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| Warren Buffett’s California dreamin’ |
| 2003-08-15 |
| By SIMON AVERY Friday, August 15, 2003 It’s tempting to ridicule the affair as U.S. culture flipping out on itself. It’s California... art imitating life imitating art, etc. The world’s greatest investor and second-richest man has teamed up with a three-time Mr. Universe champion and Hollywood superstar to try to run the most populist and celebrity-mad state in the United States. Hey, why not? Nowhere to go but up. What could Warren Buffett possibly be thinking, attaching his name to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s bid for the leadership of California and the circus act of recalling a legitimately elected governor with an unprecedented, first-past-the-post vote? Mebbe Arnold’s a tad smarter than the smirking reporters... And Warren’s a crafty old bugger. The 72-year-old chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. has made his name and $30-billion (U.S.) fortune betting on vanilla investments, such as insurance and carpets. He deliberately shunned the excitement of the technology boom, the greatest period of wealth generation in modern times, questioning the market’s fundamentals. He has a passion for bridge, not blustering spectacle. This is a man who still lives in the town he was born, Omaha, Neb., in a house he bought in 1958 for $31,500. How do ya think Mr Big got to be Mr Big? People who know Mr. Buffett and his investing style say they were taken completely off guard by his agreement to serve as senior financial and economic adviser to Mr. Schwarzenegger. The billionaire with a social conscience had declined numerous earlier invitations to take a public service role. So, Warren’s got a secret! In fact, Mr. Buffett’s name was floated for the role of U.S. Federal Reserve Board chairman before Alan Greenspan was hired and more recently to head a government group on corporate governance, said Lawrence Cunningham, a professor of law and business at Boston College and the author of The Essays of Warren Buffett. He’s got the credentials. But while they can’t figure out why he’s jumping into California’s economic mess, people familiar with the Oracle of Omaha agree the state could only benefit from his expertise. It’s almost a no-lose situation for someone who knows WTF he’s doing, so Warren will make a difference. And mebbe that’s why he offered to do it... "Once again, he’s doing something that’s outside the box," said Larry Sarbit, lead manager of the AIC Focused Series of funds, and a devoted follower of Mr. Buffett’s investment style. "Who better to get financial advice from than the master." This shows he’s already ahead of the game - and that will help when he needs people to have confidence in the plans to turn it around. In the early 1990s, Mr. Buffett helped save Salomon Brothers from collapse when he stepped in as interim chairman. "He came in and got the right people in place and then he moved along," Mr. Sarbit said. Hire professionals with ethics - stay out of their way - and let them get on with it. With hundreds of millions of dollars invested in Salomon, Mr. Buffett had a personal stake in the firm’s survival. Nothing generates motivation for a money man like a few hundred million from his own pocket. 8^) His interests in California are less clear, but several of Berkshire’s major investments rely on a sound California economy. Read the rest... This will probably make this "race" a breeze, but it is California, so anything, absolutely anything can happen. Hey, with Arnie and Warren, it already has - twice! |
| Posted by:.com |
| #15 Davis and his Marxist cronies only saw businesses as host enitities to bleed dry. Davis is no more Marxist than Arnie's Buffett, who doesn't see China as 'red'. He only sees the green of their dirty oil money. I think he got scared in the past week since he announced he'd bankroll Arnie and he tried to divest his commie oil stake in China's Petrochem. Here's a sorry chronology of his investments: Buffett's vote of confidence in China Buffett boosts PetroChina stake SinoChem, PetroChina and CNOOC are the three companies that dominate and determine the development of the Chinese petrol industry |
| Posted by: fullwood 2003-8-15 9:07:08 PM |
| #14 McClintock is a good man, but he's been eclipsed by Arnold |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-8-15 6:44:28 PM |
| #13 I like McClintock's resume, but it's Arnold's to lose. I say he takes it. |
| Posted by: Rex Mundi 2003-8-15 6:39:21 PM |
| #12 When / if I leave Thailand and return - I won't be going back to beautiful San Diego - I'll opt for either Texas or a mountain state, if I locate one without a State Income Tax and a decent biz climate. Mebbe Arnold and Warren and George will transform CA before then. I hope so, for those Rantburgers who live there. For now, they deserve the benefit of the doubt, methinks. Does anyone here think someone, other than Arnold, has a bona-fide chance to win this election? I've been out of the loop for 3 years and don't know enuff to be relatively certain. So how 'bout it? |
| Posted by: .com 2003-8-15 5:43:41 PM |
| #11 Anyone who lives in Californicate and votes democratic in the next election should be IMMEDIATELY committed to some high security psychiatic hospital as a danger to himself or sent to Mexico since they must love chaos. California has had a net decline in population for the first time since the Permian extinction. To make matters worse, California has had over 2 million people in the "middle class" leave the state and since the If things get much worse here, the world court could convict "Empty Suit" Davis of war crimes. |
| Posted by: SOG475 2003-8-15 4:23:09 PM |
| #10 Rex Mundi hit it right on the nose. It's getting harder and hardet to believe, but at one point California was the greatest state in the union, you know. |
| Posted by: Secret Master 2003-8-15 2:20:38 PM |
| #9 I don't think Buffet is there to advise on tax policy, except where business is concerned - and that is needed. Over the last 31 months, we (CA) have suffered and average of 10,000 jobs eliminated per month. For the 1st time in memory, CA no longer has a single Fortune 500 company based here. Davis and his Marxist cronies only saw businesses as host enitities to bleed dry. Well they pretty much succeeded. Get a good look people at what happens when Democrats own the executive, legislative and also judicial branches of govt. This was supposed to be the grand laboritory of the next New Deal. Feh! |
| Posted by: Rex Mundi 2003-8-15 1:40:36 PM |
| #8 except they also said they were adding supply-sider advisors as well, so Buffet won't have Arnold's ear all by hisself |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-8-15 12:53:59 PM |
| #7 Great Buffet quote. When asked what he would hope god would say when he went up to the pearly gates. "Boy is that an old one" |
| Posted by: Lucky 2003-8-15 12:45:25 PM |
| #6 Buffett's a liberal. To him, taxes can never be too high. (he can pay those high taxes so it's no skin off his back) |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2003-8-15 12:41:42 PM |
| #5 Papers this morning said that Buffet hinted the property taxes were too low. That's not a good thing to start hinting at before an election (or after for that matter).Hope its just idiot reporters inventing a story instead of a real hint. |
| Posted by: Yank 2003-8-15 12:08:05 PM |
| #4 Reporter: "Mr. Schwarzenegger, what do you hope to accomplish in this election?" Arnold: "To crush my enemies, see them driven before me, and to hear the lamentation of their women!" |
| Posted by: Steve 2003-8-15 11:43:10 AM |
| #3 Very, very smart move by Arnie -- both Buffett and Schultz. It's going to be very hard for the Dems to discredit Arnie as a lightweight when he shows that he can bring big-hitters on board. Mebbe Conan ain't such a barbarian after all. Then again, mebbe he'll make a lasso out of Gray Davis' entrails ... |
| Posted by: Steve White 2003-8-15 10:47:23 AM |
| #2 Arnold also got former Sec'ty of State (and Bechtel honcho) George Schultz to join his team to bring back business...he's serious. I'm voting for him |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-8-15 10:09:09 AM |
| #1 That's 5 Mr. Universe title's bucko ! get it straight ! |
| Posted by: Domingo 2003-8-15 8:40:14 AM |