A reminder of why I like this guy...

Warren Buffett rocks. He is down-to-earth, tells it like it is and is the second-richest person on the planet (estimated net worth - $42 billion) - not a bad combination. Now he has announced that instead of all of his money being divvied up to charities after he has passed away, he is going to start the process now (he is currently 76 years old). I have had the fortune of being able to listen to a lot of great speakers so far in my life, and have seen Mr. Buffett speak twice - he is definitely one of the best. In fact, when I was in one of his audiences a few years ago, he was already talking about his plan for what to do with all of his money after he dies. He has even started penning his final letter to his Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, to be released the day after his death (as an extreme Type A obsessive planner, I have the utmost respect for someone thinking THAT far ahead!). It begins, "Dear Shareholders, Yesterday I died. This is bad news for me but not for you." How brilliant is that?



I think it makes sense that he starts doling out his fortune while he is still around to see any possible effects the money may have. The majority of it will go to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, as he and ol' Bill are good friends, even after Bill surpassed Warren to be the #1 person on Forbes' Wealthiest People in the World list. When I heard him speak, Warren did mention that he plays online poker against Bill Gates, often in public online game rooms, and no one knows who they really are. Although he did say that his screen name is T-Bone (he apparently has eaten a T-Bone steak at least once a week, every week, for years).

Hopefully he will still give some of his money to his three kids, though (it wasn't mentioned in the article). I mean, how much would that suck if your dad was the 2nd richest guy on Earth and you got NOTHING when he passed on? I would be like, "C'mon dad, aren't I worth a few measly billion???"

- e