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Lordrobot (89.90)

Warren Buffett a day in the life of a two faced zillionaire

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May 03, 2010 – Comments (15) | RELATED TICKERS: BRK-A , BRK-B , GS

In a word, the senator from Nebraska, Ben Nelson is a whore and Warren Buffett is his pimp. I preface my remarks by saying that I have always seen through that homesy kindly old persona of Buffett's to the shark that lies beneath the skin. 

On Taxes: Buffett is outspoken that he thinks taxes are too low. He states that his secretary pays less tax then he pays. Meanwhile Buffett more than any investor on earth has used the shell of Berkshire to build his net worth up by merger and acquisition, thus avoiding most all tax consequences. He employees and army of attorneys to keep him from paying taxes. His deals are secretive and the multiplicity of shell corporations and asset vehicles is mind boggling. But it is all set up to avoid paying taxes. But he wants you taxed. Thats how he guards the hen house and prevents others from ascending to wealth. It's ok if he is wealthy... he can handle it but you can't. 

On Derivatives: Much has been written about Buffett's many colorful position statements about derivatives. The Street.com has published an excellent article entitled 

Warren Buffett Is a Hypocrite

The article catalogs his many takes on derivatives from his "financial weapons of mass destruction" line to his present conduct as a guy that wanted and got an exclusion in the Senate bill over derivative regulation. The price was a hefty campaign contribution to Ben Nelson who took care of the dirty work.

Buffett has spent so much of his life trying to cultivate the kindly old zillionaire image that for a while there he started to believe his own press. But in reality, the guy is just like the rest of the Goldman crowd, closer to government than they should be. But whats a few bucks to buy some influence? Ben Nelson has become the everywhore of the Senate and now we know he sits in Buffetts hip pocket because rules don't apply to Buffett.

Besides, campaign contributions aren't bribes are they? Buffett gave the cash to Nelson and then Nelson delivered the favor to Berkshire. Clearly those dot's aren't connected. 

So the next time you listen to Buffett talk, open your ears to the hypocrisy because in Goldman Speak, no means yes.   

15 Comments – Post Your Own

#1) On May 03, 2010 at 9:52 PM, blesto (31.11) wrote:

That doesn't mean you can't learn valuable and successful investing lessons from him.

And we're all hypocrites to one degree or another.

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#2) On May 03, 2010 at 11:17 PM, russiangambit (29.94) wrote:

You know what surprises me - Buffet is pretty old. At that age people worry more about their legacy than about how to make the next billion. But it seems Buffet only cares about money. Does he expect to live forever? Odd. I think he is very greedy. Blinded by greed, in fact.

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#3) On May 03, 2010 at 11:33 PM, Merpathan (< 20) wrote:

 "Thats how he guards the hen house and prevents others from ascending to wealth."

You nailed it with that statement Lordrobot.

Buffett is a nothing more than a limousine liberal driving a Chrysler.

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#4) On May 04, 2010 at 2:43 AM, ralphmachio (24.52) wrote:

It is so nice to hear from someone who doesn't think much of this fossil. I agree emphatically with Merpathans valuation of that one particular comment, and if i could sum up what is wrong with the entire system, it is that aspect of Buffet, Government, and all the captains of industry- They take our money and use it to make sure we are always struggling. 

The responsible parties should be held accountable for the human suffering they have caused over time, and be made to pay retribution for each and every little person they have stepped on, directly and indirectly for the extent of their lives. It is not their hard work, it is their utilization of money to create legislation to make life harder for the layman. They have created an art out of making the ridiculous seem as the way things should be, and the disparity of wealth has become so out of control, it is just a question of time before those who have taken will be forced to give back. 

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#5) On May 04, 2010 at 2:45 AM, starbucks4ever (99.53) wrote:

#2,

As I see it, Buffett is a man who doesn't care much about money per se. His lifestyle is asketic, and his capital is bequeathed to charity. Rather, he enjoys this money-making game as a hobby and he wants to prove that he is the best at this game, just as I am playing this Caps game for fun, and to accumulate Caps points that will do nothing for me in real life. So he will happily pay higher taxes if his all fellow capitalists will also have to pay higher taxes, but he will not just give away money unilaterally, just as I will not give away a 100 Caps points to some <20 player as a present. I see no contradictions in that. Besides, he was talking about his personal income tax. The taxes of Berkshire the company is a different matter, if only because other shareholders will expect Buffett to act in their best interests. Remember that movie, "The Aviator", where the senator praises the CEO of Pan American who supposedly does not care about making a profit (a lie, as it turns out), and Howard Hughes snaps back: "I am sure his shareholders will be happy to hear that"?

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#6) On May 04, 2010 at 2:52 AM, ralphmachio (24.52) wrote:

Buffet is a manchurian candidate- he went in for 'alterations' around the same time that DuPont guy killed his personal trainer, and his real brain is in a liquid nitrogen cooler underneath Denver International Airport.  

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#7) On May 04, 2010 at 3:19 AM, BuffetsMentor (< 20) wrote:

zloj,

 

wow. i could not have put my thoughts into better words than that. well done sir.

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#8) On May 04, 2010 at 10:56 AM, USNHR (35.91) wrote:

that aspect of Buffet, Government, and all the captains of industry- They take our money and use it to make sure we are always struggling...

_________________________________________

 Does this put government welfare programs in a new light? Obamacare is really a ploy to gain power and control and keep the low man down. Tax him more and "give" him something to make it seem like the government is doing something for him. However the government is really stealing his power and control? Boxing him in where he doesn't want to be with no escape route?

One might ask how a person can avoid such wanton power grab by the government, to control you and keep you down...

Chris Galey posted a blog about financial independence and how to avoid "the man" if not stick it to him.

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#9) On May 04, 2010 at 11:21 AM, miteycasey (95.17) wrote:

Buffett is outspoken that he thinks taxes are too low. He states that his secretary pays less tax then he pays.

 

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/money/tax/article1996735.ece

He says he pays a lower rate than his secretary, not that his secretary pays less taxes...unless you have a link showing this statement.

 

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#10) On May 04, 2010 at 2:38 PM, Rehydrogenated (35.26) wrote:

I think anyone who made most of their money betting on "Insurance" companies, while influencing politics, is a leech on society.

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#11) On May 04, 2010 at 2:50 PM, leohaas (93.62) wrote:

Is this the level to which CAPS is sinking? Please reserve this kind of foul-mouthed nonsense for the Yahoo boards. It does not belong here.

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#12) On May 04, 2010 at 7:00 PM, russiangambit (29.94) wrote:

> As I see it, Buffett is a man who doesn't care much about money per se. His lifestyle is asketic, and his capital is bequeathed to charity. Rather, he enjoys this money-making game as a hobby and he wants to prove that he is the best at this game,

I see him as a sort of a Scrouge. Scrouge also had an ascetic lifestyle. Unfortunately the story doesn't say what he was planning to do with the money after his death. May be give it to the orphans ?

As for Buffet enjoying money making as a passion, I don't understand that. Money in itself is nothing, it is a medium to achieve the ultimate goal. He doesn't seem to have an ultimate goal in his life beyond making money. And I find it odd for such a smart person.

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#13) On May 04, 2010 at 11:33 PM, starbucks4ever (99.53) wrote:

"He doesn't seem to have an ultimate goal in his life beyond making money. And I find it odd for such a smart person."

Why is it odd? A chess player does not have an ultimate goal in life beyond the world champion title, a weight lifter does not have an ultimate goal beyond lifting 300 kg, a runner does not have any goal beyond setting the new record...All of these achievements have no utility whatsoever, which doesn't stop people from trying. So why can't a businessman think of it in the same way? In fact, most of them do, after a certain threshold. Once you have a billion dollars, it turns into a sport because there's no way you can spend that amount.

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#14) On May 04, 2010 at 11:43 PM, BlackshearFund (< 20) wrote:

I agree with Zloj.

If you hear the way Buffett talks about money you realize he's not "normal."   He rarely even says money - he refers to it as "claims checks on society."   He'd doesn't intend to "cash them in" either.

I doubt someone who does it for sport would truly take a position he was fundamentally against - especially considering Buffett holds reputation in high regard.  He has a couple of billion in warrants at stake - it's chump change for Berkshire.

He believes what he's saying.  And I believe him. 

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#15) On May 18, 2010 at 4:52 PM, Lordrobot (89.90) wrote:

Thank you for your wise and thoughtful comments, except for the guy that thought this post was obscene and should have belonged on Yahoo. As as point of fact, it was inspired by an article from the Street Dot Com entitled "Buffett's a hypocrite." 

Having never been to the Yahoo boards or posted there, I cannot gauge the filth requirement so I will have to defer that to the experts.   

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