Someone who is very rich and very eager to have lunch with Mayor Bloomberg plunked down an astonishing $185,000 for the opportunity yesterday in a thrilling online auction to benefit the Humane Society of the U.S.
That’s more than three times the $58,000 that George Clooney —- by some accounts, the handsomest man in Hollywood — commanded last month in a similar auction for the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Alliance.
“Eat your heart out, Clooney,” teased the mayor in a statement to The Post.
Bloomberg’s high roller beat out 48 others at http://www.charitybuzz.com in a frantic competition that saw the numbers skyrocket from a modest $21,000 at noon to $81,000 just past the scheduled 3 p.m. deadline.
As the bids kept jumping, so did the deadline. After a half dozen extensions, the gavel finally fell at 4:19 p.m. when no one was willing to go past $185,000, the price of a house in some parts of the country.
The auction began quietly three weeks ago, when Bloomberg’s lunch time was valued at a mere $25,000.
“After seven years in the charity auction business, this was one of the most exciting auctions I’ve ever witnessed,” declared Charitybuzz CEO Coppy Holzman.
“The whole office was watching,” recalled his spokeswoman, Gelnda Luft Felden.
She said only Bill Clinton has ever pulled in a higher bid, $255,000, for the right to shadow the former President for a single day in 2011.
By comparison, a meal with Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz fetched $25,900 yesterday. The chance to meet Oprah Winfrey at the final taping of her TV show drew $105,000 last year.
Officials said the mayor agreed for the first time to the celebrity auction at the behest of his younger daughter, Georgina, a fervent animal rights activist.
Under the rules, the winner gets to bring along three guests.
Luft said the winning bidder wanted to remain anonymous.
He was identified only as “an admirer of Mayor Bloomberg’s philanthropy and a vegan who supports The Humane Society and their efforts to stop cruelty to animals that society as a whole is oblivious to.”
It could take a while before lunch is served.
“Please note that it may take up to a year to schedule, based on availability,” cautioned the charity.