Whoever wins the charity auction to dine with billionaire Warren Buffett this year may get a bargain compared to the $2.1 million a Chinese investor paid last year.

The top bid on eBay early Friday afternoon was $475,100, but that is almost certain to grow before the auction ends Friday evening at 9 PM. Bidding typically heats up at the end as deadlines near.

Buffett auctions off one lunch annually and donates the proceeds to the Glide Foundation, which provides social services to San Francisco's homeless and poor.

Buffett, who is Berkshire Hathaway's chairman and chief executive, is primarily known for his investing success, but he's also known for philanthropy. He plans to gradually give most of his $36 billion fortune to five foundations.