Lunch with Warren Buffett worth $1.68M US to Toronto firm

Toronto-based hedge fundmanagerSalida Capital paid $1.68 million US to have lunch with billionaire investor Warren Buffett.

Salida won the annual charity auction on eBay, held in June, for a lunch for eight with the Oracle of Omaha, Buffet's nickname. The proceedsgo to the Glide Foundation,which helps the poor in San Francisco.

Glide announced the winner Wednesday.

"Lunch with Warren Buffett is something we have always had on our 'dream list,"' said Salida CEO Courtenay Wolfe. She said she willbring some of the firm's biggest backers to the lunch at New York's Smith & Wollensky restaurant.

The firm's bid wasless than the record-setting $2.1 million paid last year by Zhao Danyang, of Pureheart China Growth Investment Fund.

But as Salida is 10 years old this year and hasbounced back from the 2008 market meltdown, it was a good time to bid, she said.

Salida's multi-strategy fund is up 83.4 per cent so far this year, after losing 66.5 per cent in 2008, according to the company's website.

"We are our largest investors" with partners and employee capital making up "a significant portion" of Salida's assets under management.