tbascom says:

Yeah, no kidding.

It’s nice when a billionnaire starts to wake up, isn’t it?

I’ve been wondering if Warren isn’t a bit like an idiot savant: he learned a method of selecting really promising companies that were undervalued, and applied what he learned. That’s all.

And for the most part, it appears that when he took over companies, he left the managers in place or put new business managers in who could run the company. He didn’t run them, but he knew how to read a balance sheet and evaluate the fundamentals, so he could point out when the company was going in the right direction, and when it was off-course. Again, applying the principles he learned in college.

Mastering a technical skill like that doesn’t make Warren a financial wiz, however. Just a rich guy who got rich by knowing how to do a limited thing really well.

Like actors and musicians who think they have something more valuable to say about world events because they can deliver a line or sing on key well enough to make millions while we make mere thousands, he isn’t automatically a guru on the economy or politics just because he’s a billionnaire.

There are far more qualified people making far less money, who don’t get the public ear because they aren’t “celebrities” in our celebrity culture.

I’m glad the lightbulb is beginning to show some dim wattage over Buffett’s head, and I’ll gladly use whatever wisdom he belatedly brings to the cause, but that’s about it.