New York (AFP)
Justin Sun, a young American entrepreneur who is very active in cryptocurrency, has put $ 4.6 million on the table for lunch with the iconic billionaire Warren Buffett, one of the slayers of bitcoin.
Founder of TRON, a blockchain platform, technology on which cryptocurrencies rely, and boss of the BitTorrent streaming platform, Mr. Sun won the recent annual auctions for a luncheon with Mr. Buffett, according to a statement released Monday.
These auctions, which are in their twentieth edition, were organized by the eBay online business group on behalf of the NGO Glide, fighting against poverty in San Francisco. For example, Glide distributes free meals to the homeless.
Mr. Sun and Mr. Buffett will meet at the New York restaurant Smith & Wollensky, an address known for its steaks, where they will share a fully paid meal. Mr. Sun can invite up to seven people of his choice for this meal.
"I look forward to meeting a true pioneer of investment," said the happy winner, quoted in the statement. "I look forward to discussing with Warren Buffet the promise of the Blockchain and getting valuable tips from him as well as his views on entrepreneurship and how to make winning investments in the future."
Buffett, dubbed "the oracle of Omaha" by the financial markets, is known for his successful investments in US capital, ranging from Apple to Google through Coca-Cola, JPMorgan Chase or American Express.
He is, however, a virulent critic of cryptocurrencies, believing, for example, that investing in these currencies was "mere insanity" and calling bitcoin, the best known of all, "rat-poison".
The money Mr. Sun committed to go to Glide, which was supported by Susie, Buffett's first wife who died in 2004.
This year, the auction started at $ 25,000 on May 26 to close 5 days later to $ 4.6 million, a record. The precedent was $ 3.46 million.
In total, Buffett has raised more than $ 33 million for Glide through these auctions since 2000.
US financier Ted Weschler, who won the auction in 2010 and 2011, was eventually hired by Warren Buffett to manage the investment portfolio of his holding company Berkshire Hathaway.
? 2019 AFP