America’s most successful investor is auctioning off his 2006 Cadillac DTS at a charity auction.
The car is worth around $12,000 at the going market rate, but then again this isn’t any old Cadillac. The fact that it was owned and driven by the Oracle of Omaha means that it is expected to sell for far more. The last time that Warren Buffett sold one of his cars it sold for three times its ordinary value, writes Peter Valdes-Depena of CNN.
Signed by Warren Buffett himself
The beige 2006 DTS is powered by a 275-horsepower V8 engine, but the most distinctive feature of this particular model is that Buffett has signed the glove compartment. Proceeds from the auction will go to Girls Incorporated of Omaha, which used to be part of the Girls Club of America. Buffett’s first wife Susan was among the founders of the Omaha Girls Club, and she sadly passed away in 2004.
Buffett maintains that he didn’t have any particularly exciting stories involving the car, but he did joke: “If I was 16 or 17 I would have had a few memorable moments it the car.”
Neither did the DTS play host to any major business deals, except for the one that saw it become obsolete. Buffett tells of how he was driving to lunch with General Motors CEO Mary Barra, and she managed to sell him a new Cadillac on the 8 minute journey.
Warren Buffett’s consistent charitable work
Previous charity auctions involving Warren Buffett include a lunch date with him that sold for $2.2 million, with the money going to San Francisco-based anti-poverty group The Glide Foundation. The car is unlikely to sell for anywhere near that figure, because it cannot recount the secrets of Buffett’s business success as the man himself could have done over that pricey lunch.
Warren Buffett is currently winning a bet that he made with New York-based money management firm Protégé Partners, which will see at least $1 million paid to Girls Incorporated of Omaha if he does eventually win.
For those of you interested in owning a piece of celebrity memorabilia, or simply contributing to a good cause, the online auction can be found here. The auction will end on February 18.
