Editor’s Note: Related tickers: Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A), DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc (NYSE:DVA), Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO), Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS), General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC)
Warren Buffett‘s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) invests in dozens of businesses, and a new book tries to explain it all to young readers, from A to Z. Two Omaha residents, author Nancy Rips and illustrator Tom Kerr, have teamed up on “My First Berkshire ABC” to teach children about one of the world’s best-known companies, and a little about the local billionaire behind it. More than 1,000 copies were sold at Berkshire’s annual meeting on Saturday, which draws thousands of people to Omaha, and where Buffett has a say on what gets sold.
Buffett plans to auction lunch for charity in June (NECN)
Billionaire Warren Buffett will again auction off a private lunch to hopefully raise millions for a California homeless charity. The annual auction to benefit the Glide Foundation, which provides social services to the poor and homeless in San Francisco, was announced Wednesday. Last year’s winner paid $3,456,789 to dine with Buffett. The winning bids have topped $2 million for the past five years. Bidding for the lunch on eBay will begin on June 2 and continue through June 7. Buffett is chairman and CEO of Omaha, Neb.-based Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) and a prominent philanthropist. He says he doesn’t think anyone is better at providing help than Glide.
DaVita Surges as Berkshire Standstill Seen as Possible Deal Path (BusinessWeek)
DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc (NYSE:DVA) rallied the most since 2010 after signing an agreement that was seen as setting a path for Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) to negotiate for a possible takeover. DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc (NYSE:DVA) jumped 8.6 percent to $127.63 at 12:37 p.m. in New York. The Denver-based company said late yesterday that Berkshire, with a stake of about 14 percent, approached about the possibility of increasing its holding.
Why I Have Never Said To Invest With Warren Buffett (Nasdaq)
I have never advised my readers to invest in Warren Buffett ‘s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A). And it’s not because a single share of the Class A stock costs $164,690 or because I think it is overvalued , or any of the other usual reasons for that matter. The reason is actually quite simple. It’s because Warren Buffett has vowed time and time again to never pay Berkshire shareholders a cent in dividends. Consider this: In the most recent quarter, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) collected more than $1.35 billion in dividend and interest income from its holdings. Yet none of that money made its way back to shareholders.
The Worst Investment Of Warren Buffett’s Career (Forbes)
Warren Buffett is a hero to many investors, myself included. His record speaks for itself: 18.3% annualized returns in Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A)’s book value over the past 30 years compared to just 10.8% for the S&P 500. And his returns in the 1950s and 1960s, when he was running a much smaller hedge fund, were even better. Mr. Buffett is also quite generous with his investment wisdom, sharing it freely with anyone who cares to listen. But as with most things in life, failure is a better teacher than success. And Mr. Buffett has had his share of multi-billion-dollar failures. You want to know the biggest mistake of Buffett’s career?
Warren Buffett’s Career Tips to Young Women (BusinessWeek)
A relaxed Warren Buffett sat down on May 7 with Levo League co-founder Caroline Ghosn to share his advice on how to build a rewarding career. Along with the usual counsel to follow one’s passion and work hard, Buffett credited the Dale Carnegie course with having changed his life and said he expects to be impressed by Chelsea Clinton when they meet in a few days. In many ways, watching Buffett dispense wisdom to the twenty something women who make up much of Levo’s base is to witness him at his best: the decency, optimism, wisdom, and wit that have made him such a revered investor. But several of his statements also show why the Sage of Omaha is oblivious to some of the challenges these women face, from negotiating pay to finding a job that will reward the soul and support a family—or at least pay down their college debt.
Billionaire Warren Buffett finds new online venue to share career advice he offers students (WashingtonPost)
Investor Warren Buffett encouraged young workers to find jobs that they are passionate about, as he offered career advice online Tuesday on a variety of topics. Buffett regularly takes time out of his schedule every year to meet with groups of students from about 40 colleges to answer their questions on life and business. Tuesday’s online forum gave him the chance to offer advice to a broader audience. Buffett likes to compare what he does as chairman and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) to painting a masterpiece on canvas, and because he loves what he does, it doesn’t feel like work. “I love painting on my canvas, and you’re lucky in life if you can find your passion,” Buffett said.
Warren Buffett To Millennials: ‘The Future Is Terrific’ (Forbes)
On Tuesday afternoon Warren Buffett sat down with Levo League, a “community of professional women seeking advice, inspiration, and the tools needed to succeed,” and fielded live questions from across the internet about everything from women in the workplace to his personal heroes. From his office in Omaha, America’s second richest man not only dispensed a bounty of practical career advice, but also outlined the personal philosophy that keeps him motivated and has inspired his advocacy of gender equality. During the second half of the hour long video chat Buffett responded to more than a dozen questions, posed by thousands of online mentees. He encouraged them to “hang around with people who are better than you are,” refine their communication skills, not to be afraid of failure and to “never give up searching for the job you’re passionate about.”
Spanx founder joins Giving Pledge (CNN)
Nine new signers of The Giving Pledge — the philanthropic effort initiated three years ago by Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates — were announced today, and one of the billionaires signing is the 42-year-old founder of lingerie company Spanx, Sara Blakely. She starts off her letter — to be posted on the Giving Pledge website — in a way no other signer will be able to emulate. “Since I was a little girl,” she says, “I have always known I would help women. In my wildest dreams I never thought I would have started with their butts.” She refers to the start of Spanx, which got its inspiration when she needed a smooth undergarment to wear beneath a pair of dress pants and got the idea of cutting off the feet of a pair of control-top pantyhose and donning those. The only problem: The bottoms rolled up all night.
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire sells 1.4M Moody’s shares (USAToday)
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A) has sold nearly 1.4 million more Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) shares, so it has unloaded more than 3 million shares of the credit ratings agency this month. But Warren Buffett’s company still controls 11% of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) because it continued to hold 25.3 million shares after the sales. Berkshire reported the latest transactions that happened between Thursday and Monday to the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday. Berkshire used to own 48 million Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) shares in March 2009 before it started selling the stock. Berkshire generated roughly $84.5 million from the latest stock sales because it sold the shares at prices between $60 and $62.78 per share.
Warren Buffett is bullish on next Berkshire CEO; will that be Ajit Jain? (ET)
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A)’s reputation as a lender of last resort will get stronger under its next chief executive officer because the company will have more capital to deploy in times of crisis, Warren Buffett said. “Berkshire is the 800 number when there’s really sort of panic in markets,” Buffett, 82, the current CEO, said at the company’s annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, referring to digits used for toll-free telephone calls in the US. Buffett boosted returns at his company in recent years by injecting a combined $8 billion into Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) and General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) during the 2008 financial crisis and $5 billion in Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) in 2011 after the lender’s stock slumped. Investors have questioned whether similar opportunities will be available after the departure of Buffett, whose bets can boost market confidence.
Dolphins: Ross to Give Over $2 Billion to Charity (NBCMiami)
Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross is giving away half of his $4.4 billion fortune to charity as part of The Giving Pledge. Ross announced his commitment on Tuesday. He is one of nine new signatories of the pledge, a global initiative created by Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates that aims to increase charitable donations by the world’s most wealthy individuals. “As a very young boy my uncle taught me a valuable lesson, the importance of giving back and using your impact and influence to make the world a better place,” Ross said in a statement released by the Giving Pledge.
