Past winners from China say lunch was well worth it

BEIJING - Two Chinese business tycoons who attended previous Warren Buffett auction lunches called the experience informative and inspiring, according to earlier media reports.

Duan Yongping, a 50-year-old executive in the electronic appliance business, has attended Buffett's charity lunch twice. He said the lunch always includes seven to eight people, chatting for three hours. He was the winning bidder in 2006, paying $620,100, and again in 2008 when he put in a joint bid with Zhao Danyang.

"It would not be only the bidder who asks Buffett questions, and the topics can include investment, life and charity," Duan told the Chinese business website yicai.com. "We would also talk about golf, playing bridge and girlfriends," he said.