Tim Cook Coffee Meeting Charity Auction Hits $100,000

Charity auction site CharityBuzz kicked off a charity auction for a cup of coffee with Tim Cook this morning and the listing, which has an estimated value of $50,000, went from $5,250 to $100,000 in a matter of hours.

bids
Here are our best guesses of the identities of the top contenders vying to win a coffee date with Cook:

owclarry - Larry O’Connor, the founder and CEO of Other World Computing, a company that provides computer upgrade products and services for Macs. "We would love the opportunity to sit down with Tim and maybe get some insights on where the future lies in his eyes," he told MacRumors.

rory.oneill3 (now charitybidder10) - Rory O’Neill, Vice President of Product & Channel Marketing at BlackBerry.

PasswordBox.com - PasswordBox is a secure password management app which is currently restricted to VIP members only and is available on a wait list basis. Its CEO and co-founder is Daniel Robichaud.

USocketUSBOutlet - U-Socket is an AC receptacle with two built-in USB ports, produced by FastMac, so this bidder is likely someone from the company.

stephen.gill.777 - Stephen Gill, an online marketing executive and co-founder of Leadnomics.

BGStucki - Brian Stucki, Owner of Macminicolo, a Mac Mini colocation service that stores users Mac minis in data centers for use as servers.

At the moment, Other World Computing founder Larry O'Connor, who has been actively bidding throughout the day has the winning bid. Prolific bidder O'Neill previously had the username rory.oneill3, which has now been changed to charitybidder10.

While we have confirmed that Stucki and O'Connor are the bidders behind their usernames, the remaining guesses are based on usernames that match up with known people in tech.

The auction, which ends on May 14, will allow two attendees to spend 30–60 minutes with Cook at Apple Headquarters in Cupertino. Proceeds will benefit the RFK Center for Justice & Human Rights.

Update: We have received an email alleging that the Rory O'Neill bidding in the auction is not affiliated with BlackBerry.

Update 2: The Charitybuzz website appears to utilize Facebook logins (thanks, Johan!) which means some usernames correlate to Facebook usernames. That suggests Rory O’Neill is not the same Rory O’Neill who works at BlackBerry. Bids have now reached $155k, with Sebastijian Bauman in the lead.

Popular Stories

AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Friday April 18, 2025 5:16 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
CarPlay Hero

Apple Releases Wireless CarPlay Fix

Wednesday April 16, 2025 11:28 am PDT by
If you have been experiencing issues with wireless CarPlay in your vehicle lately, it was likely due to a software bug that has now been fixed. Apple released iOS 18.4.1 today, and the update's release notes say it "addresses a rare issue that prevents wireless CarPlay connection in certain vehicles." If wireless CarPlay was acting up for you, updating your iPhone to iOS 18.4.1 should...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday April 17, 2025 4:12 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
Beyond iPhone 13 Better Triad

Apple's 20th Anniversary iPhone May Finally Go All Screen

Tuesday April 15, 2025 6:31 am PDT by
Apple is preparing a "bold" new iPhone Pro model for the iPhone's 20th anniversary in 2027, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. As part of what's being described as a "major shake-up," Apple is said to be developing a design that makes more extensive use of glass – and this could point directly to the display itself. Here's the case for Apple releasing a truly all-screen iPhone with no...
maxresdefault

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Sunday April 13, 2025 7:52 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and ...
iOS 19 Roundup Feature

iOS 19 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Tuesday April 15, 2025 7:37 am PDT by
The first iOS 19 beta is less than two months away, and there are already a handful of new features that are expected with the update. Apple should release the first iOS 19 beta to developers immediately following the WWDC 2025 keynote, which is scheduled for Monday, June 9. Following beta testing, the update should be released to the general public in September. Below, we recap the key...
top stories 2025 04 19

Top Stories: iPhone 17 Pro Rumors, CarPlay Bug Fix, and More

Saturday April 19, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
This week saw rumor updates on the iPhone 17 Pro and next-generation Vision Pro, while a minor iOS 18.4.1 update delivered not just security fixes but also a fix for some CarPlay issues. We also looked ahead at what else is in Apple's pipeline for the rest of 2025 and even the 20th-anniversary iPhone coming in 2027, so read on below for all the details on these stories and more! iPhone 17 ...
Apple TV Plus Feature 2 Magenta and Blue

Apple TV+ Available at Significantly Lower Price Until Next Week

Friday April 18, 2025 11:42 am PDT by
Apple TV+ is currently available at a much lower price than usual, but time is running out if you want to take advantage of the offer. In the U.S., new and qualified returning customers can subscribe to Apple TV+ for just $2.99 per month, for three months. Afterwards, regular pricing of $9.99 per month applies. The offer is available in the Apple TV app, and at tv.apple.com, through April...

Top Rated Comments

MultiMediaWill Avatar
157 months ago
Imagine the cost if this was an auction to meet with Steve Jobs instead of Cook.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
daneoni Avatar
157 months ago
Doubt Steve would have ever done this considering how little he donated to charity.

How do you know he donated little to charity. Just because he wasn't public about it doesn't mean it didn't happen.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
johnnnw Avatar
157 months ago
Doubt Steve would have ever done this considering how little he donated to charity.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bdkennedy1 Avatar
157 months ago
Steve changed the world with his vision of computing giving even 3rd world countries the opportunities to own a smart phone. I think that's charity enough.

Doubt Steve would have ever done this considering how little he donated to charity.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Shrink Avatar
157 months ago
Doubt Steve would have ever done this considering how little he donated to charity.

I'm the last one to defend Jobs in any way...but do we have a public record of his private charitable donations, if any?

His public policies at Apple were not supportive of charitable giving, but I don't know about any private philanthropy.

Do you have that information??
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Consultant Avatar
157 months ago
Great job denigrating a dead man. Just because Steve Jobs doesn't boast about it, doesn't mean he doesn't contribute.

Bono said under Steve Jobs, Apple was the large contributor to Fight AIDS under project RED. Jobs is also seen as a prime candidate of someone who made an anonymous donation of $150 million to cancer center at the University of California, San Francisco

https://www.macrumors.com/2011/09/02/bono-defends-steve-jobs-against-criticism-over-lack-of-public-philanthropy/

Under Steve Jobs, Apple also contributed to Stanford hospital:
//www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=se5k1JnTFXk

Doubt Steve would have ever done this considering how little he donated to charity.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)