Talk:Warren Buffett

American nationality?

He is an U.S. citizen, not an 'american'. A mexican or a peruvian person is an 'american' too. It's not the first time i find such cultural bias in the wiki. I can't correct it because i just created my user a few days ago and the page is blocked. Can anybody do it? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Voetius (talk • contribs) 00:55, 3 March 2009 (UTC)

Actually, no. From the American English language expert Bryan Garner's Garner's Modern American Usage:

American. As an adjective limited in application ot the United States, this word has long been known to be anomalous. All North Americans and South Americans have claim to being called Americans, and yet the language has never quite recognized this fact: "In strict logic such a use is not justifiable, but common practice and understanding have long since put the word beyond the jurisdiction of logic." 1 George Philip Krapp, The English Language in America xiii (1925). Perhaps one reason for the firmly established usage is the lack of any reasonable alternative (United Statesian?)

ryguillian (talk) 22:51, 26 March 2009 (UTC)

that's US english language expert's opinion. articles in wikipedia are joke.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.179.111.38 (talk • contribs)

He can easily be described as a United States investor, etc. "Yankee imperialism" is not an excuse for misleading titles. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.197.15.138 (talk) 22:11, 5 June 2011 (UTC)

Agreed. from the Oxford English Dictionary:

"A. n. 1. An indigenous inhabitant of (any part of) the Americas; an American Indian. Now only with modifying word, as indigenous American, original American, etc.; see also Native American 2. a. a. Originally: a native or inhabitant of America, esp. of the British colonies in North America, of European descent (now hist.). Now chiefly: a native or citizen of the United States. Cf. also Latin American n., North American n., South American n., etc.

B. adj. 1. a. Of or relating to (any part of) the Americas b. Of, relating to, or designating the indigenous inhabitants of (any part of) the Americas; of, relating to, or designating American Indians. Now chiefly with modifying word, as early, original, indigenous, etc."

Obviously, this is just part of what the OED has listed in the entry for "American," but the point is that, while many people use the term "American" to refer to those born in the US, the term is definitely not limited to that use. It would be more accurate to use "United States." 184.38.105.128 (talk) 20:27, 27 August 2011 (UTC)

In the U.S., we call ourselves "Americans", and we call people from South and Central America, South and Central Americans. Maybe because the word America is actually in the name of our country (U.S. of America). El Salvadorans in their language drop the El and call themselves Salvadorenos. It's their prerogative, and helps simplify matters. Since this article was written more than likely by an American (even the Brits and other English-speaking countries refer to U.S. citizens as Americans) in American English (there you go again), it's only fitting to use the term. Too bad "Americans" got first dibs on the term because we had one of the first successful revolutions against an Imperial power. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.100.142.18 (talk) 05:24, 7 October 2012 (UTC)

Americans could be called Yanks too, but that is not your nationality. Wikipedia needs to maintain higher standards, and be on guard against colloquialisms.203.184.41.226 (talk) 07:25, 13 April 2013 (UTC)

What about the probability of his having autism, specifically aspergers syndrome?

There are numerous hints of it in his Bio, and the foundations he supports and his sister supports contribute heavily to autism/aspergers research. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.253.30.129 (talk) 04:06, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

• I read a book review in the Sunday Times of the new authorised biography on him, and the reviewer questioned why the author hadn't brought up the subject of him probably having asperger's. He eats the same food each day (burgers and cherry coke) and has many irrational aspects of his behaviour... I'll check the review (I kept it) and give a ref tomorrow :) But it seems a relevant issue. Malick78 (talk) 20:29, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

Edited some possibly misleading comments on 'financial failings'

Using today's stock price as a measure of anything is not really helpful in 2008, given the overall world economy.Ykral (talk) 11:02, 1 December 2008 (UTC) Which other price do you want to use? One chosen by yourself, I suppose. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.158.207.21 (talk) 15:18, 19 December 2008 (UTC)

plagurism?

a part of the introduction is 100% identical to the web page http://www.motivational-story.com/richest.html

"When Buffett spent $9.7 million of Berkshire's funds on a business jet in 1989, he jokingly named it "The Indefensible" because of his past criticisms of such purchases by other CEOs. He lives in the same house in the central Dundee neighborhood of Omaha that he bought in 1958 for $31,500 and today, it is valued at around $700,000."

the are massive similarities throughout the article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.106.184.61 (talk) 15:32, 19 January 2009 (UTC)

I read some of the original article and wrote a new way of explaining the anecdote. However, I am not sure that the story even should be a part of this article as already I feel this page is too long. If anyone went behind me and deleted the story about the jet, I would not oppose. I should also say that I moved this story from the introduction to "personal life." Bluerasberry (talk) 18:18, 5 May 2009 (UTC)

References might really be just a commercial.

I want to point out that I have not found anywhere where Warren Buffett agrees that his ex daughter in laws (Mary Buffett) books are authentically teaching his method of investing.

Therefore, they have no business being listed in the reference. 24.108.136.141 (talk) 19:37, 24 January 2009 (UTC)

Reorganized the article

Okay, after reading this article every once in a while and never seeing any major improvements, I just went ahead and reorganized it, giving it essentially a complete overhaul. No content was lost; all prose was kept intact. I think that the new layout is a lot better than before, but it might still need a few tweaks here and there, such as better section titles. Gary King (talk) 05:30, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

me too pohick (talk) 21:37, 17 March 2009 (UTC)

Stock Holdings

I will definitely add the stock holding info to Warren Buffett /Berkshire Hathaway pages because this is what readers want to see and why they come to these pages. Gary King's edit makes the whole page non-readable and much less useful. People come to these pages because Warren Buffett is a legendary stock picker.

The stock holding info I put on is from the latest Berkshire 13F filing with SEC. It's not stock quote or anything changing fast. It's what Berkshire tells world what they bought/held/sold in last quarter. Always keep in mind Warren Buffett is about investment, i.e., stocks, without that, the page is dead.Iifacts (talk) 03:00, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

I oppose any addition of the stocks, as they are indiscriminate bits of information which other websites can serve more efficiently. I would accept linking to an SEC page from this article that contains the same information, to provide readers the information without cluttering what is already in this article. Gary King (talk) 03:01, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

The stock holding in a table form is the best way to view it, and I will keep it up-to-date. If you think the info is wrong in that part, change it. But it's not right to simply cut it off. Also, please get the time line back. It's a lot of work from a lot of people, it cannot simply go away because of your personal taste. Iifacts (talk) 03:09, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

An external link would work fine and would save time and effort. I noticed that you (Iifacts) reverted even though consensus was against you and you had already reverted twice. Please keep in mind the three-revert-rule. Dabomb87 (talk) 03:10, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

Looking at the page, I agree that an external link is more appropriate than having a list of stock holdings that may or may not be kept up to date. However, if an external link is used, I highly suggest that it be to a page other than iifacts.com, however, which I would suspect, from the editor's username, may be a conflict of interest issue. Tony Fox (arf!) 04:24, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

Wow, thanks for bringing that up, I didn't actually check the URL used and so I didn't suspect a COI. This brings a whole new dimension to this. Gary King (talk) 04:26, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

Well if you can find better info elsewhere than what's on iifacts.com, go ahead. Gary: your stock holding link on Berkshire Hathaway is misleading. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Iifacts (talk • contribs) 05:03, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

I renamed it to Assets. It was Holdings for a while until I merged the lists together on that page. Gary King (talk) 05:07, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

I was unaware that such a page existed. Dabomb87 (talk) 13:20, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

Yeah, there were a few lists before in this article. One was the stock information, which I removed. The other was a list of assets that his company owned; some items in the list were not yet in the separate article, so I merged it in there to be cleaned up later. Gary King (talk) 17:06, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

Books about Warren Buffett

According to an entertaining and informative USA Today article[1] from October 2008, more books have Buffett's name in their title than any other living person, excluding U.S. presidents, major world political figures, and the Dalai Lama. I've added a section describing this phenomenon, and listing the books about Buffett that have an indicia of notability--namely, the book or the book's author has its own Wikipedia article. I added one additional book to the list, a gigantic book that's described at some length in the USA Today article. If others think it would be useful to create a list of all books about Buffett, perhaps that would appropriate for a separate article linked from this section.--Arxiloxos (talk) 23:51, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

Goldman Sachs

Buffett's investment in Goldman Sachs is partly financed by the tax-payer. See reference 13 in the Goldman article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.158.207.21 (talk) 10:40, 13 March 2009 (UTC) Reference 15 in the Goldman article is much the same, showing how Buffett is being partly financed by the U.S. tax-payer. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.158.207.21 (talk) 09:58, 17 March 2009 (UTC) Reference 14 in the Goldman article is interesting, too. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.194.34.71 (talk) 13:47, 26 March 2009 (UTC)

huh? he invested in Goldman, the Government is a counterparty, no financing there. however, with the Government largess, there is less chance of default, and also the dividend exclusion for corporations. i take it you want the AIG counterparties to take a haircut, but there is no legal rationale for that. With the quitting of AIG executives,[2] the value of our investment is impaired more than the amount of the bonuses. pohick (talk) 14:10, 26 March 2009 (UTC)

The ref. numbers have now been changed. See ref. 28. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.148.40.73 (talk) 14:14, 9 July 2010 (UTC)

Vandalism on bottom of Page

Please remove the vandalism on the bottom of this page. 140.175.214.35 (talk) 12:30, 16 March 2009 (UTC)

Thanks for pointing that out. It's now been reverted. If you notice vandalism in the future, feel free to be bold in removing it yourself. --Onorem♠Dil 12:44, 16 March 2009 (UTC)

Cutting Tobacco quote

i'm considering cutting the tobacco quote. no context, using Buffett as straw man vs. "ethical" investing, he's only bought tobacco stocks when they're cheap, never a core holding pohick (talk) 21:41, 17 March 2009 (UTC)

ok i put it down in a new section, with a follow on quote. dropped guardian ref as secondary, to book barbarians at gate. pohick (talk) 22:17, 17 March 2009 (UTC)

wealthalchemist.com link spamming

Many of the links seem to go to wealthalchemist.com blog postings instead of legitimate news sources. This should be fixed. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.21.94.195 (talk) 04:26, 21 March 2009 (UTC)

Citation 26

Citation 26 appears to be a Duke student's uncited and IMHO poorly written paper. I think it should go. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.22.55.47 (talk) 11:33, 12 July 2009 (UTC)

Fisher/Graham

Either this page or Fisher's page is incorrect as it has the Buffett percentage quote reversed —Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.80.44.231 (talk) 23:13, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

I would like to submit an e-mail to Mr. Buffett and I don't have an e-mail address to Mr. Buffett. How do I get an e-mail to this busy man? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.100.142.244 (talk) 16:59, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

Try berkshire@berkshirehathaway.com —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.139.171.34 (talk) 15:05, 19 November 2009 (UTC)

Why not go to the Hagstrom book? <sigh> He might well have said it both ways depending on the date. Pohick2 (talk) 20:34, 23 December 2009 (UTC)

Political Views

I noticed you guys conveniently left out that buffett is actually a conservative, and usually supports republican nominees. He is a fan of the free market, obviously, and while he has endorsed obama, he hasnt actually supported any of his economic policies. This should be mentioned, because as it is written now it is a bit misleading. Any business man would be lying if they said obama's economic policies are good for free market.136.160.191.18 (talk) 16:49, 23 December 2009 (UTC)

this is a profound misreading of his views, but do you have a reference to support this? Snowball goes into great detail about his pro-choice, pro-estate tax, anti-privatization of social security views. what economic policy did he fail to support? even if, it wouldn't make him a conservative. Munger is the conservative. Pohick2 (talk) 20:15, 23 December 2009 (UTC)

this contrast between Obama policy and the free market is interesting. i've seen the opposite point made: that Obama has been co-opted by the wall street, goldman sachs set, and the jaw-boning is only rhetoric, but i take it you wouldn't agree. Pohick2 (talk) 15:15, 24 December 2009 (UTC)

By international standards, Obama is very right-wing and market oriented. At most, one could describe his policies as vaguely keynesian, which isn't exactly the most controversial stance in relation to economic theory. Most of Obama's economic policies would be considered borderline libertarian in a european setting. //European political scientist 85.226.152.189 (talk)

Minor ref his early life

Currently, the comment about the pinball machine makes the narrative confusing. We do not know the significance of the pinball machine story if any? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.151.11.156 (talk) 17:57, 25 January 2010 (UTC)

well to put it in context, these stories show how he grew his seed capital: paper route, rental car, pinball, and stock investments, from an early age. although retold in a hagiographic manner Pohick2 (talk) 22:24, 25 January 2010 (UTC)

This is very very minor, and it's not my habit to edit directly (particularly such a good entry), but I've just read in the Lowenstein biography that it was his friend Lanly who bought the pinball machine because he was into mechanical stuff (p24) and that it was Buffet's idea to hire it out, rather than that they bought it jointly with this in mind, which is how the entry reads. There is some later reference to Buffet "claiming" that they both bought it and this is used as an example of him occasionally mythologising his early life - although at 50 years distance one would forgive him this slight misrecollection, especially if it makes the anecdote simpler in the telling which is probably the purpose. I respectfully leave this comment to the guys who are editing this entry. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.2.15.32 (talk) 21:09, 14 January 2010 (UTC)

well according to Kirpatrick Of Permanent Value, Don Danly and he formed the "Wilson Coin-Operated Machine Company". (Woodrow Wilson High School, Washington D.C.) "Warren provided the capital, and Danly was director of technology (fixed the machines), the company was sold when Warren went to U. of Penn, and Danly went to Cornell" "they bought a $25 pinball machine which they fixed up. They installed it in a barbershop on busy Wisconsin Avenue. After the first day of operation, the young entrepreneurs returned to find $4 in a pan full of nickels. Buffett has said, "I figured I had discovered the wheel"" Lowenstein may have garbled it. Also Danly was in the Partnership, and remained a shareholder, so the story telling has been going on for a while. Pohick2 (talk) 03:14, 15 January 2010 (UTC)

Addition To Opening..

I added Berkshire Hathaway's FT Global 500 rating as of June 2009 to give the reader a sense of the scale of Mr. Buffets awesome lifetime accomplishment. I of course provided an inline citation of the source. --Oracleofottawa (talk) 02:08, 1 February 2010 (UTC)

Dollar and gold

"This induced Buffett to enter ..." WHAT induced him? "Buffett['s] views [on] the United States' expanding trade deficit..." or "Author Ann Pettifor has adopt[ing] the image..." Or something else. Yes, I did understand it after a minute or two of re-reading, but I still feel it is badly written. Do these two really need different headings? If yes, then make each a stand alone piece, otherwise put 'em together or throw them out. Balgarion13 (talk) 02:40, 16 February 2010 (UTC)

OK, why don't you go ahead and edit it so that it is clearer? Owen× ☎ 16:53, 16 February 2010 (UTC)

nothing really ur just dome — Preceding unsigned comment added by First447 (talk • contribs) 14:42, 11 January 2012 (UTC)

Extraordinary in what way?

The intro paragraph has described Buffett as the most successful investor "in history" or "in the world", and perhaps there are other categories as well. What is the most meaningful to our readers, to convey how unusual his performance has been (and, by implication, how unusual his talent)?

IMO, he is the most successful: 1. on a relative basis (i.e., average growth rate over a long time) among all wealthy investors who are now alive or (probably) who have even lived at any time in the last century or so. Possibly, though, there is someone whose average growth rate is a little higher, but who started with much less and was therefore not widely noticed, or who died after "only" 30 years, instead of persisting as long as Buffett. 2. on an absolute basis (i.e., in terms of increase in total personal wealth) among all people ever, who have invested under modern economic rules. This leaves out the Pharoahs, for instance, b/c their rules had much to do with religious and political power, not investment in the modern sense. It also leaves out people who achieved a higher rate with much less wealth. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jmacwiki (talk • contribs) 21:01, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

See the Berkshire Hathaway section and follow the links. This information is "in the clear", that is any one can access it. Berkshire is bigger then freakin IBM! Holy Smokes that is astounding! To simplify further, Warrens system can be stated in four simple steps:(1) He reads.. (2)He thinks.. (3)He acts... (4) He waits.. These are things anyone can do. --Oracleofottawa (talk) 04:29, 1 March 2010 (UTC)

Quite. (And he is an excellent writer as well, as his shareholder letters on the BH site demonstrate.) But this neither explains nor sources the statement in the intro paragraph -- the topic of this section. Jmacwiki (talk) 04:48, 6 March 2010 (UTC)

School Days Anomalies

Born: 1930 Started Elementary School: 1942 Graduated High School: 1947 Say What?????

Also not clear on where these schools were.

63.170.90.24 (talk) 05:08, 16 December 2010 (UTC)

Link for Roger Lowenstein

Please linkify Roger Lowenstein. 204.210.242.157 (talk) 03:50, 15 February 2011 (UTC)

Done. Kuru (talk) 13:58, 15 February 2011 (UTC)

dude that does not make any sences because born 1930 school in 1934 and he got out if school in 1945. — Preceding unsigned comment added by First447 (talk • contribs) 14:44, 11 January 2012 (UTC)

I'm sorry, this sentence is almost incomprehensible; could you try to clarify your concern so we can help you? Kuru (talk) 23:11, 11 January 2012 (UTC)

Sokol

Sokol's activities should be mentioned in this article about Buffett. The Sokol article is already linked to this one. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 93.97.194.200 (talk) 11:03, 6 April 2011 (UTC)

Partnerships

There are many references to "partnerships", and to "partnerships operating the entire year". That is a complete mystery to most people. An explanation in simple English would be helpful. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.197.15.138 (talk) 22:12, 5 June 2011 (UTC)

The Office Cameo

Has anyone pointed out that Warren Buffet was in the Season 7 Finale of NBC's The Office? He was one of the contendors for Michael Scott's manager position. Just thought that would be interesting to add to his page. If you'd like proof, check officetally.com — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.226.198.166 (talk) 21:16, 19 June 2011 (UTC)

Ethnicity

Which category does he belong to, Scottish Americans? I think Buffet might be a Welsh name. Chrisrus (talk) 19:37, 20 June 2011 (UTC)

The article Howard Buffett says "Buffetts were of Huguenot ancestry". Therefore, shouldn't this article be in the Category:French Americans? Chrisrus (talk) 03:49, 21 June 2011 (UTC)

Dollar and Gold again

{{edit semi-protected}} Under the heading "Dollar and Gold" someone has written "WHAT?". The answer to the question is the trade deficit. I suggest that the first sentence under this heading should begin "The trade deficit induced Buffett to enter the foreign currency..." The appropriate reference is Buffett, Warren, "America's Growing Trade Deficit Is Selling the Nation Out From Under Us," FORTUNE, November 10, 2003.

14breh (talk) 01:30, 21 June 2011 (UTC)

 Done —GFOLEY FOUR— 00:53, 22 June 2011 (UTC)

Citation 61

The existing link is to the wayback machine loading a page selling a dvd of the interview. A more useful link is http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/1294 which is a stream of the interview (live as of this post).

Kegly (talk) 16:01, 12 August 2011 (UTC)

GA Reassessment

This discussion is transcluded from Talk:Warren Buffett/GA2. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the reassessment.

Clearly does not meet criteria. Article was reviewed by a now-blocked user. Plenty of unreferenced paragraphs. Structure needs work; "Public positions" section especially; plenty of miscellaneous information could go here. It needs to be organized with more general section headings. The entire article looks the same from when I last set foot here and made it look far better than the way it was before, with at least a few dozen bullet points, and it still is a long way to go for a GA. Gary King (talk · scripts) 02:27, 30 August 2011 (UTC)

Demoting Gary King (talk · scripts) 16:47, 5 September 2011 (UTC)

File:Phil Fisher.jpg Nominated for speedy Deletion

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Namaste

113.199.147.120 (talk) 09:04, 14 January 2012 (UTC)As have come to know about Mr. Buffet that he is a very good investor and also a good helping person.can i talk to him if have few minutes.113.199.147.120 (talk) 09:04, 14 January 2012 (UTC)

A more honest Buffett?

Interesting angle on his "Views on Taxes" in 2007. It would be nice to add to that section.

"I think that on balance the Gates Foundation, my daughter's foundation, my two sons' foundations, will do a better job with lower adminsitrative costs and better selection of beneficiaries than the government."

http://www.cnbc.com/id/22199472/Warren_Buffett_to_CNBC_Giving_Money_to_Charity_Isn_t_a_Tax_Dodge — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.64.108.61 (talk) 20:03, 26 January 2012 (UTC)

Edit request on 12 February 2012

Please note that Susan Thompson Buffett year of birth is 1932 and not 1952 as listed in the box on the top right of the page.

24.118.160.111 (talk) 16:47, 12 February 2012 (UTC)

Done Thanks, Celestra (talk) 17:31, 12 February 2012 (UTC)

Not done: Oops! That isn't her birth year, that is the year they were married. Thanks, Celestra (talk) 17:33, 12 February 2012 (UTC)

Edit request on 31 March 2012

You may replace the "[citation needed]" in "Buffett returned to Omaha and worked as a stockbroker while taking a Dale Carnegie public speaking course." with a reference to this source: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505383_162-57373393/person-to-person-warren-buffett/ (the video at the top of the page), where Mr Buffett himself shows us his diploma of "Dale Carnegie Course" that he took at the age of 21.

Later edit: I forgot to mention, we can see "Dale Carnegie Course" diploma at 6:00 in that video. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Nicoara1 (talk • contribs) 13:34, 31 March 2012 (UTC)

Nicoara1 (talk) 12:57, 31 March 2012 (UTC)

Done, thanks! Kuru (talk) 13:19, 31 March 2012 (UTC)

Possible worth inaccuracy

The wikipedia entry states "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.".

On the other side, Mr Buffett says "The thing is, when I got out of college, I had $9,800, but by the end of 1955, I was up to $127,000." (source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/randalllane/2012/03/26/warren-buffetts-50-billion-decision/)

Do we have an inaccuracy here? I consider this aspect important, because one thing that people may be interested in about Mr Buffett, besides "stock holding info" like discussed by other users, is this legendary investor's annualized return. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Nicoara1 (talk • contribs) 13:30, 31 March 2012 (UTC)

Add Cultural impact section, example item

• For Runners, a Lift From Warren Buffett April 27, 2012, regarding Brooks Sports shoes. 97.87.29.188 (talk) 20:27, 30 April 2012 (UTC)

Ownership of newspapers

Does any one know about his ownership of seventy-two newspapers that he has just acquired? It was mentioned on news on Today on Radio Four this morning. ACEOREVIVED (talk) 09:30, 25 May 2012 (UTC)

OK, here is the website:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18107508

It mentions how he just acquired media general newspapers. ACEOREVIVED (talk) 09:37, 25 May 2012 (UTC)

Edit request on 18 July 2012

The passage below tremendously undermines the difference between the "Percentage Loss" of an individuals "wealth", and the "Absolute Loss" of an individual's "wealth."

---

 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]

---

 Warren Buffett, an individual (thereby meaning un-dividable in a societal sense), lost billions of dollars of his own wealth in 2008.
 This loss is not comparable to any other individual's losses through tax payment percentages.

 A single individual losing billions of USD in one year, is orders of magnitude more appreciable than the spread between the stated 
 33%-19% = 14%.*  The employee's Warren cites are still happily employed, earning the same salary they have been, and more.  Meanwhile, 
 Warren lost Billions. This world doesn't reward safety (meaning his employees); This world rewards(and punishes) risk (meaning 
 investors).  And tax percentages (although still not perfect) reflect the relationship with which one stands to lose or gain against 
 their peers that weren't willing to make the same commitment to societies future. 14% doesn't have any tangible value without an absolute 
 dollar amount multiplied by it.  Being taxed an extra 14% on $50,000/year salary is peanuts; It means you can't go to the sizzler buffet 
 every Friday night, and buy an extra car that you don't need.  14% detracted from Berkshire-Hathaway's inherent value to society would 
 mean the company wants to start thinking about laying off many employees, and thereby interrupting many peoples lives, leading to 
 economic instability.** If anything, this passage should reflect the fundamental values underpinning capitalism and thus the American 
 dream; put your money, ideas, responsibility, and your livelihood where you will be happy, and take the consequences commensurately.  I 
 am 99% sure that is how people want to live their lives.

"Percentage Points" are not equal to "Absolute Value." If the editors of wikipedia, or Warren, desire a lesson in finance/economics/software programming, send me an email.

Kyle Eide <email address redacted>

• This is also the case for anyone who is willing to trade "today's problem" for "tomorrow's solution", so to speak.

• • Having a steady, productive occupation is inherently more worthwhile to society than eating at sizzlers on Friday's. It is the classic case of production versus consumption

Aristeaus19 (talk) 04:06, 18 July 2012 (UTC)

Not done: please be more specific about what needs to be changed. Floating Boat (the user formerly known as AndieM) 18:41, 18 July 2012 (UTC)

Update to Books about Warren Buffett

• Preston Pysh, Warren Buffett's Three Favorite Books. (An interactive book that references http:www.buffettsbooks.com for online videos)

AndyBowers (talk) 14:01, 27 September 2012 (UTC)

Done Jo-Jo Eumerus (talk) 20:23, 30 September 2012 (UTC)

Edit request on 10 November 2012

I have located a missing source within this article. It is source number 114.

Right now it says "NY Times article should go here." Here is a link to said article: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/27/business/27friends.html. The Title is "A $31 Billion Gift Between Friends," the author, Landon Thomas Jr., and it was published on June 27, 2006.

Ktbennett (talk) 20:08, 10 November 2012 (UTC)

Done Thanks for the tip. Some copyediting would be useful there, if anyone has a moment. Rivertorch (talk) 20:57, 10 November 2012 (UTC)

Edit request on 2 December 2012

Please add the following Bloomberg Billionaires reference to the first paragraph:

He is widely considered the most successful investor of the 20th century. Buffet is the primary shareholder, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway[5] and consistently ranked among the world's wealthiest people. In October 2012, he was ran ranked as the world's 4th richest man by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Previously, Buffett was listed as the the wealiest man in the world in 2008 [6] and as the third wealthiest person in 2011.[7] In 2012, American magazine Time named Buffett one of the most influential people in the world.[8] 68.55.214.10 (talk) 18:02, 2 December 2012 (UTC)

Not done:. Information is already in article and doesn't belong in lede. gwickwire^talk_edits 01:31, 5 December 2012 (UTC)

Wealth in 2009?

He is listed as the wealthiest man in the world in 2008, but second wealthiest in 2009 - the reason given being that he donated billions to charity. If you look into it, this is not why he dropped in the rankings. He lost $25 billion from 2008 to 2009. This was in part due to bad investments, the recession's affects on stocks, and much less due to his donations. This should be addressed. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.110.179.229 (talk) 23:29, 9 December 2012 (UTC)

Vandalism - please revert

Hey folks, an anonymous user here. In Buffett's info box, his religion is listed as "Money". This isn't in the source provided, and a quick Google search doesn't show any evidence. Given the context, I don't think it was a good faith edit either. Please revert it! Guess I will go and register now. - Parsa — Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.219.189.245 (talk) 01:57, 24 18 January 2013 (UTC)

This has been fixed. Thanks! Rivertorch (talk) 09:36, 18 January 2013 (UTC)

Mercaptan

Buffett is benefitting from the bad smell from Lubrizol. This should be mentioned. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 178.23.219.8 (talk) 12:55, 24 January 2013 (UTC)

I have restored the money-making smell of mercaptan. How long it will stay, I don't know.

It smells like Warren's morals. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 109.154.33.136 (talk) 13:26, 20 April 2013 (UTC)

Klamath River

Shouldn't it at least be specified that this happened in 2008? 76.226.118.88 (talk) 20:55, 24 January 2013 (UTC)

Add 2012 FP Top 100 Global Thinkers choice

In the November 2012 issue of Foreign Policy magazine, Buffett was picked with his Administrative assistant Debbie Bosanek FP Top 100 Global Thinkers "For demanding that a secretary not pay more than her billionaire boss." Per http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/11/26/the_fp_100_global_thinkers?page=0,32 99.109.127.141 (talk) 04:36, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

Warren buffett's real job

Why doesn't the article say anything about his control in Illuminati? Jenny17070 (talk) 07:23, 12 February 2013 (UTC)

Because most of us aren't paranoid crackpots. Owen× ☎ 12:08, 12 February 2013 (UTC)

And the illuminati are fiction.203.184.41.226 (talk) 07:29, 13 April 2013 (UTC)

Because they don't EXIST? . . . .

(.....It's NOT that Mexican goat-sucker, either....)

69.127.82.127 (talk) 10:29, 22 October 2014 (UTC)

Howard Buffett

Mr Buffett senior was a critic of the interventionist New Deal policy, that I understand, but critic of "foreign policy" makes no sense. Critic of which policy?203.184.41.226 (talk) 07:26, 13 April 2013 (UTC)

Causes

The allegedly philanthropic causes are evil causes. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 109.154.33.136 (talk) 13:30, 20 April 2013 (UTC)

Buffet has clashed with regulators. This was before the mercaptan, with an evil smell, hit us from Lubrizol, a subsidiary of Buffet. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 109.154.33.136 (talk) 14:01, 20 April 2013 (UTC)

Perhaps you could suggest some verifiable information from reliable sources we could use to improve the article? This isn't a forum about the subject, this is a place to discuss article improvements, within Wikipedia policy. --j⚛e decker^talk 14:49, 20 April 2013 (UTC)

A Google search with "Lubrizol mercaptan" produces many references. See www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21147361 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.152.162.31 (talk) 10:41, 21 April 2013 (UTC)

Many sources are available for clashes involving Sokol and Mid American. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.152.162.31 (talk • contribs)

Per WP:TALK and WP:NOTFORUM, comments unrelated to improving the article may be deleted. A comment which makes no sense is unrelated to improving the article.

Therefore, a comment which makes no sense (on a talk page) may be deleted. — Arthur Rubin (talk) 22:11, 21 April 2013 (UTC)

The "evil causes" comment starting this section falls into the unrelated category. The one by 81.152.162.31, while of dubious veracity, is related to the article, does not fall under WP:NOTFORUM, and if true, would serve to improve the article. As much as I see such comments as being of low value, I think we should need a very good reason to remove someone's on-topic comment from a Talk page. This view is also reflected in our policies and guidelines, with which you are at least as familiar as I am. Owen× ☎ 01:35, 22 April 2013 (UTC)

Benjamin Graham and The Intelligent Investor

Right now, the introduction merely says that Buffett is a value investor.

Shouldn't it specifically mention Benjamin Graham and The Intelligent Investor?
After all, this is the man Buffett named his son after - his mentor and teacher. He has repeatedly said that almost everything he does is what Graham taught him.

“ I'm 15 percent Fisher and 85 percent Benjamin Graham.

The basic ideas of investing are to look at stocks as business, use the market's fluctuations to your advantage, and seek a margin of safety. That's what Ben Graham taught us. A hundred years from now they will still be the cornerstones of investing.

”

And in the preface to the The Intelligent Investor, Buffett calls it "by far the best book on investing ever written",

That could be highlighted better than just "one of his favorite books on investing", as it currently says on the article. It's not ever day that Buffett writes a preface to a book, let alone call it by far the best ever!

Such specific information on Buffett's investing origins would be very valuable to uninitiated readers trying to understand his investment philosophy.

Social media

To date, Warren Edward Buffett has two Verified accounts:
1.linkedin
2.Twitter Handle Is @WarrenBuffett

Edit request on 22 May 2013

Suggest changing school name from "Wharton Business School," which is incorrect, to "Wharton School" 71.183.241.14 (talk) 03:54, 22 May 2013 (UTC)

 Done EBY (talk) 05:01, 22 May 2013 (UTC)

Business career section titles

In the sections on his business career, I wonder if segmenting his career into events that transpired when he was "millionaire" and then a "billionaire" is the most appropriate method of segmentation. Millionaire and billionaire are arbitrary categories, not really appropriate for measuring the business career of a person. A business career is defined not by a person's net worth, but by the milestones in the business itself...or by time period. Either one would be a good alternative. ask123 (talk) 14:51, 31 October 2013 (UTC)

Picture on Warren Buffett's page

The picture of Warren Buffett on his page is nine years outdated and just, frankly, not a very good picture of him.

A recommendation: http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/2010/06/15/news/newsmakers/Warren_Buffett_Pledge_Letter.fortune/warren_buffett.top.jpg

Thank you 209.6.140.72 (talk) 02:21, 21 November 2013 (UTC)

Not done: thanks for the suggestion, but I suspect that the picture you link to is under copyright. --Stfg (talk) 10:40, 21 November 2013 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 28 January 2014

In the warren Buffett page, 4th line under personal life, we have "three were close and Christmas cards to friends were signed "Warren, Susie and Astrid"." It should have been three were close and Christmas cards to friends were signed "Warren, Susan and Astrid". Praveen2032 (talk) 21:06, 28 January 2014 (UTC)

Actually the 3 persons who signed the christmas cards were "Warren, Susan and Astrid". But is is incorrect in the page which states "Warren, Susie and Astrid". — Preceding unsigned comment added by Praveen2032 (talk • contribs) 21:06, 28 January 2014 (UTC)

Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. – Wdchk (talk) 03:12, 7 February 2014 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 5 March 2014

Section: Philanthropy

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

to

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

From a NY Times article

to

From an article by The New York Times 10000drums (talk) 07:42, 5 March 2014 (UTC)

Partly done: I've replaced "quotation" with "quote" and "a NY Times article" with "an article by The New York Times". I'm not convinced injecting "had" in that first sentence is appropriate grammar or improves the context of the sentence in any way, so I'm leaving that part out. — {{U|Technical 13}} ^{(t • e • c)} 11:58, 5 March 2014 (UTC)

Astrid Mencks

Astrid Mencks seems to have been born in America with a Scandinavian background. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.85.185.243 (talk) 11:54, 16 March 2014 (UTC)

Worth

Worth section should be updated. As of 2014, Buffett is number 4 on Forbes chart with $58.2 Billion. Didn't want to make a change to the article until someone with word skills could word it for me. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.130.97.207 (talk) 14:23, 19 March 2014 (UTC)

BNSFrailroad

Maybe someone can add information regarding BNSF, the problems he has encountered. Maybe someone could look up information about him buying BNSF. Just an idea. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 63.153.164.22 (talk) 02:02, 26 April 2014 (UTC)

Warren Buffett, in the Feb. of 2012, seemed to be disappointed by BNSF. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 190.131.206.242 (talk) 12:58, 1 April 2015 (UTC)

Politics: Political Affiliation, Donation and Party

Retired Boys Town English teacher Barbara Basham of Omaha, Nebraska, who is also retired from investment firm Edward-Jones, has stated repeatedly to Omaha, Nebraska's larger than life living hero, Trent James (TJ) Stewart, who is the son of the widow's companion, widower James Robert Stewart, all of Omaha, Buffett is a registered Democrat.

No mention of Buffett's political affiliation was ever mentioned in the article other than possibly the fact that his Father, Howard Buffett, was a Republican US Congressman representing Nebraska while Warren Buffett was a child.

James Stewart and Barbara Basham have both found themselves attending the same half price movie theater as Buffett in the last two decades, although neither Basham nor Stewart have met Buffett.

Trent (TJ) Stewart and Warren Buffett have met on two occasion, both at the Kiewitt Plaza office building where Buffett's Berkrshire Hathaway office is located.

Stewart was briefly employed by the International Union of Elevator Constructors Local 28 in Omaha before being fired during his proationary period for using the elevator car he and fellow IUEC Local 28 mechanic, Jay Greenfield, had just conducted the yearly safety and operational test upon to escort four elederly gentlemen seeking an elevator ride after leaving Buffett's office to leave the building.

Buffett could have cared less and was never notified of the travesty, after insutlting both Greenfield of Onowa, Iowa, and Stewart for the elevator car taking so long to respond to Buffett's call while the two had two of the building's four elevators shut down for safety reasons while conducting the mandator yearly tests.

On another occasion, Stewart laughed and insulted Buffett as one of the world's wealthiest men was again waiting for the elevator car he had requested at the lower level of the building telling Greenfield what a loser Buffett really was, pointing out Buffett held the smallest paper sack McDonald's made in his hand, so small it was unable to hold more than one breakfast sandwich as the billionaire headed to his office full of employees adding anyone Stewart had ever worked for would have at least brought donuts for the entire office.

Greenfield then attempted to terrorize Stewart by ordering his apprentice into the dirt floored room connecting the four elevator pits as Greenfield let the building's freight elevator freewheel three levels onto the elevator pit's buffer while Stewart stood ten feet away. Stewart survived the impact of the crashing eleavator car which shook the entire sixteen story Kiewitt Plaza building and sent employees on the upper levels near the elevator shaft to believe they were under terrorist attack.

But Jay Greenfield of KONE Elevator and Escalator based in Finland, was not done testing Stewart's nerve, yet.

The three thousand pounds in elevator weights were removed from the slightly damaged elevator car and Stewart was once again ordered into the adjoining room connecting the elevator pits. Prior to the test of the building's freight elevator, Stewart was ordered to perform the same duties in the elavator room above the elevator shaft of the sixteen story, eighteen level structure.

Greeenfield, a twenty year veteran elevator mechanic, then contacted Stewart from the eleavator control rooom at the roof of the building via radio, he was going to let the counterweight stack freewheel from an even higher position that the elevator car which had been damaged when the elevator's buffer completely compressed but could not absorb the force of the tens of thousnands of pounds falling down from three stories above.

Stewart reported to his friends and Father that he could hear the ten thousand pound counterweight stack rolling down the greased rails that guide it getting louder and louder until coming into view a split second before completely compressing the twelve foot tall hydraulic damper then exploding while Stewart stood ten feet away as ordered.

In a panic, believing he had seriously injured or killed Stewart with his childish game of chicken, Greenfield called for Stewart on the radios the men carried.

Shrapnel from explodiing counterweight stack had flown through Stewart's chest as if an artillery shell had exploded near him.

Not quite, the luckiest man alive, who has survived over a dozen attempts on his life over his lifteime survived the recklessness of Jay Greenfield of KONE Elevator and Escalator in Omaha, as well.

Bolts and nuts from the explosion flew past the man as shrapnel, but after a self examination by Stewart, had all missed the man.

Stewart was then fired not long after, following an altercation with an Omaha Police Division uniformed officer in the Baker's Supermarket at 24 and Vinton Streets in Omaha in which Stewart used his body to prevent the attack of his elderly father by the officer working security at the grocery store while the two were shopping.

The officer fled the scene of his crime after being knocked to the ground by Trent Stewart and Joe Dworak fired Stewart from his employ with KONE shortly after citing the earlier escorting of the elderly clients of Berkshire Hathaway as one of the reasons.

Knowing the Union was behind the whole thing, Stewart resigned the IUEC the same day.

Since then, 2003, Stewart has been recognized by the El Salvadoran immigrant community as a hero beyond anything white America has ever produced, saving two of themn from death in seperate incidents and also saving the lives of a young mother, her three year old daughter, and drug addicted father who were being held at gunpoint in 2009. That incident came to light when the gunman later shot a bouncer at a tavern in Omaha then committed suicide and pulled Stewart, a reputed Irish Mob Boss, into the media spotlight.

Stewart declined interview by three of the four television news media outlets in Omaha.

In the 2003 incident defending his father from attack by a uniformed, armed, Omaha Police Division officer, witnesses came forward immediately telling Trent Stewart, that same officer had assaulted three other elederly store patrons and no officer needs assistance call nor criminal charge was filed against Stewart.

Later that same year, President George W. Bush contacted Stewart via US mail thanking him.

A serial rapist from Omaha had just become part of his Prsidential Administration unknown to the President of his staff and Stewart notified Senators Chuck Hagel and Ben Nelson to the disaster.

In 2004, President Bush sent Stewart yet another thank you letter, this time on behalf of both himself and First Lady Laura Bush.

Then in recent years, President Barack Obama awarded Warren Buffett the Medal of Freedom, which Stewart claims to this very day was intended for him, but give to the billionarie, instead of the convicted felon.

The National Rifle Association refuses to acknowledge Stewart's felony conviction and he continues to vote for NRA Board members each and every year after a near thirty year tenure in the NRA.

The Greatest Living Hero the United States ever produced and you never heard of, Trent James (TJ) Stewart.

Project Economics

Warren Buffet is neither an economist nor is he relevant for economics as a science. There exists a popular misconception that economics is about the stock markets and therefore stock brokers are relevant. This is incorrect. Thanks. NotYetAnotherEconomist (talk) 15:55, 16 August 2014 (UTC)

I've raised the issue of scope at the project page. Meanwhile you don't have consensus for this so please don't reinstate it. Dougweller (talk) 20:45, 16 August 2014 (UTC)

Forbes 400 entrance should be in 1983, not 1979.

In 'As a millionaire' section, there is misinformation;

'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.'

1979 is wrong, it should be 1983. Please see historical price chart of BRK-A on yahoo-finance web site.

This information can also be verified by page 483 of Snowball, a book about Warren Buffett. He made the entrance to Forbes 400 at the end of 1983 by 680 million $. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 78.177.127.161 (talk) 15:24, 17 August 2014 (UTC)

Ongoing monitoring and revision

After revising the first part of the "Personal life" section today, I realize that this article requires both revision and ongoing monitoring. For example, the first part of a paragraph was left uncited, as the reference supporting the second half of the paragraph made the entire paragraph appear verified. I will continue to monitor and revise the page, and have entered a template at the top of the page. Thanks. --Soulparadox (talk) 09:14, 9 September 2014 (UTC)

Edit Suggestion August 2014

The section headed "Writings" is really what he has written about economics and investing philosophy. I suggest a change to either the heading (eg, "writing about investment philosophy") or the body to make it match the heading. Also on the suggested topic. this should include the quote from his 2014 annual report where he recommends a low cost S&P 500 index fund such as Vanguard's - a major statement that goes against some of his other statements quoted in this section. 85.1.194.144 (talk) 16:11, 26 August 2014 (UTC)

Copyedit

Just completed a copyedit of this piece (Feedback welcomed!) Comments:

• I didn't remove it, but I think there is too much emphasis on BH deals and other stuff, which belongs in the BH article, not a bio, unless it reveals something about the man, other than his investment savvy.
• I thought I'd see more about his relationship with Munger, again not about BH minutiae, but about the people.

Cheers Lfstevens (talk) 08:59, 12 September 2014 (UTC)

Thank you for this work. I will attempt to review it thoroughly in due course.--Soulparadox (talk) 09:02, 12 September 2014 (UTC)

Net Worth

Wondering if the Net Worth should be updated.

According to cnn.com, he has lost 2 billion dollars in the past two days. (Mostly in Coca Cola and IBM stocks.)

Dated 10/22/14. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.127.82.127 (talk) 10:25, 22 October 2014 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 11 November 2014

http://piersmorgan.blogs.cnn.com/2013/10/22/warren-buffett-on-cell-phones-email-and-material-goods/ Warren Buffet does seem to own a cell phone as reported on CNN.184.97.121.158 (talk) 01:00, 11 November 2014 (UTC) 184.97.121.158 (talk) 01:00, 11 November 2014 (UTC)

Done Stickee (talk) 04:49, 11 November 2014 (UTC)

"He was the most successful investor of the 20th century."

Second sentence in the article. That seems like a subjective statement. Most successful by what standard? Is there a citation on that? 24.150.144.157 (talk) 00:19, 6 January 2015 (UTC)

Barry

Warren Buffett is a supporter of Barry Dunham. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.228.7.229 (talk) 14:59, 7 January 2015 (UTC)

A quote?

The basic ideas of investing are to look at stocks as business, use the market's fluctuations to your advantage, and seek a margin of safety. That's what Ben Graham taught us. A hundred years from now they will still be the cornerstones of investing.[21]

As written, this appears to be a quote from Buffett, in which case it should be enclosed within quotation marks. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.168.8.90 (talk) 07:17, 12 January 2015 (UTC)

My philanthropic pledge Reference

Reference number 11: My philanthropic pledge is not working.

I have found it here: http://archive.fortune.com/2010/06/15/news/newsmakers/Warren_Buffett_Pledge_Letter.fortune/index.htm — Preceding unsigned comment added by ERFon (talk • contribs) 17:52, 20 March 2015 (UTC)

Important news

Warren Buffett has attacked Indiana SB 101. This should be in this article about him. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.203.211.67 (talk) 10:43, 1 April 2015 (UTC)

Link Rot Notification

Source 11 has succumb to link rot. "index.htm" simply needs to be added to the end. Thanks. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Sgtsnakeeyes11 (talk • contribs) 14:28, 7 April 2015 (UTC)

Done; thanks! Kuru (talk) 00:56, 8 April 2015 (UTC)

Real Time Net Worth

Is it possible to automatically change the net worth to whatever it says here http://www.forbes.com/billionaires/list/#version:realtime or can it only be done manually--88.111.129.157 (talk)