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It's not because he makes it easy. He buys them when they're strapped for cash Fruit of the Loom: 1999 Bankruptcy, 2002 acquisition by BH He even bought into

It's not because he makes it easy. He buys them when they're strapped for cash Fruit of the Loom: 1999 Bankruptcy, 2002 acquisition by BH He even bought into Berkshire Hathaway itself, on the cheap

missedthecue 5y ago
Exceptions to the rule. Precision Castparts, Burlington Northern, Clayton Homes, Duracell, Pacificorp, Lubrizol, Acme Brick, Dairy Queen, Pilot Flying J, all were bought as healthy companies.
- currio 5y ago
  +1. Warren and charlie also say that they would rather buy good businesses at fair price than fair businesses (or cash strapped ones or ones about to go bankrupt. I know thats not what fair means) at good price.
  - SmellTheGlove 5y ago
    There’s also the consideration that a good, healthy business doesn’t want to be bought. The opportunity only presents itself if you are willing to massively overpay or if a good business runs into financial issues. I worked for a Berkshire subsidiary before jumping into tech. First hand, it is zero bullshit that they invest in good management teams and let them run the business. The best run company I’ve ever worked at is one of these - Berkshire got ‘em when they were out of cash and almost about to fold, and they are overwhelmingly successful today with a stable management team with mostly internal succession. Having also worked at some startups that HN absolutely loves, it’s not that different than soaking up VC cash - it’s still outside money, and you still need a great leadership team to get to profitability.
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
- unityByFreedom 5y ago
  > Clayton Homes TBD per John Oliver: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCC8fPQOaxU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCC8fPQOaxU
  - missedthecue 5y ago
    John Oliver doesn't approve of certain aspects in their business model, but when Clayton was acquired in 2003, it was a healthy company and has grown massively since.
    - hellbannedguy 5y ago
      They sell mobile homes to poor people using basically car loans. 15% is right. Plus--there are tons of fees. It's like Payday loans. I imagine this company will just get bigger, and bigger. I wish our government would revisit every law concerning high interest loans.
    - unityByFreedom 5y ago
      Scamming people isn't a business model. Everyone makes mistakes and I think this is a miss for Warren. That doesn't mean Clayton can't turn it around. Maybe Warren sees something Oliver didn't. It just doesn't look to be on the up and up when put to scrutiny.
- lotsofpulp 5y ago
  And Apple, which makes up 41% of Berkshire’s value today, and Bank of America, which is another 14%.
renewiltord 5y ago
It’s definitely more than just being smarter. The shape of Buffett’s Salomon Brothers deal is an example.
nojito 5y ago
>He even bought into Berkshire Hathaway itself, on the cheap This is incorrect. He bought it and wanted to sell it back because of how bad the company was...but they tried to "steal" a small portion of the agreed upon price. Buffet than went ahead and bought up shares and fired the guy who tried to short change him.

It's not because he makes it easy. He buys them when they're strapped for cash Fruit of the Loom: 1999 Bankruptcy, 2002 acquisition by BH He even bought into Berkshire Hathaway itself, on the cheap

missedthecue 5y ago

Exceptions to the rule. Precision Castparts, Burlington Northern, Clayton Homes, Duracell, Pacificorp, Lubrizol, Acme Brick, Dairy Queen, Pilot Flying J, all were bought as healthy companies.

currio 5y ago
+1. Warren and charlie also say that they would rather buy good businesses at fair price than fair businesses (or cash strapped ones or ones about to go bankrupt. I know thats not what fair means) at good price.
- SmellTheGlove 5y ago
  There’s also the consideration that a good, healthy business doesn’t want to be bought. The opportunity only presents itself if you are willing to massively overpay or if a good business runs into financial issues. I worked for a Berkshire subsidiary before jumping into tech. First hand, it is zero bullshit that they invest in good management teams and let them run the business. The best run company I’ve ever worked at is one of these - Berkshire got ‘em when they were out of cash and almost about to fold, and they are overwhelmingly successful today with a stable management team with mostly internal succession. Having also worked at some startups that HN absolutely loves, it’s not that different than soaking up VC cash - it’s still outside money, and you still need a great leadership team to get to profitability.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
unityByFreedom 5y ago
> Clayton Homes TBD per John Oliver: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCC8fPQOaxU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCC8fPQOaxU
- missedthecue 5y ago
  John Oliver doesn't approve of certain aspects in their business model, but when Clayton was acquired in 2003, it was a healthy company and has grown massively since.
  - hellbannedguy 5y ago
    They sell mobile homes to poor people using basically car loans. 15% is right. Plus--there are tons of fees. It's like Payday loans. I imagine this company will just get bigger, and bigger. I wish our government would revisit every law concerning high interest loans.
  - unityByFreedom 5y ago
    Scamming people isn't a business model. Everyone makes mistakes and I think this is a miss for Warren. That doesn't mean Clayton can't turn it around. Maybe Warren sees something Oliver didn't. It just doesn't look to be on the up and up when put to scrutiny.
lotsofpulp 5y ago
And Apple, which makes up 41% of Berkshire’s value today, and Bank of America, which is another 14%.

renewiltord 5y ago

It’s definitely more than just being smarter. The shape of Buffett’s Salomon Brothers deal is an example.

nojito 5y ago

>He even bought into Berkshire Hathaway itself, on the cheap This is incorrect. He bought it and wanted to sell it back because of how bad the company was...but they tried to "steal" a small portion of the agreed upon price. Buffet than went ahead and bought up shares and fired the guy who tried to short change him.