By Ernestine Siu

Copyright cnbc

When it comes to charity auctions, offering meals with celebrities and top business leaders is a well-established practice, especially when the top 1% is in the room.

In 2022, a bidder paid over $19 million to dine with American investor and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett, to benefit a San Francisco charity. A Singaporean man also paid more than $2 million to have lunch with Buffett in 2014.

This auctioned experience with Tan was part of National Gallery Singapore’s 10th anniversary gala. More than SG$2.8 million was raised through the fundraising event held on Saturday, Sept. 13.

The funds raised from the event will be used to “advance the Gallery’s mission of making art accessible to all – from enabling new exhibitions, deepening curatorial research, and expanding programmes that engage children, seniors, and underserved communities,” according to a statement from the museum.

The auction, managed by Sotheby’s, took place at the gala and featured close to 90 “rare artworks and luxury experiences,” including an artwork by Chinese contemporary ink artist Li Huayi, which sold for SG$517,000, a record for an auctioned item at the Gallery.