Investment
BRKA Warren Buffett WEB
- Happy_2
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- PEIC
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» Happy_2 - Is Warren going to collect any SS?
In response to Is Warren going to collect any SS? posted by axolotl:
As things stand now, once you reach 65, you can earn as much as you want without reducing your monthly SS.
Unearned income, interest, dividends, capital gains do not count in any event.
-- posted by Happy_2
» axolotl - Is Warren going to collect any SS?
In response to Is Warren going to collect any SS? posted by Happy_2:Good to know that - the age is really 66 now for the majority for full benefits. Years ago, there was a reduction in benefits as income went above a certain level. It would be interesting to know if Warren picks up a SS check - he was employed by a brokerage back in the 50s for awhile - enough to pay in some - it is probably a nice little check now due to the time factor.
-- posted by axolotl
» Happy_2 - Is Warren going to collect any SS?
In response to Is Warren going to collect any SS? posted by axolotl:
The normal retirement age for full benefits has increased to 66+.
The maximum annual wage that someone
under "65" can earn without a reduction
of Social Security benefits is 12,960.
I think I heard Warren say he was paid the equivalent of one share of class a shares, or about $100,000. This would make him eligible for the maximum ss benefits.
-- posted by Happy_2
» axolotl - Is Warren going to collect any SS?
In response to Is Warren going to collect any SS? posted by Happy_2:I wonder what the max SS benefit is now? Maybe $50k per year? Your example above needs to compare total taxes to total income which should be well below 50%. Also, SS tax supposedly will be partially returned in benefits so it is not exactly an income tax. If Warren sold $10 billion of his shares, I am confident the tax bill would be above a billion since most of his fortune is capital gains. So, ol Warren owes a lot of taxes if he sells, but he is going the charity route so no taxes.
-- posted by axolotl
» David_Korn - Charlie Munger sells a tiny tiny bit
Ever wonder what its like to sell 150 shares of a company and have it net you $16 million? And on top of that, have another 100 times as many shares left?
NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s vice chairman sold 150 shares in billionaire investor Warren Buffett's holding company, raising about $16 million, according to a regulatory filing made Monday.
Charlie Munger, Buffett's longtime business partner, could not be reached for comment about the sale, which still leaves him holding 15,561 shares in the investment company worth about $1.7 billion.
-- posted by David_Korn
» PEIC - Buffett to assess blowout year, look to future
Buffett to assess blowout year, look to future
By Jonathan StempelSun Feb 25, 10:45 AM ET
Warren Buffett, who last year generated a 24 percent return for Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRKA - news) (NYSE:BRKB - news) shareholders, may this week tell investors and followers to lower their sights for 2007.
"That's his nature, to underpromise and overdeliver," said Whitney Tilson, who invests $150 million in hedge fund capital at New York's T2 Partners LLC. Its top holding is Berkshire.
Buffett's annual missive to Berkshire stockholders may be Corporate America's most eagerly awaited shareholder letter.
Accompanying Berkshire's annual report, the letter offers trenchant, plain English, and often funny assessments of Berkshire businesses, and issues facing companies and the economy. Buffett even admits his own mistakes.
This year, Buffett will release the letter on Thursday after U.S. markets close, not on a Saturday morning as in prior years, Berkshire representatives said.
That's because a new rule requires big U.S. companies to file annual reports with securities regulators within 60 days after their fiscal years end. Day 60 for Berkshire is March 1.
"I'm going to miss my Saturday morning coffee with the report," said Glenn Tongue, like Tilson, a T2 managing partner.
Known as the Oracle of Omaha, Buffett has transformed Berkshire since 1965 from a failing textile company into a $165 billion conglomerate by buying out-of-favor companies with strong management and businesses, and investing in stocks.
Its 50-plus companies sell such things as Dairy Queen ice cream, Fruit of the Loom underwear and Geico car insurance -- the latter now advertised by talking geckos and Little Richard.
Among Berkshire's equity holdings are Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE:KO - news), Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE:PG - news), Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE:WMT - news) and Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE:WFC - news).
Berkshire Class A shares closed Friday at $106,800 each. Tongue expects book value per share to top $70,000, equivalent to 17.5 percent growth.
Buffett, 76, is the world's richest person after Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT - news) Chairman Bill Gates.
Last year, Buffett won wide praise by donating much of his wealth to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
But last week he took heat for investing in PetroChina Co. (0857.HK) amid criticism that company's parent supports Sudan's government, which the United States accuses of genocide.
INSURANCE
Overall Berkshire results likely improved because last year's dearth of hurricanes, in contrast to Katrina and other storms a year earlier, meant lower insurance payouts.
Analysts polled by Reuters Estimates on average expect full-year profit per share, excluding investments, to rise 72 percent to about $8.62 billion, or $5,588 per Class A share.
Fourth-quarter profit per share may have risen 18 percent to $2.17 billion, or $1,410 per share, estimates show. Insurance usually generates more than half of overall profit.
"Berkshire was willing to write significant numbers of policies at attractive prices after rivals pulled out because of losses from Katrina, Rita and Wilma," said Keith Trauner, who helps invest $5.5 billion at Fairholme Capital Management in Short Hills, New Jersey, including 20 percent in Berkshire. "It has better underwriting standards than just about anyone."
In last year's letter, Buffett said: "We are quite willing to accept huge risks ... Whatever occurs, though, Berkshire will have the net worth, the earnings streams and the liquidity to handle the problem with ease."
Acquisitions may also have bolstered results. Berkshire's 2006 purchases included utility PacifiCorp, press release distributor Business Wire, apparel maker Russell Corp. and Israel's Iscar Metalworking Cos.
TRADE DEFICIT, SUCCESSION
Yet the big purchase has been elusive. Berkshire ended September with $42.25 billion of cash -- which could generate more than $2 billion of annual interest at current rates.
"Buffett has said he'd rather do nothing than do something stupid," said Chad Kane, president of WoodTrust Asset Management in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, which invests $900 million and owns Berkshire stock.
Tilson added that it is tougher to buy when private equity firms and others "have enormous amounts of equity capital, combined with even larger amounts of low-cost debt capital."
Buffett may use his letter to rail again against U.S. budget and trade deficits. The latter rose 6.5 percent last year to a record $763.6 billion.
Berkshire in 2002 began betting the dollar would fall, a good bet, though it slashed its stake in foreign currency contracts to $1.1 billion by September from $13.8 billion in December 2005.
Buffett in last year's letter also said Berkshire's board had picked his successor -- whom he did not name -- from three internal candidates, should he die or become incapacitated. Yet Buffett has repeatedly said he loves his job.
"I expect Buffett to run this company for another 10 years, and the successor could change," Tilson said.
Until then, Buffett's annual letter will command attention.
"It's always a great read," Kane said.
-- posted by PEIC
» axolotl - WARREN BUYS RAILROADS
He is not buying at really low prices, but he has all that cash at single digit returns so he is trying for higher returns. Railroads do not have foreign competition and only limited US competition. The railroads have sort of divided the country into areas and do not get into price wars with each other. Warren must like the long term trends of coal and other bulk cargoes and the Asian trade in containers. Even Cramer was touting Burlington some weeks ago.
-- posted by axolotl
» PEIC - Warren Buffett helps put on Clinton fundraiser
Warren Buffett helps put on Clinton fundraiser
No formal endorsement, calls N.Y. senator 'the person to run the country'
The Associated Press
Updated: 5:30 a.m. PT June 27, 2007
NEW YORK - Guests at a high-dollar fundraiser for Hillary Rodham Clinton on Tuesday were treated to cocktails, dinner and an hour-long business tutorial from billionaire Warren Buffett.
Buffett, the founder of the Omaha, Neb.-based Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and one of the world's richest men, co-hosted the fundraiser, which brought in at least $1 million for Clinton's presidential effort.
Buffett, a Democrat, has not formally endorsed Clinton, but guests at the dinner said he called the New York senator "the person to run the country."
Buffett is also expected to host an event for rival Democrat Barack Obama later this summer and has spoken favorably about the presidential prospects of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who recently left the Republican Party to become an independent.
Known in business circles as the "Oracle of Omaha," Buffet joined Clinton onstage after the fundraiser to field questions from attendees about his views on American competitiveness, smart investing, education and even the global nuclear threat.
Central to Buffett's message was the notion that he and other privileged Americans - those who had drawn the "lucky tickets" - had an obligation to provide for those less fortunate.
"We have the chance in 2008 to repair a lot of damage," Buffett said. "We have a wonderful economy. The market system works in this country. Our problem is how we conduct ourselves in the world."
While expressing optimism about the U.S. role in the global economy, he warned that the nation needed to increase exports and cease being a debtor nation. He also called for an overhaul of the tax code, which he said unfairly favored rich men like him.
"Let's just see what Americans, chosen, are paying compared to the people who clean their offices," he said, referring to tax breaks given to those with higher incomes.
Buffett said he earned $46 million in 2006 and had paid a lower tax rate than one of the secretaries in his office, who earned about $60,000.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
-- posted by PEIC
» axolotl - STICK TO MONEY, WARREN
Bill was busy with Monica and watching golf on tv when Osama bin Laden declared war on America. During his 8 years, there was a technological revolution going on and the FED was very generous - Bill was just along for the ride. There were at least 3 large attacks during Bill's 8 years, Warren. Apparently, there was not love for America, Warren. Warren, you must feel guilty because you have very wrong thinking on these matters. You could have given all your money to the government, but you and Gates are going to increase the population of places like Africa so that there will be even more people living in poverty. That is usually what do gooders do - make it worse.
-- posted by axolotl
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