I WAS searching online for information on a very credible book that came out a few months ago on Warren Buffett, and I stumbled onto a Youtube video where he is interviewed in conjunction with the publication of the book.What makes the video even more interesting is that the author of the book, Carol Loomis, was also interviewed.
An editor-at-large at Fortune magazine, she is a long-time friend of Buffett whom she first knew in 1966 as a journalist with Fortune.
As she recalls, Buffett's company shares traded at around US$22 a share at that time -- and has since reached US$130,000 or so.
That meteoric increase in value has certainly made Carol Loomis happy as she has been not only a close friend of Buffett for over 40 years but also a shareholder of his company, Berkshire Hathaway, for about as long.
Along the way, she became the editor Buffett turned to every year for a professional polish of his famous annual letters to shareholders.
The video is 54 minutes long, full of wit and wisdom on a wide range of topics from someone who is arguably the best investor ever. I thought you might like to watch it too, so check it out below.
In the first 8 minutes or so, interviewer Charlie Rose gets Buffett to talk about his views on income taxes. Buffett advocates progressive tax rates where the more you earn, the higher your tax contribution. Sounds logical but that is not how it is in the US!
Coincidentally, in this year's Budget, Singapore enhanced the already progressive nature of its system by increasing taxes on owners of investment homes and larger homes and the more expensive cars. (See Budget 2013 in brief)
The book title 'Tap Dancing to Work' derives from Buffett having said that he enjoys his work so much that he, figuratively, tap dances to work.
By the way, his advice for anyone who dreams of finding work which inspires them to tap dance to work: "Find your passion. I was very, very lucky to find it when I was seven or eight years old... You're lucky in life when you find it. And you can't guarantee you'll find it in your first job out. But I always tell college students that come out (to Omaha), 'Take the job you would take if you were independently wealthy. You're going to do well at it.'"
If you must buy the book, check out Kinokuniya stores in Singapore. For pricing and availability, click here.
I have yet to get my copy -- in due course, I will.
Read about a bunch of Singaporeans' visit to the Berkshire AGM: Our Visit To Warren Buffett's Berkshire AGM: Wow!
Comments
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/18/singapores-lessons-for-an-unequal-america/
2. interesting comment on American life and issues at the bottom of article:
"A while back, I interviewed a woman in Massachusetts who was, inarguably, strapped. She had lost her $18,000-a-year job several months earlier, and her live-in boyfriend didn't earn much. Health insurance for her and her daughters was out of reach: ''I just punt and hope we're healthy,'' she said. And yet, in her apartment, I beheld the trappings of upper-middle-cl ass comfort. The big-screen TV. The crush of name-brand toys. And outside, the fairly new white SUV--for which she was several months behind on payments.
The tableau was at once absurd and sad--but not altogether surprising. We are, after all, a nation of accomplished spenders, slaves to advertising and status symbolism. The conspicuous fruits of our consumption shout out our aspirations and insecurities.
NYTimes: why majority of Americans are so shallow??"