Warren Buffett’s a ketchup fan. His company, Berkshire Hathaway, is joining with 3G Capital to buy Heinz. It’s a $28 billion deal — one that’s bound to buy a lot of condiments. Yum.
» “I just couldn’t make the deal … We couldn’t come to an agreement.”: Buffett, known as a shrewd investor even when the stakes are insanely high, spoke about his almost-deal Saturday on Bloomberg TV. He wouldn’t say who it was, but considering the value, it must’ve been a massive company with a sizable legacy. Why’d he pass on the deal? Simple. Too expensive. The deal would’ve forced him to sell securities he wanted to keep. Buffett, who recently announced he was suffering from cancer, is still looking for the right deals to help add value to his $37.8 billion in cash. ”If we can make a good deal tomorrow, whether it’s big or small, we’ll make it,” he said.
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Mega-rich financial genius Warren Buffett announces, via news release, that he has stage one prostate cancer, but that it was caught very early. “I feel great — as if I were in my normal excellent health — and my energy level is 100 percent,” Buffett claims.
» And he only paid 17.4% in taxes: Buffett, whose monetary gains are the subject of scrutiny because of the fact that he’s the inspiration for Obama’s “Buffett Rule” (a notable part of the president’s jobs plan), released the earnings after being prodded by Rep. Tim Huelskamp of Kansas, a Republican. Of note: Just $39,814,784 of his earnings were taxable, with the rest going to deductions and exemptions (like, say, his fairly robust charitable givings). And in case you’re wondering, Warren’s tax rate is low largely because he makes most of his income through investing. In the end, how much did he pay in taxes? A paltry $7 million (or a mere nine percent in taxes on adjusted gross income).
Remember how Warren Buffett wrote that the government should raise the taxes of the super-wealthy … you know, folks like him? Well, it looks like someone with a lot of power to put that plan into action read that New York Times editorial. Obama’s going to make a push to tax the super-wealthy (those who make more than $1 million per year) at the same rate as the middle-class, and he’s calling it the “Buffett Rule.” Great selling point for Obama, but will it be enough for all the other rich people in Congress? Good question. (photo via Medill DC) source
ben:
This is a company with a revenue of over $100 billion. Their website is made with tables.
Odds that Warren Buffett designed this himself: Even.
Wait. This dude owns Geico. He could buy an army of graphic designers who could bring Dribbble to its knees with all the extra traffic they’d produce. Why not pay for just one? Possibly the guy who did the “Space Jam” site?
I know well many of the mega-rich and, by and large, they are very decent people. They love America and appreciate the opportunity this country has given them. Many have joined the Giving Pledge, promising to give most of their wealth to philanthropy. Most wouldn’t mind being told to pay more in taxes as well, particularly when so many of their fellow citizens are truly suffering.Warren Buffett • Arguing in an editorial for the New York Times (titled, fittingly, “Stop coddling the super-rich”) that Congress needs to raise his taxes and those of people with incomes topping $1 million. “My friends and I have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress,” he writes. “It’s time for our government to get serious about shared sacrifice.” Wait … a super-rich guy offering more money up in taxes? Be still our hearts. And don’t tell the Koch brothers … they might disagree with this stance. source (via • follow)
Protip: Trust a guy with a Presidential Medal of Freedom. During Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting in Omaha, the investor icon suggested that if Congress failed to raise the federal debt ceiling in the middle of May (as some completely uninformed RedState blogger suggested and Timothy Geithner pleaded against), it would be the “most asinine act” in the chamber’s history. And Congress has done a lot of stupid crap in their day. Perhaps we should listen to this highly-regarded rich guy! (photo by Medill DC’s Flickr photostream) source
For 20 years, I fought the textile business before I gave up. As instead of putting that money into the textile business originally, we just started out with the insurance company, Berkshire would be worth twice as much as it is now.Warren Buffett • Explaining what the “dumbest” stock he ever bought was. Wait, what? Is he really claiming Berkshire Hathaway as his dumbest stock purchase ever? Yes, and the reason for that is that Berkshire was initially a textile firm, when in reality he should have started a new insurance business as his corporate shell. He initially bought out Berkshire partly to get rid of the former owner, whom he clashed with, which put him in a very strange spot. “I had now committed a major amount of money to a terrible business,” he notes. Buffett made most of his money off of insurance – specifically GEICO, which we bet you didn’t know he owned. The company handles other random stuff, including Ginsu knives and The Buffalo News, but one thing Berkshire no longer creates is textiles. The last legacy plant closed way back in 1985. source (via)
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