Warren Buffett Strikes a Charitable Chord on eBay(R); Bidding Starts on May 15 for a Unique Dairy Queen(R)-Inspired Ukulele Signed by the Legendary Investor.

OMAHA, Neb. -- People pay attention when Warren Buffett buys and sells.

Omaha Children's Hospital hopes that will translate into big bucks when a custom-designed Dairy Queen(R) ukulele autographed by the legendary investor, part-time ukulele player and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A) (NYSE:BRK.B) is auctioned off on eBay(R) beginning Monday, May 15 at 9 p.m. Eastern/6 p.m. Pacific.

Bidding begins at $1,000 on http://www.ebay.com/dairyqueen and will run for 10 days. "Anyone tuned into Warren knows about his passion for ukuleles," said Michael Keller, chief brand officer for International Dairy Queen. "This is something different and unique related to Warren that we hope will raise a lot of money for Omaha Children's Hospital."

Buffett is part of a unique group of celebrity ukulele players that includes Pierce Bronson, William H. Macy, Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder and the late Tiny Tim and George Harrison.

But what makes this ukulele special is that it is one of only two in a series, the second of which becomes part of Buffett's private collection.

San Francisco-based Tesser, the Dairy Queen system's branding and design partner, created the ukulele to resemble a signature Dairy Queen cone complete with a curl on top.

The eBay online auction, managed by Auction Cause, a premier auction management agency, kicks off Dairy Queen's summer campaign supporting Children's Miracle Network of which Omaha Children's Hospital is a member. On Thursday, August 10, Dairy Queen hosts the first-ever North American Miracle Treat Day when proceeds from every Blizzard(R) sold will be donated to Children's Miracle Network. Since 1984, Dairy Queen, a Berkshire Hathaway company, has raised more than $59 million for national cause partner Children's Miracle Network.

About IDQ:

International Dairy Queen (IDQ), which is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn., develops licenses and services a system of more than 5,600 Dairy Queen(R) stores in the United States, Canada and other foreign countries, offering dairy desserts, hamburgers, hot dogs and beverages. IDQ is part of the Berkshire Hathaway family, a company owned by Warren Buffett, the legendary investor and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. Following the successful roll out of DQ(R) Grill & Chill(R), Dairy Queen's quick-service food concept that features an all new expanded menu and newly designed restaurant interiors, Dairy Queen began testing the DQ(R) Orange Julius(R) concept in August 2005. DQ Orange Julius blends a sleek, new look with the feel of a traditional ice cream treat shop and offers an expanded treat menu that includes traditional DQ favorites, the Orange Julius line of smoothies and fruit drinks, and new signature desserts and sundaes. For more information about Dairy Queen, visit http://www.dairyqueen.com.

About Children's Miracle Network

Children's Miracle Network -- the alliance of premier hospitals for children -- is a non-profit organization dedicated to saving and improving the lives of children by raising funds for children's hospitals across North America. Each year the 170 Children's Miracle Network hospitals provide the finest medical care, life-saving research and preventative education to help millions of kids overcome diseases and injuries of every kind. For more information, visit http://www.childrensmiraclenetwork.org.