What would you do if you have hoarded $130 billion in cash? That’s the war chest of Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett whose passion in life is acquiring successful companies worthy of buying to add up to his investment portfolio.
He has a gift to spot a great investment and has converted business acquisition both as a science and an art. Buffett, endearingly dubbed as the Oracle of Omaha for his sound business sense and ability to read financial opportunities, was outbid by LVMH owner Bernard Arnault in taking over Tiffany, the world renowned jewelry shop. The place was made more famous by the movie, Breakfast at Tiffany’s starring Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard based on Truman Capote’s novella which gave us the haunting ditty still popular up to now, “Moon River.” Despite his failure to include Tiffany among his priceless acquisitions, Buffett, who is now 89, and his vice chairman, Charlie Munger, who is himself 96 years old, are still pining for “an elephant-size acquisition.” Buffett was quoted as saying that “that prospect is what causes my heart and Charlie’s to beat faster.”
Buffett is considered even by his business rivals as too astute “to overpay for anything—no matter how badly he may want to do a deal.” His partner opined that “the market seems kind of expensive” so the “right thing to do is buy nothing.” Buffett has moist eyes on companies which have a healthy history of dividend payments, like Apple and Bank of America, but as one of his business lieutenants has pointed out, “the irony is not lost on us that Buffett often invests in companies that pay a dividend but he is not willing to offer one himself.” Throughout its history, Berkshire Hathaway has only paid its stockholders a dividend once—in 1967. It seems that to Buffett, non-payment of dividends is the first lesson in Investment 101. No wonder, he is one of the top 5 richest individuals on Earth.
While Buffett may be ruthless in his business dealings, nobody can deny that he has a soft heart for the underprivileged. Buffett’s personal mission is to donate 99 percent of his wealth to philanthropy while he is still alive, or upon his death. In 2006, he made history by pledging to donate $37 billion to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and other charities—the largest ever charitable pledge of donation given by an individual. Last year, he has donated $3.6 billion worth of stocks of Berkshire to Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and other selected charities, such as Make-A-Wish Foundation, Animal Rescue Foundation, Smile Train, and many others. His latest stock donations have boosted his total gifts to $35 billion since he made his pledge in 2006.
The various donees chosen by Buffett typically sell his shares in order to finance the various programs and undertakings designed to help particular causes. He has championed myriad causes, such as animals, disadvantaged youths, organ donations, arts and culture, human rights, and many more. He is the godfather of homeless people, abused women, the unemployed and human-rights victims whose programs he has generously funded. He has conceived of a unique way to raise funds for one of his charities, the Glide Foundation based in the city of San Francisco, which supports the homeless and poor in the Bay Area.
For the past 20 years, Buffett has been holding an Annual eBay Charity Auction to select the person who will have exclusive lunch with him. Last year’s winner was Justin Sun, the founder and CEO of a blockchain platform TRON, who paid a whopping $4.5 million to win the seat on his lunch table. Sun happily exclaimed: “I’m looking forward to meeting a true pioneer in investing. I’m excited to talk to Warren Buffett about the promise of blockchain, and to get valuable tips and insights from him about entrepreneurship…” That is roughly a P225-million lunch —enough to serve decent meals to 50,000 Taal evacuees for a month. Glide was profuse in thanking Buffett while Sun had promised that “all of the proceeds of the record-breaking bid will be used to help people overcome… homelessness, addiction, hunger and social isolation.” Buffett, Gates, and other present day generous business moguls live in the great tradition of Rockefeller, Carnegie and Mellon who have been known for their legendary benevolence.
We Filipinos by nature are generous people. Regardless of our economic status, we can be relied upon to help each other out during hard times. The overwhelming response of our population to the recent victims of earthquakes in Mindanao and the Taal eruption underscores our kindness and charity. Our country is prone to disasters and calamities but beyond the tragedy and anguish our people suffer is the boundless generosity by all sectors of our society, which provides hope and relief to the victims. Sharing our bounty and caring for the less fortunate are deeply rooted in our moral fabric. Private individuals who give to charity fill the gaps in social services which our government has been straining hard to heroically fulfill. Their exemplary lives give full meaning to the biblical phrase, ”What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul.” (Mark 8:36) We are defined not by what we get but by what we give.