The cost of the average restaurant meal has risen 2.7 per cent in the past year, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, but if that looks steep against an economywide inflation rate of 1.1 per cent, it is nothing compared to the rising cost of lunching with Warren Buffett.
An anonymous bidder has paid $3,456,789 for a lunch date with the investment guru and founder of Berkshire Hathaway, some 47 per cent more than the winner of the charity auction last year.
Mr Buffett will meet the winning bidder and up to seven friends for an intimate meal, in what has become an annual tradition that has netted more than $23m in total for the San Francisco charity, Glide.