Tron founder Justin Sun has just won the opportunity to lunch with billionaire investor and philanthropist, Warren Buffett, as a part of the latter’s annual Charity Lunch event. Sun paid an incredible $4.5 million to secure the meeting with Buffett, who has organized the event 19 times before. Back in 2000, the winning bid was $25,000. The auction raises money for Glide, which helps San Francisco’s homeless and victims of domestic violence.
I officially announce I’ve won the record-setting 20th-anniversary charity lunch hosted by @WarrenBuffett. I’ll also invite #blockchain industry leaders to meet with a titan of investment. I hope this benefits everyone. #TRON #TRX #BTT #BitTorrent pic.twitter.com/EMZ4TMhgpR
— Justin Sun (@justinsuntron) June 3, 2019
Sun, who spoke about the bid and meeting in a lengthy open letter, said that he would bring other cryptocurrency insiders to the lunch – and several have already offered themselves for the occasion.
Sun says in the letter,
I look at the upcoming lunch with Buffett as an opportunity to seek mutual understanding and growth. To aid in the conversation and support the overall cryptocurrency and blockchain community, I will invite several industry leaders — with your input — to accompany me to New York City for the lunch.
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, whom Sun invited for the lunch, congratulated Sun on the bid, and said that he was doing his bit for pushing for adoption,
.@justinsuntron kindly invited me to go, but I can't make it. Too far. I guess that's like turning down $1,000,000, assuming 5 guys going, lol… But very much appreciated.
I would totally recommend inviting @APompliano.
Couple other thoughts: https://t.co/igVo03Ifzu
— CZ Binance (@cz_binance) June 4, 2019
Buffett, meanwhile, is well-known for being skeptical about Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, saying that they are not currencies, and even going so far as to call them “rat poison squared” and “a delusion.” He is not known for making tech investments, and despite the efforts of many in the space to convince him of crypto’s advantages, he remains doubtful about the market.
Sun says later,
I want to point out, though, that even one of the most successful investors of all times can sometimes miss a coming wave. Buffett has admitted he overpaid for a big investment food giant Kraft Heinz Co., while failing to realize the potential of the likes of Amazon.com Inc., Alphabet, the parent of Google and even Apple.
Sun will now have a chance to interact with the skeptic and change his mind, as will the others that he may bring to the lunch.
Buffett himself said in an email from his assistant,
I’m delighted with the fact that Justin has won the lunch and am looking forward to meeting him and his friends. We are going to have a good time, and Glide will use his contribution to help many thousands of people.
