Warren Buffet Speaks!

By now, it's pretty well known that Warren Buffet supports the Fed bailout, at least as a near-term measure of stopping the bleeding. I would imagine that he also would like the idea of thoughtful, long-term measures to be taken as well, as would we all.

One complaint that has been floating around for the last week is how Mr. Buffet has managed to get better terms, and do so more expediently, on his deals to capitalize Goldman Sachs (and now General Electric, of course). One reason: because he is Warren Buffet, making him 10000 times more shrewd than any of our public officials, as well-meaning and well-informed as they may be.

Buffet is the rarest of the rare, the humanist-capitalist who has never been content to rest upon laurels, nor to take advantage of those who are already at a disadvantage. The man could probably rule the world if he wanted to, yet he regards his greatest responsibility as living up to the trust that his shareholders place in him with their money, and therefore their lives. More than the greatest investor ever, this makes him man of admirable character.

Thanks to Henry Blodget at clusterstock.com for posting this transcript of a Buffet interview on CNBC regarding his recent purchases, and the general state of the economy. I'll provide a few standout quotes.

• If they (the treasury) buy the assets (in the bailout) at market price, I would love to have 1% of the profit or los that results from buying these assets from troubled financial institutions...If they buy them at market, they will realize a significant profit over time... THE KEY IS BUYING AT MARKET PRICES.
• We will always have plenty of cash around Berkshire...I won't go below a certain minimum. I don't want to count on banks lending me money...I like spending, I like investing, and the cheaper things get, the better I like it. This is a good period for us, anybody (presumably meaning value investors).
• There's no way a smart person can go broke except through borrowed money. All borrowed money does is, it may help you get rich a little faster, but it can help you get poorer a whole lot faster.

Have I mentioned that I admire this man as an investor and as a human being?