Warren Buffett's car sells for 73,200 dollars on eBay

NEW YORK, Sep 23 (Reuters) Billionaire Warren Buffett's 2001 Lincoln Town Car fetched 73,200 dollars at a charity auction held on eBay Inc.'s Web site.

Proceeds will benefit Girls Inc., a nonprofit New York group that offers educational and recreational programs for girls ages 6 to 18 in high-risk, underserved areas such as inner cities. Buffett's daughter Susan sits on the Girls Inc.

board.

According to eBay, the winning bidder was ''Bill Zanker,'' whose successful bid topped a 73,100 dollars bid by ''Maxcjb.'' The apparent winner did not immediately return an e-mailed request for comment.

Arguably the world's most famous investor, Buffett is chairman of Omaha, Nebraska-based holding company Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Forbes magazine this week placed his net worth at 46 billion dollars, ranking him as the second-richest American, after Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates.

The winning bid in the 10-day auction compares with the 93,690 dollars it costs to buy a Class ''A'' share of Berkshire, based on yesterday's close.

It also contrasts with the 620,100 dollars that Yongping Duan, a Palo Alto, California investor, agreed to pay in June to win a steak lunch for up to eight people with Buffett in another eBay charity auction.

Buffett's Signature series Town Car has a light gold exterior and 14,000 miles on the odometer. The deal includes the car's ''THRIFTY'' license plate, and Buffett will don a chauffeur's cap and take the winning bidder from Omaha's airport to pick up the car.

Buffett stopped driving the car last spring when he bought a Cadillac DTS. An earlier auction of his wallet fetched 215,000 dollars for Girls Inc, Buffett has said.

In June, Buffett pledged the bulk of his fortune to the Bill&Melinda Gates Foundation. Bill Gates is the world's richest person and a Berkshire director.

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