Warren Buffett: Walmart 'May Well Have Made A Mistake'

OMAHA, Neb., May 5 (Reuters) - Warren Buffett on Saturday told Berkshire Hathaway Inc shareholders that he has not changed his opinion about Wal-Mart Stores Inc or its earnings power, but that the world's largest retailer "may well have made a mistake" in handling a Mexico bribery scandal.

Wal-Mart is one of Berkshire's largest common stock holdings. As of Dec. 31, Berkshire's 39.04 million share stake in the retailer was worth about $2.33 billion.

Last month, the New York Times reported that Wal-Mart de Mexico, which is 69 percent owned by Wal-Mart, in the last decade orchestrated a widespread bribery campaign to win market dominance, and that senior Wal-Mart executives knew about the matter and tried to cover it up.

If the allegations are true, then Wal-mart may have violated the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which forbids bribes to foreign government officials.

Comments

[Sam D man]

06:56 PM on 05/08/2012

What Mexicans call bribes.
Americans call permit fees.

[radhopper]

12:21 PM on 05/08/2012

And someone will actually do something about this? Please, I'm still waiting for someone to go down for 9/18/2008. The government is only after the 99%, and Wal-mart is not in that group.

[Nerdiac]

07:44 PM on 05/07/2012

You ever seen those clips of starving children in foreign countries climbing on trash mounds to find food and recyclables? That's what we are when we go to Wallie's. We enter into a giant, well-organized junk pit and search for food-like processed products and housewares, shards of clothing and what-nots. Oh man, that reminds me, gotta pick up some Q-Tips and a car windshield squeegee.

[radhopper]

12:22 PM on 05/08/2012

Well aren't you a card? Still laughing.

[baileywick]

06:11 PM on 05/07/2012

Put the family members on record.
See if they lie.

[biznesschic]

05:36 PM on 05/07/2012

Walmart is the victim of what they did to the competition, over 25 years. Target has become the high end of discount stores, (ask your 13 year old), while the neighborhood dollar stores has flooded the market with cheaper goods from China. They are becoming a parody of themselves.

[85Percent]

05:20 PM on 05/07/2012

OOOPS!!!! First time I saw this headline, I thought it said Walmart might have BEEN a mistake.

[radhopper]

12:24 PM on 05/08/2012

Well you might not have seen what was written but you sure got it right. Wal-mart, retails answer to Fox as a news media.

[freeSpeakr]

05:13 PM on 05/07/2012

OK, cue Richard … … aaaaaand cue music … ok go.

Here's to the Greedy Ones. The sociopaths. The hypocrites. The human jackals. The lack of civility in in the face of reasonable critique.

The ones who can’t see beyond themselves and their own grand-mal delusions of temps perdu.

They're not fond of others’ rules, and they have no respect for anything other than their own personal bottom line.

You can’t quote them, agree with them, interview, or question them. About the only thing you can do is investigate and prosecute them.

Because they make things worse. They push the human race backward.

And while some may see them as merely self-interested, we see those that would destroy innocent lives for personal gain.

Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can own and control the world - are the ones who will try.

[radhopper]

12:25 PM on 05/08/2012

Wow. F&F

[Unrepentantliberal]

05:08 PM on 05/07/2012

Warren is not only the wizard of Omaha, he's the King of Understatement.

Might of broke the law is more like it.

[bigmiker73]

04:54 PM on 05/07/2012

Because, you know, when left to self govern, corporation always do what is the best of the people, and are never self serving.

I just don't get why people think "the invisible hand of the market" and "self correcting markets" are anything more than a myth these days? They write local laws to retain power and increase market share, then write laws so the citizens have limited choice and can be on the hook for life for debt. They can shop any nation that is either lax or blind to corruption and say "see we are doing this fair and square" all the while they are doing what betters their bottom line.

Corporations don't have to be responsible to anything other than shareholders, which is completely antithetical to democracy and rule of/for/by the people.

[radhopper]

12:27 PM on 05/08/2012

Yes, Yes. Sometimes I think we're almost there.

[Richard in CO]

04:40 PM on 05/07/2012

Wal Mart will continue to be around, and make money, but it's possible their profits may begin to take a beating. For one thing, they have reached the LOW POINT in Customer Service. There is NEVER anyone there to help customers on the floor, and usually a shortage of Cashiers at the checkouts. Customers, rightfully, are going to be complaining more, and demanding more, of Wal Mart, than they've been getting.

[The Dude67]

04:40 PM on 05/07/2012

Mr. Buffet, do you know why they made this "mistake"?  Because of you and men like you that demand profit at all costs.  Including bribery, assault, murder, etc - whatever it takes, just so long as the numbers work out right.

[radhopper]

12:31 PM on 05/08/2012

Everyone who buys into that kind of thinking should be on trial. Found guilty and stripped of all their booty.

[Morse248]

07:11 PM on 05/15/2012

Utter rubbish......Buffet is without doubt the worlds leading financial genius,his objective being to make money........Don't we all try to do the same.......He has to satisfy his shareholders,which if you were one,your remarks would be even more futile.

[hapiguy]

04:32 PM on 05/07/2012

Bribes are unwritten law in Ole Mexico,, no matter what you want,,will prob take a bribe,,,
America..unwritten law,,Lobby bums,,work for Corps, Banks, NRA,,,oh so many other interests
Federal ,,,State and Local,,,bribes at work,,that is your Govt too folks,,,i dislike Walmart
bigtime..but,,they just worked within the Mexican system.......

[berrycuda]

04:26 PM on 05/07/2012

Walmart did not make a mistake in Mexico.

They made thier mistake YEARS ago when they decided it was ok to force US jobs to relocate to foreign countries...

BOYCOTT WALMART
It's working...

[85Percent]

05:26 PM on 05/07/2012

Jobs have been going to Mexico as well as other places. A formerly huge employer near here, Lithonia Lighting, has been slowly moving all operations to Mexico for years. I would rather have Mexican illegals coming here than losing huge job producers to Mexico.

[Salvator mundi salva nos]

11:45 PM on 05/07/2012

how did they relocate US jobs to forein countries? I know other big companies did, but how Walmart?

[62miles]

04:22 PM on 05/07/2012

Why is it the when the rich commit crimes it's just a mistake? The Police are trained to go after the poor.

[Adam Arendale]

04:17 PM on 05/07/2012

Ripping off Americans by selling them cheap crap from China isn't enough. Now they have to make a poor country even poorer so they shove even more money in their overly full pockets. Greed will destroy Earth unless the poor masses take it back.

[jel3800]

07:54 PM on 05/07/2012

Walmart's customers are still buying the cheap crap from China rather than American goods. That is the bottom line--we all buy on price rather than quality or principle

[radhopper]

12:38 PM on 05/08/2012

It's hard to find made in the USA. I have boycotted Wal-mart for yrs. but buying just socks from here is hard. Wigwam, is all I've found. It is starting to get better for some things though. I have been willing to pay more, but wallie world won't sell anything like that.