Charity Auction Bids for Coffee With Tim Cook Pass $500,000

With a flurry of activity today, bidding on the charity auction for a coffee meeting with Tim Cook at Apple's headquarters has passed $500,000, nearly doubling the previous record for a CharityBuzz "experience" auction set last year when a bidder paid $255,000 to spend a day with Bill Clinton.

coffee_cook_500k
The bid list seems to be a combination of serious bidders and those likely simply seeking visibility for their names or brands and relying on the fact that there are 18 days left to bid to hope that they won't actually win the auction. CharityBuzz notes in its FAQ that all bids are legally binding and can not be retracted.

Can I retract a bid?

No, and we’re pretty strict about this. Here’s the legalese: All bids placed on the Charitybuzz website are legally binding. If you are the successful bidder, you will enter into a legal contract to purchase the item and will be considered the buyer of the lot. Please consider your bids carefully before placing them.

The auction for coffee with Cook, which is part of a group of roughly 100 celebrity auctions supporting the RFK Center for Justice & Human Rights, will see the winner and a guest travel at their own expense to Apple headquarters to meet with Cook for 30-60 minutes over coffee on a mutually agreed upon date.

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Top Rated Comments

TimeSquareDesi Avatar
167 months ago
That's some serious cheddar. You can almost purchase a Retina MBP with that sorta cash :D
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Chuck-Norris Avatar
167 months ago
hopefully Tims buying coffee lolz
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Nightarchaon Avatar
167 months ago
If i were Tim, id just outbid everyone and have a quiet lunch
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Ryth Avatar
167 months ago
People pay this and more to meet for lunch with other folks - Buffet comes to mind. The insight can be invaluable although I'm not too sure what insight from Cook is worth... Too early on in his tenure, IMO, to conclude this...

1985-1997: 12 years in IBM's personal computer business as the director of North American Fulfillment.
1998 - 2007: Apple Senior Vice President for Worldwide Operations
2007 - current: Apple COO

Yah...he literally has no insight...27 years in the industry in key positions, of the two biggest computer companies...you're TOTALLY right.

/s
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Jsameds Avatar
167 months ago
Overpriced. There are cheaper and better-specced people to have a cup of coffee with on the market.

;)
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
maflynn Avatar
167 months ago
That's crazy, there's no way meeting with a CEO (any ceo) is worth that much money.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)