Warren Buffett’s March Madness bracket challenge has finally found a winner. An employee from FlightSafety International, a subsidiary of Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, won the $1 million grand prize after correctly predicting 31 of the 32 games in the first round of the men’s basketball tournament. The 94-year-old CEO had been offering the hefty prize since 2016 but had to relax the rules several times to make the contest more winnable.
Originally, participants had to predict the Sweet 16 perfectly, but after years without a winner, Buffett modified the rules. This year, anyone who picked the winners of at least 30 out of the tournament’s 32 first-round games was eligible for the prize. Twelve Berkshire employees managed to guess 31 of the 32 first-round games correctly.
Berkshire employee wins Buffett’s challenge
The $1 million was awarded to the individual who picked 29 games consecutively before registering a loss. This winner correctly predicted 44 of the 45 games in total.
The other 11 contestants who came close were not left empty-handed; each received $100,000. Buffett, a Creighton basketball fan, was spotted watching the Creighton Bluejays take on the Villanova Wildcats, clearly reveling in the tournament’s intensity. He remarked, “I’m getting older. I want to give away a million dollars to somebody while I’m still around as chairman.
The odds of randomly picking a perfect bracket are 1 in 9.2 quintillion.
However, NCAA.com notes that the odds are more like 1 in 120.2 billion if the person making the bracket takes into account information about which teams are better and tournament history. The innovative contest has proven to be a thrilling experience for Berkshire Hathaway employees, creating a blend of competitive spirit and camaraderie within the workplace.
Image Credits: Photo by Todd Greene on Unsplash
