Warren Buffett is a gifted investor. No doubt about it. Over a career spanning roughly six decades, he’s amassed a fortune for himself upwards of $50 billion. As the primary shareholder, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, the “Oracle of Omaha” has also done well for his investors. Those who bought shares of his investment company back in 1990 have since made over seventeen times their money, or more than 14% per year. Even though that return has fallen to about 5 or 6% per year over the last decade, Berkshire has still handily outperformed the market. As such, his annual shareholders’ meeting draws an adoring crowd large enough to make most rock bands blush.
[Read more...]Cash on Hand…An Investors’ Best Friend
April 4, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Warren Buffett’s annual letter to shareholders came out recently. This is probably one of the most anticipated shareholder letters in the financial world. Everyone wants to know what the Oracle’s take on the world is. Also, because Berkshire is so large and spread across so many sectors – it owns 80-plus businesses now – his thoughts may give some insight into how the economy is doing.
[Read more...]Demystifying the Legend of Warren Buffett
April 4, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Warren Buffett is a smart guy. Warren Buffett is a rich guy. Most folks assume a connection between the two…and that’s probably true. But Warren Buffett is also a lucky guy.
Even though luck is not a feature of the officially sanctioned Buffett mythology, good fortune has certainly contributed to his large fortune.
[Read more...]A World of Leaks and Full Disclosures
April 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Here’s a shocking disclosure. Somehow, WikiLeaks got a copy of private memos – diary entries, really – written by David Sokol. As you know, Sokol was the man who was the front-runner to replace Warren Buffett at Berkshire Hathaway. He was also the man who made $3 million by front running Berkshire’s latest purchase. Both Sokol and Buffett denied that the purchase of Lubrizol shares had anything to do with the former’s departure. The diaries confirm the claim.
[Read more...]More Billionaires in China Than any Other Nation Except the US
March 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Forbes has revealed its annual list of top billionaires and big gains have been made in Asia. China, for the first time ever, has the most billionaires outside the US when Hong Kong is included.
Notably, a decline in the number and wealth of US billionaires is continuing. The total number of US billionaires is down to 40 percent from 45 percent last year. Also, this year’s number one, worth $53.5 billion, is Mexican telecom and conglomerate business owner Carlos Slim. Though, as would be expected, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett follow.
[Read more...]Buffetts New Shareholder Letter: Bankers Advice Biased Toward Earning Fees
March 2, 2010 By Leave a Comment
It hardly sounds like a groundbreaking realization from legendary investor and “Oracle of Omaha” Warren Buffett. Of course, there is the rustic way in which he phrases it. As New York Times’ chief mergers and acquisitions reporter Andrew Ross Sorkin quotes, Dont ask the barber whether you need a haircut.
[Read more...]Common Sense Parable of an America Gone Awry
February 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Charlie Munger, vice chairman of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, shares many of the plain-spoken ways of his more famous business partner. Munger also grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, and has the kind of charm that seems to come from trying to do things right by keeping them simple.
Over the weekend he had a parable he wrote published by Slate… and it’s outright depressing. He describes a nation, not unlike the US, thats been the envy of the world since its inception. It has gotten that way by frequently, if not always, making good decisions and making them for the right reasons.
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Where Warren Buffett is Wrong
We got the news yesterday. Gold went over $1,900. This morning we find it soared $39 yesterday.
Wow!
Has making money ever been easier? We bought gold at around $300 at the turn of the century. Now, it’s 6 times as much. And if Ben Bernanke announces another money-printing spree, gold will probably close the week over $2,000.
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