Anonymous bidder pays more than $600,000 for coffee with Tim Cook

[Shawn Knight]

An anonymous bidder has paid more than $600,000 to have coffee with Apple CEO Tim Cook. The opportunity, which will take place at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, comes as part of a charity auction hosted by Charity Buzz.

The winning bid came just minutes before the auction closed at 4 pm ET on Wednesday. In total, 86 bids were placed for the opportunity with a majority of them coming from companies that already do business with Apple or those that are hopeful of securing business ties with Cupertino.

The anonymous winner is allowed to bring along one guest, we’re told. Furthermore, they are required to sign a nondisclosure agreement and cannot tweet or liveblog during the meeting. The winning bidder and their guest will also be subject to a security screening.

Interestingly enough, the site valued the meeting at just $50,000 – they were just a bit off with that estimate. That’s a very good thing, however, as proceeds from the auction will benefit the RFK Center for Justice and Human Rights. The winner is responsible for paying for their own travel and lodging accommodations which, after shelling out $610,000 for the meeting, is just a drop in the bucket at this point.

One might think that 600k is an astronomical amount of money to pay for a brief meeting but in the business world, it’s actually a pretty solid deal. Just last year, someone paid $3.4 million to have lunch with billionaire investor Warren Buffett.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/52604-anonymous-bidder-pays-more-than-600000-for-coffee-with-tim-cook.html

 

[Guest]

Definition of more $$ than sense....

Only in Apple land

 

[cliffordcooley]

Only in Apple land

Apple is not the only business, didn't you read the last paragraph?

 

[MilwaukeeMike]

Only in Apple land

Apple is not the only business, didn't you read the last paragraph?

It's a charity thing... some extremely rich people give tons of money to charity anyway, may as well get something cool out of it for a change.

 

[Chazz]

I guess no one has heard of rapport and how important it is to build it in the business world. But most times it's impossible to even get into a situation that would allow you to even try, with the more "important" folks.

 

[NTAPRO]

3.4 million O_o

I underestimated the time is money phrase

 

[cliffordcooley]

It's a charity thing... some extremely rich people give tons of money to charity anyway, may as well get something cool out of it for a change.

This was not a charity, if it was there would not have been bidding involved. What pisses me off is how many work 10 years and never earn the equivalent to what was squandered away in one event. If there was anyone ever worthy of having their money taken from them, it would be those who do this kind of crap.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

This anonymous sucker really slipped up. I only charge $450,000 a pop. $500,000 if I have to pay for the coffee. Next time he'll ask me first.

 

[MilwaukeeMike]

It's a charity thing... some extremely rich people give tons of money to charity anyway, may as well get something cool out of it for a change.

This was not a charity, if it was there would not have been bidding involved. What pisses me off is how many work 10 years and never earn the equivalent to what was squandered away in one event. If there was anyone ever worthy of having their money taken from them, it would be those who do this kind of crap.

Are you serious? Auctions are used by charities all the time. The group hosting the auction asks for donations from businesses, and companies donate things like gift cards, or rounds of golf, or electronics etc, and then people can bid on them. Sometimes it's a silent auction, sometimes not, but it's done all the time. The donating company gets a tax write-off with advertising, the charity gets the cash, and the winning bidder gets the tax write-off and the item they won.

Google 'Charity Auctions' one of the hits on the first page is to the IRS page explaining how to handle them for taxes purposes.

 

[VitalyT]

Must be some good coffee... Kopi Luwak, I reckon... For the ones missing on the irony, see movie The Bucket List.

 

[Guest]

I bet it was Bill Gates. That way they can share memories of Steve.

 

[Guest]

Maybe it was N.Korea's president - he probably wants an app for communism.

 

[Jad Chaar]

If this was Steve jobs I would shell out a few hundred bucks, that is it though.

 

[TechSam]

3.4 million, wow I wouldn't need to ever work again but instead its spent on a few hours having lunch with someone.

 

[Guest]

1. "So Tim, can you explain Planned Obsolescence to me?"
2. "Why don't you just make one phone to rule them all instead of one every 10 months?"
3. "Does Apple care about electronic waste and landfill in any way other than fluffy statements?"

 

[Guest]

4. "Why does the worlds biggest manufacturer of electronic landfill have a misleading healthy sounding name like APPLE?'

 

[cliffordcooley]

Are you serious?

Yes I am.

 

[Guest]

Serious, but still wrong. If you clicked the "Charity Buzz" link in the article, you'd see:

"Proceeds Benefit: The RFK Center for Justice and Human Rights"

So charity auctions are real, whether or not you choose to believe they exist.

 

[Camikazi]

It's a charity thing... some extremely rich people give tons of money to charity anyway, may as well get something cool out of it for a change.

This was not a charity, if it was there would not have been bidding involved. What pisses me off is how many work 10 years and never earn the equivalent to what was squandered away in one event. If there was anyone ever worthy of having their money taken from them, it would be those who do this kind of crap.

Umm, lots of charities have auctions on big things to bring in more money and if you check their site Charity Buzz donates the money to charities. Charity Buzz just specializes on celebrity auctions and the money made goes to charities of b=different kinds.

 

[Chazz]

3.4 million, wow I wouldn't need to ever work again but instead its spent on a few hours having lunch with someone.

So they can make MORE money.

 

[cliffordcooley]

Umm, lots of charities have auctions on big things to bring in more money and if you check their site Charity Buzz donates the money to charities. Charity Buzz just specializes on celebrity auctions and the money made goes to charities of b=different kinds.

Say whatever you want, I will maintain my opinion that charities and auctions are two different events. The fact that they are combined into the same cause is irrelevant. If you have to auction off anything, then it really isn't a true charity is it, it's more of a sales event. But this has nothing to do with my primary standing on the issue. Anyone with enough money to purchase an auction item or give as a charity (especially if it's in the millions), deserve to have their money taken from them. But yet if you increase their taxes they scream bloody murder. And if you are going to argue that our taxes are not being spent properly, well thats a whole new conversation. The guy at the bottom is being taxed to the point they can't afford to give to charity, why not the guy at the top as well?

 

[MilwaukeeMike]

Say whatever you want, I will maintain my opinion that charities and auctions are two different events. The fact that they are combined into the same cause is irrelevant. If you have to auction off anything, then it really isn't a true charity is it, it's more of a sales event. But this has nothing to do with my primary standing on the issue. Anyone with enough money to purchase an auction item or give as a charity (especially if it's in the millions), deserve to have their money taken from them. But yet if you increase their taxes they scream bloody murder. And if you are going to argue that our taxes are not being spent properly, well thats a whole new conversation. The guy at the bottom is being taxed to the point they can't afford to give to charity, why not the guy at the top as well?

It's not a sales event, they auction things that were donated specifically TO auction and then they give the money to charity. However, if you want to deny that charity auctions exist, there's not much we can do to convince you otherwise.

Also, there's a pretty big difference between a rich person getting taxed and a rich person spending their money on an overpriced charity item. That difference is choice. If you can't see that difference, then perhaps the reason is because you feel that a persons earnings belong to the govt, and what we don't pay in tax is just what they let us keep. I believe what I earn is mine and the govt requires me to give some of it to them for the benefits they provide me with from my taxes. Hence, charity = choice, taxes = no choice.

And that guy at the bottom pays too much tax to give to charity, and yet they somehow always find money for lottery tickets. Either way, it's their choice and none of my business. I won't try to convince you that rich people pay more in taxes than poor people... you have access to the internet.

 

[cliffordcooley]

I won't try to convince you

And I won't try to convince you that everyone should be treated equally. Equally as in the same amount of income.

 

[MilwaukeeMike]

And I won't try to convince you that everyone should be treated equally. Equally as in the same amount of income.

Ah... now you're just trolling.... ya had me going there for a minute

 

[Guest]

With that price, will there be sex involved?