BRAVO TO WARREN BUFFETT

BRAVO TO WARREN BUFFETT

Kudos to the richest man in the world, and noted philanthropist Warren Buffett. Berkshire Hathaway, company chaired by Warren Buffett, has bought portfolios of subprime mortgages and frozen their rates.

Buffett, who spoke at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting, said Clayton Homes, a unit of Berkshire that makes and provides financing on manufactured homes, purchased the subprime mortgages. Clayton sent letters to all the borrowers involved telling them the interest rates wouldn’t reset higher.

“We’re not in the business of resetting mortgages higher,” Buffett said.

Warren Edward Buffett (born August 30, 1930, in Omaha, Nebraska) is an American investor, businessman and philanthropist. He is regarded as one of the world’s greatest stock market investors, and is the largest shareholder and CEO of the insurance and investment Berkshire Hathaway.

With an estimated net worth of around US$62 billion, he was ranked by Forbes as the richest person in the world as of February 11, 2008.

Often called the “Oracle of Omaha,” Buffett is noted for his adherence to the value investing philosophy and for his personal frugality despite his immense wealth.

He lives in the same house in the central Dundee neighborhood of Omaha that he bought in 1958 for $31,500, today valued at around $700,000.

In 2006, he announced a plan to give away his fortune to charity, with 83% of it going to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In 2007, he was listed among Time’s 100 Most Influential People in The World.