{"id":1638337,"date":"2026-04-03T09:44:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T13:44:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/observer.com\/?p=1638337"},"modified":"2026-04-03T10:08:30","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T14:08:30","slug":"warren-buffett-revives-charity-lunch-stephen-curry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/observer.com\/2026\/04\/warren-buffett-revives-charity-lunch-stephen-curry\/","title":{"rendered":"Warren Buffett Teams Up With Stephen Curry to Revive Charity Lunch Tradition"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Warren Buffett steps out of retirement to relaunch his iconic charity event with fresh purpose. Johannes EISELE \/ AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Warren Buffett, who turns 96 this summer, is bringing back his famed annual charity lunch<\/a> after a four-year pause. But this year, the format gets a refresh. The retired billionaire investor<\/a> is teaming up with the Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation (ELP), a Bay Area nonprofit founded by NBA star Stephen Curry and his wife, Ayesha.<\/p>\n

Buffett launched the annual charity lunch in 2000 to benefit San Francisco\u2019s GLIDE Foundation, a social justice nonprofit focused on fighting poverty and inequality. Except for two pandemic years, he maintained the tradition until 2022<\/a>, helping raise more than\u00a0$54 million<\/span>\u00a0over two decades. The event\u2019s highest winning bid came in 2022, when an anonymous donor paid a record-breaking $19 million.<\/p>\n

Following Buffett\u2019s hiatus,\u00a0Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff<\/span>\u00a0stepped in to continue the legacy<\/a>, raising\u00a0$1.5 million<\/span><\/a> for GLIDE in 2024. Now, Buffett is returning to host his first charity lunch since retiring as Berkshire Hathaway CEO in 2025.<\/p>\n

Bidding for the 2026 lunch opens\u00a0on eBay<\/span><\/a> on May 7, with a winner and seven guests invited to join Buffett and the Currys for a private experience in Buffett\u2019s hometown of Omaha, Neb. on June 24.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s partnership will split proceeds between GLIDE and ELP.<\/p>\n

Buffett said his initial hiatus began when he \u201cran out of gas\u201d at age 92. The recent passing of GLIDE co-founder Reverend Cecil Williams inspired him to bring the event back. \u201cAll he wanted was this to continue,\u201d Buffett told CNBC this week.<\/em>\u00a0He added that this year\u2019s revival aims to attract a younger partner who can carry on the tradition alongside the Currys.<\/p>\n

In an added show of generosity, Buffett announced that he will personally match this year\u2019s winning bid, dividing his contribution equally between GLIDE and ELP.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s 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,\u201d Chris Helfrich, President and CEO of the Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation, told Observer. \u201cBy 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\u2019re able to do for the communities we support.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Buffett praised the Currys\u2019 dedication to Oakland\u2019s youth, telling CNBC: \u201cThey 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Previous lunches often included GLIDE leaders and were held at Smith & Wollensky Steakhouse in New York City. This year\u2019s event will shift to a still-undisclosed Omaha location chosen by Buffett.<\/p>\n

Past winners<\/span><\/a>\u00a0of 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.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0prequalification form<\/span><\/a> with their name, address, occupation, social media handles and group affiliations. Bidding starts at $50,000, though past auctions have routinely surpassed $1 million.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Warren Buffett and the Currys will co-host a charity lunch in June in Omaha, with auction proceeds benefiting nonprofits GLIDE and Eat. Learn. Play.<\/p>\n Read More<\/a>","protected":false},"author":129757851,"featured_media":1638367,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"post_tag":[423892508,2282],"company":[423975407,424011400],"channel":[186,11896,423867838],"location":[],"nyo_column":[],"person":[423938437,15920,423980702,424011399,423952251,423952858],"nyo_post_hidden":[],"coauthor":[423982679],"class_list":{"0":"post-1638337","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"tag-charity","8":"tag-social-justice","9":"observer_company-berkshire-hathaway","10":"observer_company-glide-foundation","11":"channel-business","12":"channel-wealth","13":"channel-philanthropy","14":"nyo_person-stephen-curry","15":"nyo_person-warren-buffett","16":"nyo_person-ayesha-curry","17":"nyo_person-reverend-cecil-williams","18":"nyo_person-ted-weschler","19":"nyo_person-justin-sun"},"acf":{"homepage_position":"","homepage_title":"","homepage_excerpt":"","alternative_og_image":"","headline":{"seo_headline":""},"subheadline":{"optimized_seo_description":"","optimized_social_excerpt":""}},"apple_news_notices":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/observer.com\/2026\/04\/warren-buffett-revives-charity-lunch-stephen-curry\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":[],"rendered":"","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/observer.com\/p.js"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/observer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-1140985419.jpg?quality=80","coauthors_byline":"By Rachel Curry","display_channel":"","thumbnail":"\"A