Steph Curry is already one of the NBA’s highest-paid stars, but a new charity auction just turned a private meal with the four-time champion into a multimillion-dollar event.
According to ABC News, an anonymous bidder paid $9,000,100 for a private lunch with Curry, his wife Ayesha Curry, and legendary investor Warren Buffett during a charity auction hosted on eBay. The lunch will take place next month in Buffett’s hometown of Omaha, Nebraska, with the winning guest allowed to bring up to seven additional attendees.
The auction revived Buffett’s long-running philanthropic lunch series, which began in 2000 and previously raised more than $53 million for San Francisco’s GLIDE Foundation. This year’s version also benefited the Currys’ Eat. Learn. Play. foundation, which funds literacy programs, meals, playground renovations, and youth sports initiatives in Oakland.
“We’re overwhelmed with gratitude for this opportunity, which reflects a shared belief that when different generations and institutions come together with purpose, we can create deeper and more lasting impact for the people who need it most,” the Currys said in a statement following the auction.
Buffett also agreed to personally match the winning bid, effectively doubling the fundraiser’s impact to more than $18 million.
Buffett’s charity lunches have historically attracted massive bids from wealthy entrepreneurs and investors. Starting in 2008, every winning offer topped $1 million, with the auction peaking at $19 million in 2022 before Buffett initially retired the concept. A later attempt to continue the fundraiser with Marc Benioff generated significantly lower totals, leading Buffett to relaunch the event this year alongside Curry.
The result adds another major business headline to Curry’s expanding off-court portfolio. Beyond basketball, the Golden State Warriors star has steadily built a reputation in venture capital, entertainment, and tech investing.
Curry has also been tied to AI infrastructure company Simplicity as the startup expanded its enterprise platform across real estate and travel sectors.
That business expansion became more visible earlier this month when Curry was linked to Palo Alto-based AI company Simplicity, which is building enterprise AI systems for real estate, travel, and other workflow-heavy industries. According to a recent company release, Simplicity’s platform is already powering deployments tied to major real estate brands, including Douglas Elliman and ONE Sotheby's International Realty.
Unlike traditional chatbot-style AI products, Simplicity says its technology is designed to autonomously execute tasks, including compliance workflows, transaction coordination, bookings, marketing generation, and client communications. “We build the engine once and deploy it across multiple verticals,” Simplicity co-founder and co-CEO Juraj Gago said in the release.
Curry’s investment activity has already included media, sports technology, and lifestyle ventures, but Simplicity positions him closer to enterprise automation and next-generation workflow systems.
The timing also comes during a transitional period for Buffett himself. The 95-year-old billionaire recently stepped down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway after leading the company for six decades, though he remains chairman.
Meanwhile, Curry continues balancing business expansion with basketball after returning from injury late in the season to help stabilize the Warriors’ playoff push.
