion. The nonagenarian billionaire has promised to donate 99% of his wealth before he passes away. Since 2006, he has already given around $45.5 billion to various charities in the form of Berkshire shares.