--- description: 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... title: This is How Much a Date With Ben Bernake Costs image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta2127bcfd186eedb/69868f51810bbb8b8cc91933/463007843.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Leaders](/tag/leaders/) ## Leaders Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # This is How Much a Date With Ben Bernanke, Formerly the World's Most Powerful Man, Costs by [Victor Luckerson](/author/victor-luckerson/) ## Victor Luckerson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 14, 2014 4:12 PM CUT  <> on January 16, 2014 in Washington, DC. <> on January 16, 2014 in Washington, DC.Alex Wong—Getty Images by [Victor Luckerson](/author/victor-luckerson/) ## Victor Luckerson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 14, 2014 4:12 PM CUT 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](http://content.time.com/time/person-of-the-year/2009/ "undefined") 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. \[[CNN Money](http://money.cnn.com/2014/05/13/investing/bernanke-geithner-lunch-auction/index.html "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/99189/ben-bernanke-date/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/99189/ben-bernanke-date/"},"headline":"This is How Much a Date With Ben Bernanke, Formerly the World's Most Powerful Man, Costs","datePublished":"2014-05-14T16:12:46.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:49:54.808Z","description":"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...","url":"https://time.com/99189/ben-bernanke-date/","keywords":["Leaders","Dating","Auctions","Charity"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta2127bcfd186eedb/69868f51810bbb8b8cc91933/463007843.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Victor Luckerson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/victor-luckerson/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta2127bcfd186eedb/69868f51810bbb8b8cc91933/463007843.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Ben Bernanke Gives Speech At Brookings Institution In Washington","caption":"Ben Bernanke Gives Speech At Brookings Institution In Washington","creditText":"Alex Wong—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/leaders/","name":"Leaders"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/99189/ben-bernanke-date/","name":"This is How Much a Date With Ben Bernanke, Formerly the World's Most Powerful Man, Costs"}}]}] ```