It’s 56 sq ft, with no toilet or running water. But a night in Mandela’s cell will cost US$300,000

For rich corporate executives, fine food, expensive wine and five-star hotels come as standard.

But one discerning top boss with a spare US$300,000 (260,000 euros) will give up creature comforts for a night in the cramped prison cell that was Nelson Mandela’s home for 18 years.

That is according to organisers of the annual CEO Sleepout, an initiative which raises money for various charities.

South Africa’s first democratically elected president was kept on South Africa’s Robben Island prison off Cape Town for much of his 27-year incarceration.

A night in his iconic 56 sq ft concrete cell will now be auctioned for charity to mark the centenary of prisoner number 46664’s birthday. There is no toilet or running water. The window is barred, of course.

“The suggestion was to auction the cell to raise money to fund the Prison-to-College Pipeline … educating incarcerated people in South Africa,” said Liane McGowan, spokeswoman for the CEO SleepOut South Africa adding that details of when the one night only fundraiser will take place, had not been finalised.

Online bidding started at US$250,000 and has already attracted three bids, reaching $300,000 with the sale set to close on July 16.