Thursday, August 25, 2011

Coddled Billionaire Warren Buffett Throws Money Everywhere But to Federal Government

Warren Buffett is throwing money everywhere except to the federal government. The man who laments not paying enough taxes have found better prospects; he just recently bought $5 billion of shares from Bank of America:

Buffett and Bank of America said he made an unsolicited call to the bank on Wednesday morning offering to make an investment. Buffett told CNBC the idea came to him while taking a bath and the deal was done in 24 hours.

The deal entails Buffett's insurance company, Berkshire Hathaway Inc buying $5 billion of preferred shares and receiving warrants to buy 700 million shares. The warrants helped lift Berkshire Hathaway's paper profits on the deal to more than $3 billion, although the transaction has not yet closed.

And to stay in the good graces of a thug administration, Buffett is throwing a fundraiser for the Anointed One:

Billed as an "Economic Forum Dinner with Warren Buffett," the fundraiser will be held at the Four Seasons restaurant in New York and moderated by former Obama economic adviser Austan Goolsbee, according to a schedule obtained by Politico.

The event will bring in a pretty penny for the campaign. The base price is $10,000, while a $35,800 donation will buy a VIP reception with Buffett, according to the schedule.

The Democratic National Committee confirmed the fundraiser was happening, but was silent on the details.

Last week, Buffett made clear -- in a very high-profile way -- that he supports one of Obama's key policy goals: Higher taxes on the rich.

"My friends and I have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress. It's time for our government to get serious about shared sacrifice," the Berkshire (
BRKA, Fortune 500) founder wrote in a New York Times opinion piece.

Coddled billionaires know where to invest their money; and I don’t see Warren Buffett throwing the federal government a bone. I guess his secretary will have to pick up the slack.

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/25/us-bankofamerica-idUSTRE77N4J420110825

http://money.cnn.com/2011/08/25/news/economy/buffett_obama_fundraiser/

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