More Folksy Schtick from Buffett

I don’t care what anyone says about his ability to “generate alpha” or his contradictory positions on derivatives (do as I say, not as I do), I still love Warren Buffett.

His folksy schtick is still hilarious, even if he is Goldman’s loan shark.   And he was great in that Pixar movie with all the balloons tied to the house.

Here’s what he said on CNBC today in response to a question about his biggest investment mistake (via Yahoo):

Warren Buffett says Berkshire Hathaway is the “dumbest” stock he ever bought.

He calls his 1964 decision to buy the textile company a $200 billion dollar blunder, sparked by a spiteful urge to retaliate against the CEO who tried to “chisel” Buffett out of an eighth of a point on a tender deal.

Buffett tells the story in response to a question from CNBC’s Becky Quick for a Squawk Box series on the biggest self-admitted mistakes by some of the world’s most successful investors.

Buffett tells Becky that his holding company (presumably with a different name) would be “worth twice as much as it is now” – another $200 billion – if he had bought a good insurance company instead of dumping so much money into the dying textile business.

Ho, ho, ho, click over to read the rest (if you need to)…Warren is still the master when it comes to maintaining his image, not just investing.

Source:

Warren Buffett: Buying Berkshire was $200 Billion Blunder (Yahoo Finance)