He's done that before. He auctioned his black Strat (called Blackie) for charity a few years ago. Went for a few hundred thousand quid IIRC.
Favourite guitarist? There isn't one, there are several - it depends on my mood... David Gilmour, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Johnson, Steve Vai and Joe Satriani to name a few. Someone who has been in G3 - that'll probably do!
Edit: oooh 2000th post 