The mystery bidder has eased past the previous record in 2008, when hedge fund manager Zhao Danyang of Hong Kong won it for $2.11m. The lucky winner will join Warren Buffett for a business lunch at Smith & Wollensky steakhouse on New York’s Third Avenue. The Sage of Omaha auctioned his time in aid of a San Francisco charity favoured by his first wife Susan, who died in 2004. This year’s auction brought in 25 per cent more than any bid in the previous ten annual auctions.