3 ms·
"Not only did Berkshire bite, sinking $340 million alone, but so did insurer Progressive Corp." "The company was supposed to use the money to build mobile gene
by rofo1 7y ago
"Not only did Berkshire bite, sinking $340 million alone, but so did insurer Progressive Corp."
"The company was supposed to use the money to build mobile generators, which supply power at sporting events and other outdoor venues. But evidence suggested DC Solar “engaged in nearly no legitimate business,” the government said."
This is uncharacteristic slip of Berkshire Hathaway, isn't it?
I am surprised.
Can anyone recall when (if) Berkshire Hathaway invested in a Ponzi scheme before this?
- squaresmile 7y agoFrom https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-06-04/warren-buffett-s-fake-solar-generators https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-06-04/warren... > Here is the essential fact of that alleged scam: Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway invested $340 million in it, and in exchange claimed $377 million of income tax benefits. > The health of the underlying business is irrelevant. Investors don’t need to go to the factories and sporting events to see if the generators are good, because they are not really buying the generators. They are buying the tax benefits, and those are mostly not manufactured in a factory; they are manufactured in spreadsheets and legal documents.
- ecolonsmak 7y agoSo are they complicit in the crime then?
- icebraining 7y agoNah, since they would make money anyway, they have plausible deniability.
- Fat_Thor 7y agoNot technically a ponzi scheme. But Theranos was not another proud chapter for Warren Buffet.