Obama's inaugural a top prize in auction
| • | Obama childhood locales attracting more tourists |
By Patrick Cole
Bloomberg News Service
A handshake and photo opportunity with President-elect Barack Obama and a choice seat at one of his inaugural balls is one of the hottest prizes in the world of celebrity auctions.
The Obama meet and greet, which is being auctioned off to benefit the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation, has fetched a top bid of $62,500 since it was posted last month on www.CharityBuzz.com.
The bidding closes at 9:30 a.m. today Hawai'i time.
"Much of the activity occurs on the last day and the last few minutes," said Coppy Holzman, 53, CharityBuzz's chief executive officer. "You never know what the final price is going to be until the end."
By comparison, a one-hour private lesson with soccer star David Beckham at his Los Angeles academy, another experience offered on the site, has attracted a top bid of $40,000 with eight days to go. The highest bid for a meeting with former President Bill Clinton after one of his future speaking engagements is $7,500.
The New York-based Waxman foundation funds research to find ways to make cancer cells behave like normal cells, said Didi Lacher, the organization's director of strategic planning and marketing.
The Obama experience includes a photo session with the president-elect and Vice President-elect Joe Biden, admission for two to corporate functions and exclusive Republican and Democratic party events and VIP seats at an inaugural ball attended by Obama.
The winning bidder must be a legal U.S. resident (though U.S. citizenship isn't required) and will be screened and approved by the Secret Service, said Holzman, who will charge the foundation a fee for organizing the auction.
CharityBuzz, based in Westport, Conn., has conducted online and live auctions since 2005 to raise money for U.S. charities. Holzman said the company now has more than 25,000 registered bidders in 98 countries.
Holzman said he approached Obama's campaign officials in September about participating in the Waxman charity auction if the candidate were elected. After about two months of talks, Obama's representatives agreed.
