WEB:The Oracle of Omaha- Warren Buffett

» Kirk - Not Buying Junk Bonds in 2003

-- posted by Kirk

» Karin_ - Buffett

-- posted by Karin_

» Kirk - Re: Buffett

Karin
I believe Buffett believes as I do and Charles Schwab. That is we want more efficient use of capital, but lets not give it all to Bill Gates.

I am in favor of dividend tax relief. Why not make the first $10K in dividends tax free and increase this by $10K a year for 10 years then index it for inflation?

I think anyone can live quite well on $100K a year tax free plus their Social Security checks.

Bill Gates, OTOH, he gets some $80M a year in MSFT dividends. It doesn't seem fair to give him a lower tax rate on his regular income AND let him keep all that where I doubt he will really make new jobs from that extra money. I'd rather see that share go to small business who will hire people.

-- posted by Kirk

» collguy - Re: Re: Buffett

-- posted by collguy

» Kirk - WILLIAMS COS. INC.

Cash-strapped natural gas and pipeline operator Williams said on Monday after the close it will buy back $289 million of convertible preferred shares from MidAmerican Energy Holdings, which is controlled by billionaire investor Warren Buffet. Shares closed at $7.86.

-- posted by Kirk

» Kirk - Clayton Homes' Shareholders Revolt

Mon Jul 7, 4:36 PM ET
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By JANET MORRISSEY, Dow Jones Newswires

NEW YORK - A revolt is heating up at Clayton Homes Inc., where a growing number of disgruntled shareholders have vowed to vote against the company's plan to sell itself to Berkshire Hathaway Inc. in a $1.7 billion deal.

Ithaca Partners LP, Alpine Associates, Orbis Investment Management Ltd., Cliffwood Partners LLC and the Third Avenue Real Estate Value Fund are among those that hope to scuttle the deal.

"Every institutional shareholder I've spoken to is dead set against it," said Michael Winer, portfolio manager at Third Avenue Funds, which has held shares in Clayton since 2002. He said the $12.50-a-share bid by billionaire investor Warren Buffett (news - web sites)'s Berkshire Hathaway doesn't reflect Clayton's true value.

"It is confusing as to why the Clayton family — with its 28 percent share holding in Clayton Homes — is selling the company at a price that by any measure is too low," Ithaca Partners concurred in a note.

The $12.50-a-share offer apparently was based on the Knoxville, Tenn.-based company's stock trading prices over the past 12 months. Many shareholders said this formula is wrong and instead should have been based on historical averages.

"Clayton is selling the company at the trough in the (manufactured homebuilding) cycle," said Winer. "This is a cyclical industry, and the value of the company should have been based on the average earnings over the (entire) business cycle," not just the past 12 months, he said.

Winer sees a fair price between $14 and $17 a share.

To Clayton's credit, Institutional Shareholder Services, a highly regarded independent advisery firm, recommended shareholders approve the takeover offer.

Orbis Funds strongly disagrees.

"We find it incredible that ISS would recommend that its clients vote in favor of a transaction that would yield them less value than they could obtain by selling their shares in the open market," Orbis said in a statement.

Clayton shares closed Monday at $12.64, down 4 cents on the New York Stock Exchange (news - web sites).

Many shareholders speculate that Buffett senses the manufactured-housing industry is turning around, that Clayton will be a big beneficiary when that happens, and that he can pocket big profits by buying the company at the cyclical bottom.

Winer said Clayton has a "bulletproof balance sheet, no debt, (and is) an industry leader — cream of the crop." As a result, he believes Clayton stands to gain the most when the industry recovers.

"We believe in the long-term fundamentals of the manufactured-housing industry and that Clayton is an outstanding company with a great future," said Orbis in an open letter to shareholders.

Clayton executives weren't immediately available for comment.

Shareholders are scheduled to vote on the deal July 16. The company needs 50 percent of the shares outstanding to proceed with the sale. The Clayton family and other insiders hold about a 30 percent stake.

The company faces a $35 million breakup fee if the company walks away from the deal to pursue a deal with another bidder.

  Date       Kirk    S&P500   Delta
2003 YTD    +33.3%    15.2%   18.1%  as of 7/7/03 
 

                              Kirk   S&P500+   NASDAQ 
4+ Yrs 12/31/98 to 07/07/03  104.4%  (13.0%)   (21.5%) 
 
+with dividends reinvested. All Numbers unaudited. 
Click for a free issue of my newsletter .

-- posted by Kirk

» KLR - Lunch With Warren

Since this lunch with Warren will probably go for some $35-40K, I figure if eight of us each pony up an initial $5K we could bid $40K. Of course, that may just be our initial bid as the price rises.

That is of no concern to this group. In for a dime...in for a dollar I say.

Since we're spread all around the country, I suggest we meet at Warren's house in Omaha. Or maybe the Omaha Dairy Queen.

Please: RSVP ASAP.

[PS: Second prize is a BBQ with BB]
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Bid for lunch with Buffett on eBay

Warren Buffett will donate the proceeds from the winning bidder to a San Francisco-based charity.
July 9, 2003: 3:08 PM EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - How much would you pay to slurp Coca-Cola with Warren Buffett, the world's second-richest man and arguably its most famous investor?

Buffett, whose $30.5 billion net worth according to Forbes magazine places him second to Microsoft Corp. (MSFT: Research, Estimates) founder Bill Gates, is donating a May 2004 lunch in New York City with the winner of an auction being conducted on Internet auctioneer eBay Inc.'s Web site.

The auction, bids for which are accepted through 9 p.m. PT Thursday, is sponsored by San Francisco magazine and the Glide Foundation, a San Francisco nonprofit serving the poor, hungry and homeless. Buffett will donate the proceeds to Glide.

Buffett, the 72-year-old chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.B: Research, Estimates), donated San Francisco lunches to benefit Glide in 2000 and 2001, and two lunches in 2002.

This year, Buffett is donating one lunch in San Francisco, offered in a live Thursday night auction at the city's Concourse Exhibition Center, and one in New York, offered live and on eBay.

"He said, 'Let's take one to New York,"' the Rev. Cecil Williams, Glide's chief executive, said in an interview. "That's quite the center for investments and for finance."

The winning New York bidder may invite seven friends, and choose to move the lunch to an earlier date at Buffett's home base of Omaha, Nebraska.

Buffett did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Though Buffett counts Coke and hot dogs as his favorite meal, his San Francisco lunches have been in Anzu, a Japanese restaurant near Glide's office in the Tenderloin district.

Williams said the two-hour lunches have covered many topics.

"He would open up and talk about all sorts of things that related not just to his life, but also to investments," he said. "From what I understand, he focuses on facilitating people in how they can invest their money in the present economy."

Dining with the Oracle of Omaha won't come cheap.

Glide said prior Buffett lunches have been auctioned for $25,000 to $32,000 each. A bidder named "littlecatsfeet" has already bid $10,000 on eBay for the New York lunch.

Steven Dinkelspiel, San Francisco magazine's publisher, expects the New York lunch to go for more than $25,000, despite the uncertain economy. But then, there's a carrot.

"It's like: 'Come talk to Warren Buffett and pick his brain,"' he said.

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-- posted by KLR

» KLR - Re: Re: Lunch With Warren

Who knows, you may add Warren to your subscriber list. But you will probably come away with your life, house, cars, and cat insured by GEICO.

-- posted by KLR

» Kirk - Re: Lunch With Warren

My next door neighbor was hired to run the company, UlitmateBid.com, which started this celebrity auction for charity or otherwise deal. They had things like a round of golf with Tiger Woods, Lunches with Warren, etc. The company was bought out by eBay pretty quickly and he has done several things since, but it is cool to see the idea still thrive. We actually talked some about cross promotion, between us and them, but there was no good fit and they were the high cash burn rate company that either needed to be acquired or go bust.

eBay... way to expensive for me to buy as a stock, but the potential there is HUGE. I imagine they will put most newspaper classified sections out of business eventually once they make it possible to filter what they sell by area. I don't use eBay much because stuff I might want to buy I'd want to look at first and this requires it to be local but another neighbor's son bought a nice car on eBay.

-- posted by Kirk

» Kirk - $250,000 for a "Buffet" Lunch ---

I think Jay Leno could make a good Hannible Lecter joke here somewhere...

echnology - Internet Report

Warren Buffett Lunch Sells for $250,000

Fri Jul 11, 2:50 AM ET
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NEW YORK (Reuters) - A bidder at an auction conducted in San Francisco Thursday night and on auctioneer eBay Inc.'s Web site agreed to pay $250,000 to lunch with Warren Buffett (news - web sites), the world's second richest man.

The auction was sponsored by San Francisco magazine and the Glide Foundation, a non-profit organization offering programs to the poor, hungry and homeless in San Francisco.

Buffett, the billionaire chairman of holding company Berkshire Hathaway Inc., will donate the proceeds to Glide.

Glide said on Friday the lunch went for a higher bid than the past three years' lunches with Buffett combined.

The winning bidder, whose identity had not yet been confirmed, may invite seven friends to the May 2004 lunch, to be held in New York. The bidder may move the meeting to an earlier date at the 72-year-old Buffett's home base of Omaha, Nebraska.

Buffett, whose $30.5 billion fortune according to Forbes magazine puts him behind Microsoft Corp. founder Bill Gates (news - web sites), has since 2000 donated lunches to benefit Glide, whose chief executive is the Reverend Cecil Williams.

Buffett is "a huge fan of Cecil Williams, who is doing an extraordinary job," said Berkshire spokeswoman Kelly Muchemore. "Warren says he enjoys the lunch, and Glide enjoys the money."

This is the first year Web auctioneer eBay was enlisted to auction a Buffett lunch, and the first time Buffett donated a lunch outside San Francisco for Glide's benefit. Previous lunches went for $25,000 to $32,000 each, Glide said.

Buffett this year had also planned to donate a San Francisco lunch, but it was canceled at his request.

This year's lunch with the Oracle of Omaha cost more than three times the price of one "A" share of Berkshire, which also doesn't come cheap. They closed Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange (news - web sites) at $73,100 each.

-- posted by Kirk