Davy V. Bui

Buffett Is Not a Leader, Just a Great Investor

Laughable indeed...

"Ben Graham's career [at Graham-Newman] was coming to an end...Graham gave notice to his partners. But first he offered Warren [Buffett] the opportunity to become a general partner in the firm...Even though Warren was flattered, he had gone to Graham-Newman to work for Ben. It wasn't worth it to him to stay...He turned the offer down." -pg 199, Snowball

Walter Schloss also worked at the same firm but according to Schroeder, was treated poorly by the other main partner, Jerry Newman. Obviously, both Graham and Buffett can spot talent -- one was much better at developing talent (or more willing to) than the other, no matter how you want to slice it.

Buffett Is Not a Leader, Just a Great Investor

Perhaps I'm not the one who needs to do more research. By nearly all accounts, Buffett would be utterly repelled by the thought of bequeathing his wealth to his family. And he can't take it with him, so what else is he going to do but donate it? The fact he gave it to the Gates charity instead of his own is just another demonstration of Buffett's calculating nature -- he allocated the capital to the charity which would maximize the investment. Since Buffett has never spent much time on philanthropy, his own foundation is nowhere near as effective as Gates'.

A person can do whatever he/she wishes and if Buffett only wanted to be an investor, it doesn't make him a bad person. However, he is CEO (i.e. a leader) of a $140B public corporation. True leaders care about the organization they lead and want to see it flourish even after their time has passed. That's why the final test of leadership is the legacy you leave behind you. It may be gratifying to think that you're so indispensible that everything would fall apart if you left but that's selfish and egotistical. Can you imagine running your family that way and hoping they fall apart after you're gone?

Anyway, Buffett reportedly considers Berkshire to be his "baby" and I'm sure he cares a great deal about it. I'm not so sure if he's spent enough time to ensure it will thrive after he's gone. After all, Berkshire's greatest strength was the human capital (i.e. Buffett) and like the first commenter said, it looks like he never made time to develop new human capital for Berkshire. It'll be interesting to see who he poaches.