This is How Much a Date With Ben Bernanke, Formerly the World’s Most Powerful Man, Costs

Want to talk quantitative easing and fiscal policy over cocktails with the man who held the financial balance of the world in his hands for the last several years? Too bad, he’s taken.

Some financial wonk out there just paid $70,500 for a lunch date with Ben Bernanke, former Federal Reserve chairman. Bernanke, who led the Fed from 2006 to 2014 and was TIME’s 2009 Person of the Year for his role in guiding U.S. policy during the financial crisis, donated his time through the website Charitybuzz. Proceeds from the meeting will benefit the RFK Center for Justice and Human Rights.

Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, another key player in the financial crisis, is a slightly less sought after lunch companion. His date went for $50,000, according to CNN Money.

Neither lunch price compares to the going rate for some private-sector bigwigs Charitybuzz has auctioned. Someone paid $610,000 to sip coffee with Apple CEO Tim Cook for 30 minutes.
[CNN Money]