Christie can refer to:

• Christie (name)
• Christie's, the auction house
• Christie, California, in Contra Costa County
• Christie, the Canadian division of Nabisco
• Christie (TTC), subway station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• Christie (company), aka Christie Digital Systems, Inc., a digital projection company
• Christie (band), UK rock band
• Christie Hospital, cancer-research hospital in Manchester
• Christie Pits Park in Toronto
• Christie suspension, vehicle suspension system invented by U.S. engineer Walter Christie

See also[link]

• Christy (disambiguation)
• Christy (given name)
• Christy (surname)
• Clan Christie

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Chris Christie
55th Governor of New Jersey
Incumbent
Assumed office January 19, 2010
Lieutenant	Kim Guadagno
Preceded by	Jon Corzine
United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey
In office January 17, 2002 – December 1, 2008[1]
Nominated by	George W. Bush
Preceded by	Robert Cleary
Succeeded by	Ralph Marra (Acting)
Member of the Morris County Board of Chosen Freeholders
In office January 1, 1995 – January 1, 1998
Personal details
Born	Christopher James Christie (1962-09-06) September 6, 1962 (age 49) Newark, New Jersey
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Mary Pat Foster
Children	Andrew (b. 1993) Sarah (b. 1996) Patrick (b. 2000) Bridget (b. 2003)
Residence	Mendham
Alma mater	University of Delaware Seton Hall University
Religion	Roman Catholic
Signature

Christopher James "Chris" Christie (born September 6, 1962) is the 55th and current Governor of New Jersey. Upon his election to the governorship in November 2009, Christie became the first Republican to win a statewide election in New Jersey in 12 years. Christie, an attorney, previously served as United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey and as a Morris County, New Jersey Freeholder. In 2011, he considered entering the race for the Republican Presidential nomination but ultimately decided not to run.

Early life, education, and family[link]

Chris Christie was born in Newark, New Jersey, the son of Sondra A. (née Grasso) and Wilbur James "Bill" Christie, a certified public accountant.^[2][3][4] Christie is of Scottish, Irish, and Sicilian descent.^[5][6][7][8] He was raised in Livingston, graduating from Livingston High School.^[9] Christie graduated from the University of Delaware with a Bachelor of Arts in political science in 1984 and Seton Hall University School of Law with a Juris Doctor in 1987. Christie was admitted to the Bar of the State of New Jersey and the Bar of the United States District Court, District of New Jersey, in December 1987. After being elected the Governor of New Jersey, he was awarded honorary doctorate degrees from Rutgers University, the state university of New Jersey, and Monmouth University in 2010.^{[10] [11]}

In 1986, Christie married Mary Pat Foster, a fellow student at the University of Delaware. After marriage they shared a one-room apartment in Summit, New Jersey. Mary Pat Christie pursued a career in investment banking, eventually working at the Wall Street firm Cantor Fitzgerald. She left the firm in 2001 following the September 11 attacks, only recently returning to work part-time.^[3] They have four children: Andrew (born 1993), Sarah (born 1996), Patrick (born 2000), and Bridget (born 2003).^[12] Christie and his family reside in Mendham Township.^[13][14]

Early career[link]

Lawyer[link]

In 1987, Christie joined the law firm of Dughi, Hewit & Palatucci of Cranford, New Jersey. In 1993, he was named a partner in the firm. Christie specialized in securities law, appellate practice, election law, and government affairs. He is a member of the American Bar Association and the New Jersey State Bar Association and was a member of the Election Law Committee of the New Jersey State Bar Association.

Morris County Freeholder[link]

Christie, at the time a resident of Mendham, was in 1994 elected as a Republican to the Morris County Board of Chosen Freeholders, with Christie and a running mate having defeated incumbent freeholders in the party primary. After that election, the defeated incumbents filed defamation lawsuits against Christie based on statements made during the primary campaign. Christie had incorrectly stated that the incumbents were under investigation for violating certain local laws. The lawsuit was settled out of court.^[15]

As freeholder, Christie required the county government to obtain three quotes from qualified firms for all contracts. He led a successful effort to bar county officials from accepting gifts from people and firms doing business with the county. He voted to raise the county's open space tax for land preservation; however, county taxes on the whole were decreased by 6.6% during his tenure. He successfully pushed for the dismissal of an architect hired to design a new jail, saying that the architect was costing taxpayers too much money. The architect then sued Christie for defamation over remarks he made about the dismissal.^[16]

In 1995, Christie announced a bid for a seat in the New Jersey General Assembly; he and attorney Rick Merkt ran as a ticket against incumbent Assemblyman Anthony Bucco and attorney Michael Patrick Carroll in the Republican primary. Bucco and Carroll, the establishment candidates, defeated the up-and-comers by a wide margin. After this loss, Christie's bid for re-nomination to the freeholder board was unlikely, as unhappy Republicans recruited John J. Murphy to run against Christie in 1997. Murphy defeated Christie in the primary.^[17] Murphy, who had falsely accused Christie of having the county pay his legal bills in the architect's lawsuit, was sued by Christie after the election. They settled out of court; nevertheless, Christie's career in Morris County politics was over by 1998.

Lobbyist[link]

In 1998 Christie registered as a lobbyist for the firm of Dughi, Hewit & Palatucci, alongside fellow partner and later, gubernatorial campaign fundraiser Bill Palatucci. Between 1999 and 2001, Christie and Palatucci lobbied on behalf of, among others, GPU Energy for deregulation of New Jersey's electric and gas industry; the Securities Industry Association to block the inclusion of securities fraud under the state's Consumer Fraud Act; Hackensack University Medical Center for state grants, and the University of Phoenix for a New Jersey higher education license.^[18]

United States Attorney[link]

Christie served as the chief federal law enforcement officer in New Jersey from January 17, 2002, to December 1, 2008. His office included 137 attorneys, with offices in Newark, Trenton and Camden. Christie also served as one of the 17 U.S. Attorneys on Attorney General John Ashcroft and Alberto Gonzales' advisory committee.

Appointment[link]

On December 7, 2001, Christie was nominated to be the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey. He was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate on December 20, 2001, and sworn into office on January 17, 2002.

Controversy surrounded his appointment; some members of the New Jersey Bar professed disappointment at Christie's lack of criminal law experience and his history as a top fundraiser for George W. Bush's 2000 presidential campaign.^[19] The extent of the role played by Bush's political adviser, Karl Rove, also became an issue after Christie's law partner, William Palatucci, a Republican political consultant and Bush supporter, boasted that he had selected a United States attorney by forwarding Christie's résumé to Rove.^[20]

Christie has stated that his distant familial connection to Genovese crime family leader Tino Fiumara never came up during his Federal Bureau of Investigation background check for his position as a U.S. Attorney; he told The New York Times in 2009 that he had assumed that investigators were aware of the connection.^[21] During his tenure as U.S. Attorney, Christie recused himself from his office's investigation, indictment, and prosecution of Fiumara for aiding the flight of a fugitive.^[21] A 2011 commentary on MarketWatch identified Fiumara as Christie's aunt's husband's late brother and said Christie has dismissed the relationship as a "private matter".^[22]

Achievements[link]

Christie in 2004 as the United States Attorney for New Jersey.

Despite the initial misgivings over his degree of experience, Christie received praise for his history of convictions for public corruption. During his tenure, Christie's office won convictions or guilty pleas from 130 public officials, both Republican and Democratic, on the state, county and local levels without losing a single case.^[23] The most notable of these convictions included those of Hudson County Executive Robert C. Janiszewski in 2002 on bribery charges,^[24] Essex County Executive James W. Treffinger in 2003 on corruption charges,^[25] former New Jersey Senate President John A. Lynch, Jr. in 2006 on charges of mail fraud and tax evasion,^[26] State Senator and former Newark mayor Sharpe James in 2008 on fraud charges,^[27] and State Senator Wayne R. Bryant in 2008 on charges of bribery, mail fraud, and wire fraud.^[28]

Claims of misuse of deferred prosecution agreements[link]

Christie has been accused of using his office's role in crafting deferred prosecution agreements to award lucrative federal monitoring positions in no-bid contracts to friends, supporters, and allies.^[29] Questions first arose after Christie awarded a multimillion-dollar no-bid contract to David Kelley, another former U.S. Attorney, who had investigated Christie's brother, Todd Christie, in a 2005 fraud case involving traders at the Wall Street firm, Spear, Leeds & Kellogg.^[30][31] Kelley had declined to prosecute Todd Christie, who had been ranked fourth in the investigation—initiating a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) complaint among twenty traders who earned the largest profits for their company at the expense of their customers. The top three were indicted, as were eleven other traders.^[32]

Christie was similarly criticized for his 2007 recommendation of the appointment of The Ashcroft Group, a consulting firm owned by Christie's former superior, the former United States Attorney General John Ashcroft, as a monitor in a court settlement against Zimmer Holdings, an Indiana medical supplies company. The no-bid contract was worth between $28 million and $52 million.^[33][34] Christie defended the decision, saying that Ashcroft’s prominence and legal acumen made him a natural choice. Christie declined to intercede when Zimmer's company lawyers protested the Group’s plans to charge a rate of $1.5 million to $2.9 million per month for the monitoring.^[29][35] Shortly after the House Judiciary Committee began holding hearings on the matter, the Justice Department re-wrote the rules regarding the appointment of court monitors.^[36]

Christie also faced criticism over the terms of a $311-million fraud settlement with Bristol-Myers Squibb. Christie’s office deferred criminal prosecution of the pharmaceutical company in a deal that required it to dedicate $5 million for a business ethics chair at Seton Hall University School of Law, Christie's alma mater.^[37][38] The U.S. Justice Department subsequently set guidelines forbidding such requirements as components of out-of-court corporate crime settlements.^[39]

In June 2009, Christie was called before the House Judiciary Committee as part of its consideration of new regulations on deferred prosecution agreements. In his testimony, he defended his decisions to award no-bid, high-paying federal monitoring contracts to law firms that his critics say constitute a conflict of interest. Christie left the meeting after two and a half hours of questioning, against the requests of the Committee's chairman, stating that he had to attend to pressing business in New Jersey.^[29][40]

Claims of partisan attacks[link]

Christie at a town hall meeting in Union City, New Jersey February 9, 2011.

Christie has been criticized for subpoenaing Senator Robert Menendez during his contested 2006 campaign, just two months before the election.^[41][42] Christie's aides have insisted that they initiated the action in response to an article that appeared in The Record, which reported that in 1994, when Menendez was a U.S. Representative, he had leased his former home to a social service agency that he had helped obtain federal financing.^[41] The non-profit group paid Menendez more than $300,000 over nine years to rent the building. Menendez claims to have cleared the arrangement with the Congressional ethics office, a step that had also been reported previously by New Jersey newspapers.^[41] According to Menendez, just prior to signing the rental lease, he cleared it by phone with a lawyer on the staff of the United States House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct. Following the subpoena, the lawyer, who no longer works with the Committee, came forward to say that while she doesn’t recall the conversation, it probably happened—and that if she were advising Menendez now, she would tell him—as she apparently did then—that there was nothing improper about the arrangement.^[43] As of August 2009, nothing has come from the investigation.^[41]

Cell phone monitoring and alleged entrapment[link]

In 2005, Christie prosecuted the Hemant Lakhani terrorism case, in which the defendant claimed that he had been entrapped. In that case, Christie's office relied on an informant who had been dismissed by the FBI as unreliable for fabricating claims of terrorist activity. For more than a year, the informant, working with the U.S. attorney's office, solicited Lakhani for access to arms. Lakhani was unable to obtain anything until an undercover agent contacted him and supplied him with a fake missile. In an interview with the public radio program This American Life,^[44] Christie brushed off suggestions that Lakhani was entrapped by law enforcement, defending the Lakhani prosecution.

In April 2009, the ACLU publicized records showing that Christie had obtained court orders authorizing warrantless cellphone tracking of people in 79 instances. Christie responded that the practice was legal and court approved. An ACLU attorney stated that federal law does not address cell phone or GPS use in surveillance and added that the ACLU believes a law requiring warrants for such use is needed.^[45]

Governor of New Jersey[link]

Christie filed as a candidate for the office of Governor on January 8, 2009.^[46] In the primary on June 2, Christie won the Republican nomination with 55% of the vote, defeating conservative opponents Steve Lonegan and Rick Merkt.^[47] He then chose Kimberly Guadagno, Monmouth County sheriff, to complete his campaign ticket as a candidate for lieutenant governor. On November 3, Christie defeated Corzine by a margin of 48.5% to 44.9%, with 5.8% of the vote going to independent candidate Chris Daggett.^[48]

Christie took office as Governor of New Jersey on January 19, 2010. He chose not to move his family into "Drumthwacket", the official governor's mansion, and instead resides in a private Mendham, New Jersey, residence.

On February 9, 2010, he signed Executive Order No. 12, which placed a 90-day freeze on the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) and established the Housing Opportunity Task Force to examine the State's affordable housing laws, constitutional obligations, and the effectiveness of the current framework.^[49]

On February 11, 2010, Christie signed Executive Order No. 14, which declared a "state of fiscal emergency exists in the State of New Jersey" due to the projected $2.2 billion budget deficit for the current fiscal year (FY 2010).^[50] In a speech before a special joint session of the New Jersey Legislature on the same day, Christie addressed the budget deficit and revealed a list of fiscal solutions to close the gap. Christie also suspended funding for the Department of the Public Advocate and called for its elimination.^[51] Some Democrats criticized Christie for not first consulting them on his budget cuts and for circumventing the Legislature's role in the budget process.^[52] In late June 2011, Christie utilized New Jersey's line item veto to eliminate nearly $1 billion from the proposed budget, signing it into law just hours prior to the July 1, 2011, beginning of the state's fiscal year.^[53]

On August 25, 2010, the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services announced $400 million in federal Race to the Top education grants to New Jersey would not be funded due to a clerical error in the state's application made by an unidentified mid-level state official. Christie responded by saying the Obama administration bureaucracy had overstepped its authority and that the error lay in an administration failure to communicate with the New Jersey government.^[54] However, information later came to light that the issue had already been raised with Christie's Education Commissioner Bret Schundler, and in response Christie had asked for Schundler's resignation; Schundler initially agreed to resign, but the following morning asked to be fired instead, citing his need to claim unemployment benefits. Schundler maintains that he told Christie the truth and that Christie is misstating what actually occurred.^[55] The New Jersey Education Association rebuked Christie by suggesting that his rejection of a compromise worked out by Schundler with the teachers' union on May 27 was to blame.

During his second year in office, Christie signed into law a payroll tax cut that is projected to save workers $190 million in taxes. Effective for calendar year 2012, the tax cut approved by Christie authorizes the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development to calculate a new payroll deduction rate to finance the Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) fund. As a result, most workers will see their TDI income tax reduced from $148 to $61 per year, for a savings of $87 per worker. The changes took effect on January 1, 2012.^[56] The authorizing legislation was sponsored by Senator Shirley Turner of Lawrenceville.

On January 23, 2012, Christie filed the first nomination to the New Jersey Supreme Court of an openly gay man, Bruce Harris, and an Asian American, Phillip Kwon. ^[57] Kwon's nomination was rejected by the Senate Judiciary Committee, the first gubernatorial nominee for the Supreme Court in modern times to fail to be approved. ^[58] Two months later, the Senate Judiciary rejected the nomination of Bruce Harris, purportedly on grounds that he lacked courtroom experience. ^[59] The partisan impasse over Christie's appointments to fill the vacancies on the New Jersey Supreme Court continues.

On February 17, 2012, he vetoed a bill that would have legalized same sex marriage in New Jersey. He stated his belief that such a change requires a constitutional amendment and asked the legislature to provide for a referendum on the issue. He also called for creation of an ombudsman to ensure compliance with the state's existing civil union law.^[60]

Continuing the tradition of earlier New Jersey governors since the 1980s, Christie traveled to Israel in April 2012.^[61][62] Media reported his itinerary as including Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Tiberius, and the Golan Heights.^[63][64] The official title given to the trip was "Jersey to Jerusalem Trade Mission: Economic Growth, Diplomacy, Observance".^[65] The visit to Israel was Christie's first official overseas trip since taking office.^[66] During the visit, which included meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres, Christie commented that "[Jerusalem] has never been better or freer than under Israeli control."^[67][68] From Israel Christie continued with his family to Jordan, as guests of King Abdullah II.^[69]

Consideration of presidential run in 2012 election[link]

Christie was the subject of ongoing speculation that he would attempt a run for President of the United States in 2012 by competing in the Republican primaries. He consistently denied any interest in launching a presidential bid. In September 2011, a number of press stories cited unnamed sources indicating Christie was reconsidering his decision to stay out of the race. An Associated Press story dated September 30 indicated a decision on whether he would run for president in 2012 would be made "soon".^[70] In a late September speech at the Reagan Library, he had again said he was not a candidate for president, but the speech also coincided with his "reconsideration" of the negative decision. One commentator at that time reviewed reported support from David H. and Charles G. Koch, Kenneth Langone, and others for Christie's potential candidacy.^[22] Retired GE CEO Jack Welch went on Charlie Rose to articulate his and others' support for a candidacy,^[71] and Langone went on the interview show October 4.^[72]

On October 4, 2011, Christie acknowledged he had in fact reconsidered his decision but then, again, declined to run.^[73] It was "for real this time", as one report put it. "Now is not my time," Christie said.^[74] "New Jersey, whether you like it or not, you're stuck with me," Christie added in the one-hour Trenton press conference held to announce the decision.^[75]

On October 11, 2011, Christie endorsed Mitt Romney for President of the United States.^[76]

References[link]

External links[link]

	New Jersey portal
	Biography portal
	Politics portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Chris Christie

• Office of the Governor official state site
• Governor Christie on Twitter
• Biography at the National Governors Association
• Biography, interest group ratings, public statements, vetoes and campaign finances at Project Vote Smart
• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• Issue positions and quotes at On the Issues
• Campaign contributions at FollowTheMoney.org
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• Appearances at the Internet Movie Database
• Collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Collected news and commentary at The Wall Street Journal
• Collected news and commentary at The Guardian
• Profile at Notable Names Database
• Chris Christie Speech at the Reagan Library: Full Text, National Review, September 27, 2011

v t e Governors of New Jersey Livingston Paterson Howell Bloomfield Ogden W.S. Pennington M. Dickerson Williamson Vroom Southard Seeley Vroom P. Dickerson W. Pennington Haines Stratton Haines G. Fort Price Newell Olden Parker Ward Randolph Parker Bedle McClellan Ludlow Abbett Green Abbett Werts Griggs Voorhees Murphy Stokes J. Fort Wilson Fielder Edge Edwards Silzer Moore Larson Moore Hoffman Moore Edison Edge Driscoll Meyner Hughes Cahill Byrne Kean Florio Whitman DiFrancesco McGreevey Codey Corzine Christie Book:Governors of New Jersey

v t e Current elected statewide political officials of New Jersey U.S. Senators Frank Lautenberg (D) Robert Menendez (D) State government Chris Christie (R), Governor Kim Guadagno (R), Lieutenant Governor Senate Stephen M. Sweeney (D), President Nia Gill (D), President pro tempore Loretta Weinberg (D), Majority Leader Thomas Kean, Jr. (R), Minority Leader General Assembly Sheila Y. Oliver (D), Speaker Jerry Green (D), Speaker pro tempore Louis Greenwald (D), Majority Leader vacant, Minority Leader Supreme Court (appointed) Stuart Rabner, Chief Justice Virginia Long Jaynee LaVecchia Barry T. Albin Helen E. Hoens Anne M. Patterson (vacancy) AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY

Warren Buffett
Buffett speaking to students from the University of Kansas School of Business, May 6, 2005
Born	Warren Edward Buffett (1930-08-30) August 30, 1930 (age 81) Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
Nationality	American
Alma mater	University of Pennsylvania University of Nebraska–Lincoln Columbia University
Occupation	Chairman & CEO of Berkshire Hathaway
Years active	1951–present
Salary	US$100,000[1]
Net worth	US$ 44 billion (2012)[2]
Religion	None (Agnostic [3])
Spouse	Susan Thompson Buffett (1952–2004) Astrid Menks (2006–present)[4]
Children	Susan Alice Buffett Howard Graham Buffett Peter Andrew Buffett
Signature

Warren Edward Buffett (/ˈbʌfɨt/; born August 30, 1930) is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is widely considered the most successful investor of the 20th century. He is the primary shareholder, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.^[5] He is consistently ranked among the world's wealthiest people. He was ranked as the world's wealthiest person in 2008^[6] and is the third wealthiest person in the world as of 2011.^[7] In 2012, American magazine Time named Buffett one of the most influential people in the world.^[8]

Buffett is called the "Wizard of Omaha", "Oracle of Omaha"^[9], or the "Sage of Omaha"^[10] and is noted for his adherence to the value investing philosophy and for his personal frugality despite his immense wealth.^[11] Buffett is also a notable philanthropist, having pledged to give away 99 percent^[12] of his fortune to philanthropic causes, primarily via the Gates Foundation. On April 11, 2012, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.^[13]

Early life[link]

Buffett was born in 1930 in Omaha, Nebraska, the second of three children and only son of U.S. Representative Howard Buffett,^[14] a fierce critic of the interventionist New Deal domestic and foreign policy, and his wife Leila (née Stahl). Buffett began his education at Rose Hill Elementary School in Omaha. In 1942, his father was elected to the first of four terms in the United States Congress, and after moving with his family to Washington, D.C., Warren finished elementary school, attended Alice Deal Junior High School, and graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in 1947, where his senior yearbook picture reads: "likes math; a future stock broker."^[15]

Even as a child, Buffett displayed an interest in making and saving money. He went door to door selling chewing gum, Coca-Cola, or weekly magazines. For a while, he worked in his grandfather's grocery store. While still in high school he was successful in making money by delivering newspapers, selling golfballs and stamps, and detailing cars, among other means. Filing his first income tax return in 1944, Buffett took a $35 deduction for the use of his bicycle and watch on his paper route.^[16] In 1945, in his sophomore year of high school, Buffett and a friend spent $25 to purchase a used pinball machine, which they placed in the local barber shop. Within months, they owned several machines in different barber shops.

Buffett's interest in the stock market and investing also dated to his childhood, to the days he spent in the customers' lounge of a regional stock brokerage near the office of his father's own brokerage company. On a trip to New York City at the age of ten, he made a point to visit the New York Stock Exchange. At the age of 11, he bought three shares of Cities Service Preferred for himself, and three for his sister.^[17][18] While in high school he invested in a business owned by his father and bought a farm worked by a tenant farmer. By the time he finished college, Buffett had accumulated more than $90,000 in savings measured in 2009 dollars.

Buffett entered college as a freshman in 1947 at the Wharton Business School of the University of Pennsylvania and studied there for two years from 1947 to 1949. In the year 1950, when he entered his junior year, he transferred to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln where at the age of nineteen, he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in business administration. After the completion of his undergraduate studies, Buffett enrolled at Columbia Business School after learning that Benjamin Graham (author of "The Intelligent Investor" – one of his favorite books on investing) and David Dodd, two well-known securities analysts, taught there. He earned a Master of Science in economics from Columbia in 1951. Buffett also attended the New York Institute of Finance. In Buffett's own words:

Business career[link]

Warren Buffett was employed from 1951–54 at Buffett-Falk & Co., Omaha as an investment salesman, from 1954–1956 at Graham-Newman Corp., New York as a securities analyst, from 1956–1969 at Buffett Partnership, Ltd., Omaha as a general partner and from 1970 – Present at Berkshire Hathaway Inc, Omaha as its Chairman, CEO.

In 1950, at the age of 20, Buffett had made and saved $9,800 (over $120,000 inflation-adjusted). In April 1952, Buffett discovered Graham was on the board of GEICO insurance. Taking a train to Washington, D.C. on a Saturday, he knocked on the door of GEICO's headquarters until a janitor allowed him in. There he met Lorimer Davidson, Geico's Vice President, and the two discussed the insurance business for hours. Davidson would eventually become Buffett's life-long friend and a lasting influence^[21] and later recall that he found Buffett to be an "extraordinary man" after only fifteen minutes. Buffett graduated from Columbia and wanted to work on Wall Street, however, both his father and Ben Graham urged him not to. He offered to work for Graham for free, but Graham refused.^[22]

Buffett returned to Omaha and worked as a stockbroker while taking a Dale Carnegie public speaking course.^[23] Using what he learned, he felt confident enough to teach an "Investment Principles" night class at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. The average age of his students was more than twice his own. During this time he also purchased a Sinclair Texaco gas station as a side investment. However, this did not turn out to be a successful business venture.

In 1952^[24] Buffett married Susan Thompson at Dundee Presbyterian Church and the next year they had their first child, Susan Alice Buffett. In 1954, Buffett accepted a job at Benjamin Graham's partnership. His starting salary was $12,000 a year (approximately $105,000 adjusted to 2012 dollars). There he worked closely with Walter Schloss. Graham was a tough man to work for. He was adamant that stocks provide a wide margin of safety after weighting the trade-off between their price and their intrinsic value. The argument made sense to Buffett but he questioned whether the criteria were too stringent and caused the company to miss out on big winners that had more qualitative values.^{[citation needed]} That same year the Buffetts had their second child, Howard Graham Buffett. In 1956, Benjamin Graham retired and closed his partnership. At this time Buffett's personal savings were over $174,000 ($1.2 million inflation adjusted to 2009 dollars) and he started Buffett Partnership Ltd., an investment partnership in Omaha.

Buffett's home in Omaha

In 1957, Buffett had three partnerships operating the entire year. He purchased a five-bedroom stucco house in Omaha, where he still lives, for $31,500. In 1958 the Buffett's third child, Peter Andrew Buffett, was born. Buffett operated five partnerships the entire year. In 1959, the company grew to six partnerships operating the entire year and Buffett was introduced to Charlie Munger. By 1960, Buffett had seven partnerships operating: Buffett Associates, Buffett Fund, Dacee, Emdee, Glenoff, Mo-Buff and Underwood. He asked one of his partners, a doctor, to find ten other doctors willing to invest $10,000 each in his partnership. Eventually eleven agreed, and Buffett pooled their money with a mere $100 original investment of his own. In 1961, Buffett revealed that Sanborn Map Company accounted for 35% of the partnership's assets. He explained that in 1958 Sanborn stock sold at only $45 per share when the value of the Sanborn investment portfolio was $65 per share. This meant that buyers valued Sanborn stock at "minus $20" per share and were unwilling to pay more than 70 cents on the dollar for an investment portfolio with a map business thrown in for nothing. This earned him a spot on the board of Sanborn.

As a millionaire[link]

In 1962, Buffett became a millionaire because of his partnerships, which in January 1962 had an excess of $7,178,500, of which over $1,025,000 belonged to Buffett. Buffett merged all partnerships into one partnership. Buffett invested in and eventually took control of a textile manufacturing firm, Berkshire Hathaway. Buffett's partnerships began purchasing shares at $7.60 per share. In 1965, when Buffett's partnerships began purchasing Berkshire aggressively, they paid $14.86 per share while the company had working capital of $19 per share. This did not include the value of fixed assets (factory and equipment). Buffett took control of Berkshire Hathaway at the board meeting and named a new president, Ken Chace, to run the company. In 1966, Buffett closed the partnership to new money. Buffett wrote in his letter: "... unless it appears that circumstances have changed (under some conditions added capital would improve results) or unless new partners can bring some asset to the partnership other than simply capital, I intend to admit no additional partners to BPL."

In a second letter, Buffett announced his first investment in a private business — Hochschild, Kohn and Co, a privately owned Baltimore department store. In 1967, Berkshire paid out its first and only dividend of 10 cents. In 1969, following his most successful year, Buffett liquidated the partnership and transferred their assets to his partners. Among the assets paid out were shares of Berkshire Hathaway. In 1970, as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett began writing his now-famous annual letters to shareholders. However, he lived solely on his salary of $50,000 per year, and his outside investment income. In 1979, Berkshire began the year trading at $775 per share, and ended at $1,310. Buffett's net worth reached $620 million, placing him on the Forbes 400 for the first time.

In 1973, Berkshire began to acquire stock in the Washington Post Company. Buffett became close friends with Katharine Graham, who controlled the company and its flagship newspaper, and became a member of its board of directors. In 1974, the SEC opened a formal investigation into Warren Buffett and Berkshire's acquisition of WESCO, due to possible conflict of interest. No charges were brought. In 1977, Berkshire indirectly purchased the Buffalo Evening News for $32.5 million. Antitrust charges started, instigated by its rival, the Buffalo Courier-Express. Both papers lost money, until the Courier-Express folded in 1982.

In 1979, Berkshire began to acquire stock in ABC. Capital Cities announced $3.5 billion purchase of ABC on March 18, 1985 surprised the media industry, as ABC was four times bigger than Capital Cities at the time. Berkshire Hathaway chairman Warren Buffett helped finance the deal in return for a 25% stake in the combined company.^[25] The newly merged company, known as Capital Cities/ABC (or CapCities/ABC), was forced to sell off some stations due to FCC ownership rules. Also, the two companies owned several radio stations in the same markets.^[26]

In 1987, Berkshire Hathaway purchased a 12% stake in Salomon Inc., making it the largest shareholder and Buffett the director. In 1990, a scandal involving John Gutfreund (former CEO of Salomon Brothers) surfaced. A rogue trader, Paul Mozer, was submitting bids in excess of what was allowed by the Treasury rules. When this was discovered and brought to the attention of Gutfreund, he did not immediately suspend the rogue trader. Gutfreund left the company in August 1991.^[27] Buffett became Chairman of Salomon until the crisis passed; on September 4, 1991, he testified before Congress.^[28] In 1988, Buffett began buying stock in Coca-Cola Company, eventually purchasing up to 7% of the company for $1.02 billion. It would turn out to be one of Berkshire's most lucrative investments, and one which it still holds.

As a billionaire[link]

Buffett became a billionaire on paper when Berkshire Hathaway began selling class A shares on May 29, 1990, when the market closed at $7,175 a share.^[29] In 1998, in an unusual move, he acquired General Re (Gen Re) for stock. In 2002, Buffett became involved with Maurice R. Greenberg at AIG, with General Re providing reinsurance. On March 15, 2005, AIG's board forced Greenberg to resign from his post as Chairman and CEO under the shadow of criticism from Eliot Spitzer, former attorney general of the state of New York. On February 9, 2006, AIG and the New York State Attorney General's office agreed to a settlement in which AIG would pay a fine of $1.6 billion.^[30] In 2010, the federal government settled with Berkshire Hathaway for $92 million in return for the firm avoiding prosecution in an AIG fraud scheme, and undergoing 'corporate governance concessions'.^[31]

In 2002, Buffett entered in $11 billion worth of forward contracts to deliver U.S. dollars against other currencies. By April 2006, his total gain on these contracts was over $2 billion. In 2006, Buffett announced in June that he gradually would give away 85% of his Berkshire holdings to five foundations in annual gifts of stock, starting in July 2006. The largest contribution would go to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.^[32] In 2007, in a letter to shareholders, Buffett announced that he was looking for a younger successor, or perhaps successors, to run his investment business.^[33] Buffett had previously selected Lou Simpson, who runs investments at Geico, to fill that role. However, Simpson is only six years younger than Buffett.

Late 2000s recession[link]

Buffett ran into criticism^[34] during the subprime crisis of 2007–2008, part of the late 2000s recession, that he had allocated capital too early resulting in suboptimal deals. "Buy American. I am." he wrote for an opinion piece published recently in the New York Times.^[35] Buffett has called the 2007–present downturn in the financial sector "poetic justice".^[36] Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway suffered a 77% drop in earnings during Q3 2008 and several of his recent deals appear to be running into large mark-to-market losses.^[37]

Berkshire Hathaway acquired 10% perpetual preferred stock of Goldman Sachs.^[38] Some of Buffett's Index put options (European exercise at expiry only) that he wrote (sold) are currently running around $6.73 billion mark-to-market losses.^[39] The scale of the potential loss prompted the SEC to demand that Berkshire produce, "a more robust disclosure" of factors used to value the contracts.^[39] Buffett also helped Dow Chemical pay for its $18.8 billion takeover of Rohm & Haas. He thus became the single largest shareholder in the enlarged group with his Berkshire Hathaway, which provided $3 billion, underlining his instrumental role during the current crisis in debt and equity markets.^[40]

In 2008, Buffett became the richest man in the world, with a total net worth estimated at $62 billion^[41] by Forbes and at $58 billion^[42] by Yahoo, dethroning Bill Gates, who had been number one on the Forbes list for 13 consecutive years.^[43] In 2009, Gates regained the position of number one on the Forbes list, with Buffett second. Their values have dropped to $40 billion and $37 billion, respectively, Buffett having lost $25 billion in 12 months during 2008/2009, according to Forbes.^[44]

In October 2008, the media reported that Warren Buffett had agreed to buy General Electric (GE) preferred stock.^[45] The operation included extra special incentives: he received an option to buy 3 billion GE at $22.25 in the next five years, and also received a 10% dividend (callable within three years). In February 2009, Buffett sold some of the Procter & Gamble Co, and Johnson & Johnson shares from his portfolio.^[46]

In addition to suggestions of mistiming, questions have been raised as to the wisdom in keeping some of Berkshire's major holdings, including The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) which in 1998 peaked at $86. Buffett discussed the difficulties of knowing when to sell in the company's 2004 annual report:

That may seem easy to do when one looks through an always-clean, rear-view mirror. Unfortunately, however, it's the windshield through which investors must peer, and that glass is invariably fogged.^[47]

In March 2009, Buffett stated in a cable television interview that the economy had "fallen off a cliff... Not only has the economy slowed down a lot, but people have really changed their habits like I haven't seen". Additionally, Buffett fears we may revisit a 1970s level of inflation, which led to a painful stagflation that lasted many years.^[48][49]

In 2009, Warren Buffett invested $2.6 billion as a part of Swiss Re's raising equity capital.^[50][51] Berkshire Hathaway already owns a 3% stake, with rights to own more than 20%.^[52] In 2009, Warren Buffett acquired Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. for $34 billion in cash and stock. Alice Schroeder, author of Snowball, stated that a reason for the purchase was to diversify Berkshire Hathaway from the financial industry.^[53] Measured by market capitalization in the Financial Times Global 500 Berkshire Hathaway as of June 2009 was the eighteenth largest corporation on earth.^[54]

In 2009, Buffett divested his failed investment in ConocoPhillips, saying to his Berkshire investors,

I bought a large amount of ConocoPhillips stock when oil and gas prices were near their peak. I in no way anticipated the dramatic fall in energy prices that occurred in the last half of the year. I still believe the odds are good that oil sells far higher in the future than the current $40–$50 price. But so far I have been dead wrong. Even if prices should rise, moreover, the terrible timing of my purchase has cost Berkshire several billion dollars.^[55]

The merger with the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (BNSF) closed upon BNSF shareholder approval in 1Q2010. This deal is valued at approximately $34 billion and reflects an increase of a previously existing stake of about 22%.

In June 2010, Buffett defended the credit rating agencies for their role in the US financial crisis, claiming that:

Very, very few people could appreciate the bubble. That's the nature of bubbles – they're mass delusions.^[56]

On March 18, 2011, Goldman Sachs acquired Federal Reserve approval to buy back Berkshire's preferred stock in Goldman. Buffet has been reluctant to give up the stock which averaged $1.4 million in dividends a day,^[57] stating:^[58]

I'm going to be the Osama bin Laden of capitalism. I'm on my way to an unknown destination in Asia where I'm going to look for a cave. If the U.S. Armed forces can't find Osama bin Laden in 10 years, let Goldman Sachs try to find me.^[59]

In November 2011, it was announced that over the course of the last 8 months, Warren Buffett had bought 64 million shares of International Business Machine Corp (IBM) stock, worth around $11 billion. This unanticipated investment raised his stake in the company to around 5.5 percent—the largest stake in IBM alongside that of State Street Global Advisors. Buffett had said on numerous prior occasions that he would not invest in technology because he did not fully understand it, so the move came as a surprise to many investors and observers. During the interview in which he revealed the investment to the public, Buffet stated that he was impressed by the company's ability to retain corporate clients and said, "I don't know of any large company that really has been as specific on what they intend to do and how they intend to do it as IBM."^[60]

In May 2012, it was announced that Warren Buffett had acquired Media General, owner of 63 newspapers in the south-eastern United States.^[61] It was the second news print purchase made by Buffett in one year.^[62]

Personal life[link]

Buffett married Susan Buffett (née Thompson) in 1952. They had three children, Susie, Howard and Peter. The couple began living separately in 1977, although they remained married until her death in July 2004. Their daughter, Susie, lives in Omaha and does charitable work through the Susan A. Buffett Foundation and is a national board member of Girls, Inc. In 2006, on his seventy-sixth birthday, Warren married his longtime companion, Astrid Menks, who was then 60 years old. She had lived with him since his wife's departure to San Francisco in 1977.^[63] It was Susan Buffett who arranged for the two to meet before she left Omaha to pursue her singing career. All three were close and Christmas cards to friends were signed "Warren, Susie and Astrid".^[64] Susan Buffett briefly discussed this relationship in an interview on the Charlie Rose Show shortly before her death, in a rare glimpse into Buffett's personal life.^[65]

Warren Buffett disowned his son Peter's adopted daughter, Nicole, in 2006 after she participated in the Jamie Johnson documentary, The One Percent. Although his first wife had referred to Nicole as one of her "adored grandchildren",^[66] Buffett wrote her a letter stating, "I have not emotionally or legally adopted you as a grandchild, nor have the rest of my family adopted you as a niece or a cousin." He signed the letter "Warren."^[67][68][69]

His 2006 annual salary was about $100,000, which is small compared to senior executive remuneration in comparable companies.^[70] In 2007 and 2008, he earned a total compensation of $175,000, which included a base salary of just $100,000.^[71][72] He lives in the same house in the central Dundee neighborhood of Omaha that he bought in 1958 for $31,500, today valued at around $700,000 (although he also owns a $4 million house in Laguna Beach, California).^[73] In 1989 after having spent nearly 6.7 million dollars of Berkshire's funds on a private jet, Buffett sheepishly named it "The Indefensible". This act was a break from his past condemnation of extravagant purchases by other CEOs and his history of using more public transportation.^[74]

Buffett is an avid player of bridge, which he plays with fellow fan Gates.^[76] He spends 12 hours a week playing the game.^[77] In 2006, he sponsored a bridge match for the Buffett Cup. Modeled on the Ryder Cup in golf, held immediately before it, and in the same city, a team of twelve bridge players from the United States took on twelve Europeans in the event. He is a dedicated, lifelong follower of Nebraska football, and attends as many games as his schedule permits. He supported the hire of Bo Pelini following the 2007 season stating, "It was getting kind of desperate around here".^[78] He watched the 2009 game against Oklahoma from the Nebraska sideline after being named an honorary assistant coach.^[79]

Warren Buffett worked with Christopher Webber on an animated series with chief Andy Heyward, of DiC Entertainment, and then A Squared Entertainment. The series features Buffett and Munger, and teaches children healthy financial habits for life.^[80][81] Buffett was raised Presbyterian but has since described himself as agnostic.^[82] In December 2006 it was reported that Buffett does not carry a cell phone, does not have a computer at his desk, and drives his own automobile,^[83] a Cadillac DTS.^[84] Buffett wears tailor-made suits from the Chinese label Trands; earlier he wore Ermenegildo Zegna.^[85]

Health[link]

On 11 April 2012, Buffett was diagnosed with stage I prostate cancer during a routine test.^[86] He announced he would begin two months of daily radiation treatment from mid-July; however, in a letter to shareholders, Buffett said he felt "great - as if I were in my normal excellent health - and my energy level is 100 percent".

Lineage[link]

Buffett's DNA report revealed that his paternal ancestors hail from northern Scandinavia, while his maternal ancestors hail from Iberia (present-day Spain^[87]) or Estonia.^[88] It's been also reported that Warren is not related to Jimmy Buffett despite the similar surname.^[87]

Recognition[link]

In 1999, Buffett was named the top money manager of the Twentieth Century in a survey by the Carson Group, ahead of Peter Lynch and John Templeton.^[89] In 2007, he was listed among Time's 100 Most Influential People in the world.^[90] In 2011, President Barack Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.^[91] Most recently, Buffett, along with Bill Gates, was named the most influential global thinker in Foreign Policy's 2010 report.^[92]

Politics[link]

Buffett and President Obama at the Oval Office, July 14, 2010

In addition to other political contributions over the years, Buffett has formally endorsed and made campaign contributions to Barack Obama's presidential campaign. On July 2, 2008, Buffett attended a $28,500 per plate fundraiser for Obama's campaign in Chicago hosted by Obama's National Finance Chair, Penny Pritzker and her husband, as well as Obama advisor Valerie Jarrett.^[93] Buffett backed Obama for president, and intimated that John McCain's views on social justice were so far from his own that McCain would need a "lobotomy" for Buffett to change his endorsement.^[94] During the second 2008 U.S. presidential debate, candidates John McCain and Barack Obama, after being asked first by presidential debate mediator Tom Brokaw, both mentioned Buffett as a possible future Secretary of the Treasury.^[95] Later, in the third and final presidential debate, Obama mentioned Buffett as a potential economic advisor.^[96] Buffett was also finance advisor to California Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger during his 2003 election campaign.^[97]

Writings[link]

Warren Buffett's writings include his annual reports and various articles. Buffett is recognized by communicators^[98] as a great story-teller, as evidenced by his annual letters to shareholders. He warned about the pernicious effects of inflation:^[99]

The arithmetic makes it plain that inflation is a far more devastating tax than anything that has been enacted by our legislatures. The inflation tax has a fantastic ability to simply consume capital. It makes no difference to a widow with her savings in a 5 percent passbook account whether she pays 100 percent income tax on her interest income during a period of zero inflation, or pays no income taxes during years of 5 percent inflation.

—Buffett, Fortune (1977)

In his article The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville, Buffett rebutted the academic Efficient-market hypothesis, that beating the S&P 500 was "pure chance", by highlighting the results achieved by a number of students of the Graham and Dodd value investing school of thought. In addition to himself, Buffett named Walter J. Schloss, Tom Knapp, Ed Anderson (Tweedy, Brown Inc.), Bill Ruane (Sequoia Fund, Inc.), Charles Munger (Buffett's own business partner at Berkshire), Rick Guerin (Pacific Partners, Ltd.), and Stan Perlmeter (Perlmeter Investments).^[100] In his November 1999 Fortune article, he warned of investors' unrealistic expectations:^[101]

Let me summarize what I've been saying about the stock market: I think it's very hard to come up with a persuasive case that equities will over the next 17 years perform anything like—anything like—they've performed in the past 17. If I had to pick the most probable return, from appreciation and dividends combined, that investors in aggregate—repeat, aggregate—would earn in a world of constant interest rates, 2% inflation, and those ever hurtful frictional costs, it would be 6%!

—Buffett, Fortune (1999)

Style[link]

Buffett's speeches are known for mixing business discussions with humor. Each year, Buffett presides over Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder meeting in the Qwest Center in Omaha, Nebraska, an event drawing over 20,000 visitors from both United States and abroad, giving it the nickname "Woodstock of Capitalism".^[102] Berkshire's annual reports and letters to shareholders, prepared by Buffett, frequently receive coverage by the financial media. Buffett's writings are known for containing quotations from sources as ranging between the Bible and Mae West,^[103] as well as advice in a Midwestern folk style, and numerous jokes.

Wealth[link]

In 2008 he was ranked by Forbes as the richest person in the world with an estimated net worth of approximately US$62 billion.^[104] In 2009, after donating billions of dollars to charity, Buffett was ranked as the second richest man in the United States with a net worth of US$37 billion^[105][106] with only Bill Gates ranked higher than Buffett. His net worth is up to $47 billion in the past 12 months.^[107]

Philanthropy[link]

The following quotation from 1988 highlights Warren Buffett's thoughts on his wealth and why he long planned to re-allocate it:

I don't have a problem with guilt about money. The way I see it is that my money represents an enormous number of claim checks on society. It's like I have these little pieces of paper that I can turn into consumption. If I wanted to, I could hire 10,000 people to do nothing but paint my picture every day for the rest of my life. And the GDP would go up. But the utility of the product would be zilch, and I would be keeping those 10,000 people from doing AIDS research, or teaching, or nursing. I don't do that though. I don't use very many of those claim checks. There's nothing material I want very much. And I'm going to give virtually all of those claim checks to charity when my wife and I die. (Lowe 1997:165–166)

From a NY Times article: "I don't believe in dynastic wealth", Warren Buffett said, calling those who grow up in wealthy circumstances "members of the lucky sperm club".^[108] Buffett has written several times of his belief that, in a market economy, the rich earn outsized rewards for their talents:

A market economy creates some lopsided payoffs to participants. The right endowment of vocal chords, anatomical structure, physical strength, or mental powers can produce enormous piles of claim checks (stocks, bonds, and other forms of capital) on future national output. Proper selection of ancestors similarly can result in lifetime supplies of such tickets upon birth. If zero real investment returns diverted a bit greater portion of the national output from such stockholders to equally worthy and hardworking citizens lacking jackpot-producing talents, it would seem unlikely to pose such an insult to an equitable world as to risk Divine Intervention.^[109]

His children will not inherit a significant proportion of his wealth. This is consistent with statements he has made in the past indicating his opposition to the transfer of great fortunes from one generation to the next.^[110] Buffett once commented, "I want to give my kids just enough so that they would feel that they could do anything, but not so much that they would feel like doing nothing".^[111]

In June 2006, he announced a plan to give away his fortune to charity, with 83% of it going to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.^[112] He pledged about the equivalent of 10 million Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (worth approximately US$30.7 billion as of June 23, 2006),^[113] making it the largest charitable donation in history, and Buffett one of the leaders of philanthrocapitalism.^[114] The foundation will receive 5% of the total donation on an annualised basis each July, beginning in 2006. (Significantly, however, the pledge is conditional upon the foundation's giving away each year, beginning in 2009, an amount that is at least equal to the value of the entire previous year's gift from Buffett, in addition to 5% of the foundation's net assets.) Buffett also will join the board of directors of the Gates Foundation, although he does not plan to be actively involved in the foundation's investments.^[115][116]

This is a significant shift from previous statements Buffett has made, having stated that most of his fortune would pass to his Buffett Foundation.^[117] The bulk of the estate of his wife, valued at $2.6 billion, went to that foundation when she died in 2004.^[118] He also pledged $50-million to the Nuclear Threat Initiative, in Washington, where he has served as an adviser since 2002.^[119]

In 2006, he auctioned his 2001 Lincoln Town Car^[120] on eBay to raise money for Girls, Inc.^[121] In 2007, he auctioned a luncheon with himself that raised a final bid of $650,100 for the Glide Foundation which was won by Mohnish Pabrai and Guy Spier.^[122] On June 27, 2008, Zhao Danyang, a general manager at Pure Heart China Growth Investment Fund, won the 2008 5-day online "Power Lunch with Warren Buffett" charity auction with a bid of $2,110,100. Auction proceeds benefit the San Francisco Glide Foundation.^[123][124] The following year, executives from Toronto-based Salida Capital paid US$1.68 million to dine with Buffett.^[125]

In a letter to Fortune Magazine's website in 2010 Buffett remarked:

My luck was accentuated by my living in a market system that sometimes produces distorted results, though overall it serves our country well... I've worked in an economy that rewards someone who saves the lives of others on a battlefield with a medal, rewards a great teacher with thank-you notes from parents, but rewards those who can detect the mispricing of securities with sums reaching into the billions. In short, fate's distribution of long straws is wildly capricious. ^[126]

This statement was made as part of a joint proposal with Bill Gates to encourage other wealthy individuals to pool some of their fortunes for charitable purposes.

Bill Gates's wife Melinda urged people to learn a lesson from the philanthropic efforts of the family that sold its home and gave away half of its value, as detailed in The Power of Half.^[127][128] On December 9, 2010, Buffett, Bill Gates, and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, signed a promise they called the "Gates-Buffett Giving Pledge", in which they promised to donate to charity at least half of their wealth over time, and invited others among the wealthy to donate 50% or more of their wealth to charity.^[129][130]

Public positions[link]

Health care[link]

Buffett has described the health care reform under President Barack Obama as insufficient to deal with the costs of health care in the US, though he supports its aim of expanding health insurance coverage.^[131] Buffett compared health care costs to a tapeworm, saying that they compromise US economic competitiveness by increasing manufacturing costs.^[131] Buffett thinks health care costs should head towards 13 to 14% of GDP.^[132] (Under the PPACA, the CMS actuary has projected health care costs will reach almost 20% of GDP by 2020.)^[133] Buffett said "if you want the very best, I mean if you want to spend a million dollars to prolong your life 3 months in a coma or something" then the US is probably the best, but that other countries spend much less and receive much more in health care value (visits, hospital beds, doctors and nurses per capita).^[134] Buffett faults the incentives in the US medical industry, that payers reimburse doctors for procedures (fee-for-service) leading to unnecessary care (overutilization), instead of paying for results.^[135] Buffett has cited Atul Gawande's 2009 article in the New Yorker^[136] as being a useful study in the problems of US health care, with its documentation of unwarranted variation in Medicare expenditures between McAllen, Texas and El Paso, Texas.^[135] Buffett also brought up the problem of lobbying by the medical industry, saying that they are very focused on maintaining their income.^[137]

Taxes[link]

Buffett stated that he only paid 19% of his income for 2006 ($48.1 million) in total federal taxes (due to their being from dividends & capital gains), while his employees paid 33% of theirs, despite making much less money.^[138] “How can this be fair?” Buffett asked, regarding how little he pays in taxes compared to his employees. "How can this be right?" He also added:

"There's class warfare, all right, but it's my class, the rich class, that's making war, and we're winning."^[139][140]

Buffett favors the inheritance tax, saying that repealing it would be like "choosing the 2020 Olympic team by picking the eldest sons of the gold-medal winners in the 2000 Olympics".^[141] In 2007, Buffett testified before the Senate and urged them to preserve the estate tax so as to avoid a plutocracy.^[142] Some critics have argued that Buffett (through Berkshire Hathaway) has a personal interest in the continuation of the estate tax, since Berkshire Hathaway has benefited from the estate tax in past business dealings and had developed and marketed insurance policies to protect policy holders against future estate tax payments.^[143] Buffett believes government should not be in the business of gambling, or legalizing casinos, calling it a tax on ignorance.^[144]

Trade deficit[link]

Buffett views the United States' expanding trade deficit as a trend that will devalue the US dollar and US assets. He believes that the US dollar will lose value in the long run, as a result of putting a larger portion of ownership of US assets in the hands of foreigners. In his letter to shareholders in March 2005, Warren Buffett predicted that in another ten years' time the net ownership of the U.S. by outsiders would amount to $11 trillion.

Americans ... would chafe at the idea of perpetually paying tribute to their creditors and owners abroad. A country that is now aspiring to an 'ownership society' will not find happiness in – and I'll use hyperbole here for emphasis – a 'sharecropping society’.

Author Ann Pettifor has adopted the image in her writings and has stated: "He is right. And so the thing we must fear most now, is not just the collapse of banks and investment funds, or of the international financial architecture, but of a 'sharecropper society, angry at its downfall".^[145]

Dollar and gold[link]

The trade deficit induced Buffett to enter the foreign currency market for the first time in 2002. However, he substantially reduced his stake in 2005 as changing interest rates increased the costs of holding currency contracts. Buffett continues to be bearish on the dollar, and says he is looking to acquire companies which derive a substantial portion of their revenues from outside the United States. Buffett emphasized the non-productive aspect of a gold standard for the USD in 1998 at Harvard:

It gets dug out of the ground in Africa, or someplace. Then we melt it down, dig another hole, bury it again and pay people to stand around guarding it. It has no utility. Anyone watching from Mars would be scratching their head.

In 1977 Buffett was also quoted as saying about stocks, gold, farmland, and inflation:

Stocks are probably still the best of all the poor alternatives in an era of inflation – at least they are if you buy in at appropriate prices.^[146]

Investing in China[link]

Buffett invested in PetroChina Company Limited and in a rare move, posted a commentary^[147] on Berkshire Hathaway's website stating why he would not divest from the company despite calls from some activists to do so, due to its connection with the Sudanese civil war that caused Harvard to divest from the company in 2005. He did, however, sell this stake soon afterwards, sparing him the billions of dollars he would have lost had he held on to the company in the midst of the steep drop in oil prices beginning in the summer of 2008.

In October 2008, Buffett invested in new energy automobile business by paying $230 million for 10% of BYD Company (SEHK: 1211), which runs a subsidiary of electric automobile manufacturer BYD Auto. In less than one year, the investment has reaped him over 500% return of profit.^[148]

Tobacco[link]

During the RJR Nabisco, Inc. hostile takeover fight in 1987, Buffett was quoted as telling John Gutfreund:^[149]

I'll tell you why I like the cigarette business. It costs a penny to make. Sell it for a dollar. It's addictive. And there's fantastic brand loyalty.

—Buffett, quoted in Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco

Speaking at Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s 1994 annual meeting, Buffett said investments in tobacco are:^[150]

fraught with questions that relate to societal attitudes and those of the present administration. I would not like to have a significant percentage of my net worth invested in tobacco businesses. The economy of the business may be fine, but that doesn't mean it has a bright future.

—Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting (1994)

Coal[link]

In 2007, Buffett's PacifiCorp, a subsidiary of his MidAmerican Energy Company, canceled six proposed coal-fired power plants. These included Utah's Intermountain Power Project Unit 3, Jim Bridger Unit 5, and four proposed plants previously included in PacifiCorp's Integrated Resource Plan. The cancellations came in the wake of pressure from regulators and citizen groups, including a petition drive organized by Salt Lake City commercial real estate broker Alexander Lofft and directed at Buffett personally. The 1,600 petitioners, who described themselves in a letter to Buffett as "a collection of citizens, business owners and managers, service professionals, public servants, and organization representatives ... your friends and new customers here in Utah," explained that, in their view, any further expansion of coal generation in Utah would "compromise our health, obscure our viewsheds, shrink and contaminate our watersheds, and thin out our most beloved snow pack," concluding that "our attractiveness as a place to live and work is also threatened, and so is our economic competitiveness as a major metro area and a state, compromising our recent gains in income and property values".^[151]

Renewable energy[link]

In December 2011, Buffett's MidAmerican Energy Holdings agreed to buy a $2 billion solar energy project under development in California and a 49 percent stake in a $1.8 billion plant in Arizona. He already owns wind farms and these are his first forays into solar power.^[152]

Expensing of stock options[link]

He has been a strong proponent of stock option expensing on the Income Statement. At the 2004 annual meeting, he lambasted a bill before the United States Congress that would consider only some company-issued stock options compensation as an expense, likening the bill to one that was almost passed by the Indiana House of Representatives to change the value of Pi from 3.14159 to 3.2 through legislative fiat.^[153]

When a company gives something of value to its employees in return for their services, it is clearly a compensation expense. And if expenses don't belong in the earnings statement, where in the world do they belong?^[154]

Klamath river[link]

American Indian tribes and salmon fishermen sought to win support from Warren Buffett for a proposal to remove four hydroelectric dams from the Klamath River. He had David Sokol respond that the FERC would decide the question.^[155][156]

Google and Facebook[link]

In May of 2012, Buffett said he avoids buying stock in new social media companies like Facebook and Google because is it hard to estimate future value. He also stated that initial public offering (IPO) of stock are almost always bad investments. Investors should be looking to companies that will have good value in ten years.^[157]

Books about Buffett[link]

Numerous books have been written about Warren Buffett and his investment strategies. In October 2008, USA Today reported that there were at least 47 books in print with Buffett's name in the title. The article quoted the CEO of Borders Books, George Jones, as saying that the only other living persons named in as many book titles were U.S. presidents, major world political figures, and the Dalai Lama.^[158] Buffett said that his own personal favorite is a collection of his essays called The Essays of Warren Buffett,^[159] which he described as "a coherent rearrangement of ideas from my annual report letters" as edited by Larry Cunningham.^[158]

Some best-selling, or otherwise notable, books about Buffett:

• Roger Lowenstein, Buffett, Making of an American Capitalist
• Robert Hagstrom, The Warren Buffett Way.^[158][160]
• Alice Schroeder, The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life.^[161] (Written with Buffett's cooperation.)^[162]
• Mary Buffett and David Clark, Buffettology^[163] and four subsequent books. (Combined sales of more than 1.5 million copies.)^[158]
• Janet Lowe, Warren Buffett Speaks: Wit and Wisdom from the World's Greatest Investor.^[164]
• John Train, The Midas Touch: The Strategies That Have Made Warren Buffett 'America's Preeminent Investor'.^[165]
• Andrew Kilpatrick, Of Permanent Value: The Story of Warren Buffett.^[166] (The longest of the books about Buffett, with 330 chapters, 1,874 pages and 1,400 photos, weighing 10.2 pounds.)^[158]
• Robert P. Miles (2004). Warren Buffett wealth: principles and practical methods used by the world's greatest investor. John Wiley and Sons. ISBN 978-0-471-46511-9. http://books.google.com/?id=OOZWykmT-KUC&pg=PA26&lpg=PA26&dq=buffett+city+services+preferred#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• John P. Reese, "The Guru Investor: How to Beat the Market Using History's Best Investment Strategies".^[167] (Includes step-by-step stock-picking method based on Buffett's approach)
• Janet M. Tavakoli, Dear Mr. Buffett: what an investor learns 1,269 miles from Wall Street, John Wiley and Sons, 2008, ISBN 978-0-470-40678-6^[168]

Bibliography[link]

• The Essays of Warren Buffett : Lessons for Corporate America, Warren Buffett and Lawrence A. Cunningham, The Cunningham Group; revised edition (April 11, 2001), ISBN 978-0-9664461-1-1
• The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America, Second Edition, Warren E. Buffett and Lawrence A. Cunningham, The Cunningham Group; 2nd edition (April 14, 2008), ISBN 978-0-9664461-2-8

See also[link]

• Forbes list of billionaires
• Iscar

References[link]