Buffett And Bank Of America: A Deal For No Ordinary Investor

Slate:

It's not even a week old, and Warren Buffett's deal to invest $5 billion of Berkshire Hathaway's money in Bank of America has already been dissected, parsed, praised, and even criticized. This isn't surprising, of course. Every word that passes Buffett's lips and every move he makes get scrutinized. Part of the fascination with Buffett is simply that he's one of the richest men in the country. But another part of it is the notion that the means by which he made his fortune—his investing prowess—is something that can be replicated by ordinary people. All we have to do is watch and listen, and we'll absorb the magic.

Read the whole story: Slate

Comments

[Squirdlock]

08:54 AM on 09/01/2011

haha...like I needed a story to tell my why I can't invest like Warren Buffett.

[spkninglsh]

12:56 AM on 09/01/2011

Because he has money and I don't?

[AmySeow]

09:54 PM on 08/31/2011

The elite are a club, and if you're not in it, you're not getting the deals.
http://www.wix.com/andrewcostell3/simple-wealth-book

[falco]

05:53 PM on 08/31/2011

It helps that Warren is good buds with the Rothschilds, who own most of the banks in the world. Except Libya, er, almost...the first thing the rebels did was establish a Rothschild Central Bank. Multi-talented these rebels are.

[AmySeow]

09:55 PM on 08/31/2011

Glad to see we've forgiven Al Q for their 9/11 at(tack) and used them to depose an elected leader in a free country. The elite are the real (en)emy.
http://www.wix.com/andrewcostell3/simple-wealth-book

[Jack Daniels Esq]

04:17 PM on 08/31/2011

WB is a philanthropist - he thinks like nobody else - his BoA warrants might tank like his GS did

[Charles Queen]

04:16 PM on 08/31/2011

The man worth billions gets a frre handout when the bail out money was being handed out.I use to think a bit highly of this guy until he requested and got bilions in bailout funds which he never needed to begin with

[gsx99limited]

03:03 PM on 08/31/2011

Well I know my small business can't pay my business taxes like Buffett since BH has back taxes due all the way back to 2002. But he can write op ed saying he should pay more taxes. Hey Warren let's start with paying what BH owes first. CLOWN do as I say not as I do. Do any of Obama's inner circle pay their taxes?

[judesuper]

02:55 PM on 08/31/2011

Buffet, if you really wanted to help out this country. You know, the country that made you a billionaire. Instead of using 5 billion to prop up boa, why didn't you open wind technology factories, or solar panel factories or something along those lines with your 5 billion?

That would have put a lot of people to work. AND made you a handsome profit. Instead what did you get for your 5 billion? Oh yeah, boa's ceo can now get his not deserved 100 million dollar bonus.

[Pickletickle]

02:48 PM on 08/31/2011

Wow, I can't even get BofA to forgive my $25 overdraft fee. Oh well, its Miller Time!

[frank day]

02:14 PM on 08/31/2011

The real question is why Bank of America is desperate

enough to strike this deal. Scary.

[Your Mother]

02:37 PM on 08/31/2011

I thought BofA made themselves clear. They don't need to raise capital. Hahaha....

[jbh2009]

02:02 PM on 08/31/2011

He's a fat cat Bankster! He should share his wealth. :)

[LiberalFromDenver]

03:16 PM on 08/31/2011

He's already given most of it away. How many billions have you given away? Oh. right.

[jbh2009]

03:22 PM on 08/31/2011

OH, he's not a bankster....he's Barry's friend...

[jbh2009]

03:21 PM on 08/31/2011

More....its sickening that he is still rich, when others are not.

[Archie Bonker]

01:44 PM on 08/31/2011

Buffett is a bagman for Obama.

[Reno Fickler]

01:44 PM on 08/31/2011

A $5 billion investment netted him $500 million in four hours when the stock rose 10%. Not a bad mornings work. I'm not sure his motivating force was "to be nice".

[jsgaetano]

01:06 PM on 08/31/2011

Buffett has said, very often, that the way he invests has to bear in mind a whole lot of issues "normal" investors don't deal with. When Buffett makes an investment, it can shift markets, both because he has billions to invest, and because of his reputation. But to on the other hand, he's said there are also a lot of good deals he's passed up because they're too small.

[Barbarian At The Gate]

01:01 PM on 08/31/2011

Warren Buffet tells it like it is. I heard a news report back in 2007 that Warren Buffet warned the country was going into a recession. I believed it, even though Ben Bernanke issued no warning and John McCain said the fundamentals of the U.S. economy were strong.

His deal with Goldman Sachs is said to have grossed $8.7 billion in revenue.

People have criticized him recently for saying the rich should be taxed more. Between BoA and Goldman Sachs Mr. Buffet has provided $10 billion in bailout funds. Wouldn't that be very similar to paying an extra $10 billion in taxes and then having the government provide the bailout money?

Warren Buffet has provided the bailout money in the same way any free market capitalist would. He expects to get a return on investment, the greater the risk the greater the return. There is a simple saying in investing, "buy on bad news and sell on good news". Mr. Buffet looks for distressed companies, gets a sweat-heart deal with a huge payout, and then collects his money when those companies are profitable again. To Warren Buffet's credit Bank of America is paying him so much money in dividends it would be in their best interest to buy back their preferred stock as soon as possible.

Warren Buffet doesn't create fake grass root organizations to petition for lower taxes. He lets us all know he is making crazy money and it is all legal.