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An Antidote to Corporate Media
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There is a house on my parents street with TWIN H2's. I hope they work locally. 10 mpg is killer.
And the home is all remodeled in and out - they used that fake stone siding (colored molded cement) that is glued to the stucco in little stacks which falls off after a few years because they use no mortar in the joints. I now hate this look after EVERY SINGLE strip mall remodeled with it during the horrifying bubble years. The skateboard kids can kick it off easily, not gonna last long in Los Angeles.
I think I prefer natural wood siding like classic tahoe 70's cabins. nice.
To be honest, none of them is as rich as Buffet if all of them try to unload their shares within a short period of time.
Buffet's portfolio is far more diversified, and therefore much more liquid. He can unload and cash in with so much more ease than those whose entire fortune is based on one single stock. What do you think MSFT stock price will be if news leaks out that Gates is going to sell 1/3 of his remaining stake? It doesn't even take Gates' 1/3 stake to rock the stock market, just try Ballmer selling half of his remaining stake.
In that sense, Buffet is by far the richest person on earth.
DennisN
2008 Mar 5, 8:32am
I've heard it said that being cheap is the new black.
I'm setting up an informal grocery buying co-op with my neighbors since there's still savings to be had. The local Cash and Carry store (same as Smart and Final in CA) had really nice medium size onions in the 50 lb sack for $3.95. I split one with my neighbors. They also had real sesame oil (not sesame-flavored oil) in a gallon jug for $14.19. I cleaned out some wine bottles and shared this out too. Generally tiny bottles of sesame oil go for around $5 in grocery stores.
Peter P
2008 Mar 5, 10:22am
How about this? Warren Buffett beat out Bill Gates!
Sure, I love Warren Buffett.
Peter P
2008 Mar 5, 10:26am
In that sense, Buffet is by far the richest person on earth.
Not necessarily. A few businessmen in Russia or Mid-east are potentially richer.
And they are probably extremely liquid.
We live in the age of A380 private jets and 500-foot yachts.
I much rather have $30 Billion worth of natural resources (e.g. oil) than $60 Billion worth of stocks.
Yeah, but these businessmen in Russia and Middle East may be taken out by their rivals any time before they reach 50.
I once saw an interview featuring the most powerful Russian businessmen at a party. One year later, half of the attendants got murdered. In the same interview, one of the top criteria for an uberrich Russian guy in selecting his new home in London (not Moscow, but London) is, it has to be out of the range from nearby snipers. He needs to access his home without being in the shooting range.
Peter P
2008 Mar 5, 10:53am
Warren Buffett is one of the most respectable person alive. I am even willing to take him at face value. I don't even take myself at face value.
HeadSet
2008 Mar 6, 1:32am
In that sense, Buffet is by far the richest person on earth.
You forgot a few folks. Fidel Castro owns a whole island nation and everyone on it. Although some in the Middle East have ordered pimped up A380s, Castro has a fleet of MiGs, TV and radio stations, ships, etc. All are at his disposal for life. Kim Jong-il is another that owns more than Buffet.
Peter P
2008 Mar 6, 2:08am
Kim Jong-il is another that owns more than Buffet.
The Queen is even richer. She owns UK and all the inflated homes. :)
God save the Queen.
Are there any fantastic, unique Californian food that can blow visitors away without being too damaging on the wallet? Anything below $100 pp would be good.
Okay this is kind of late, but you really should take them to Chez Panisse in Berkeley. Quite a drive from South Bay, but well worth it and uniquely Californian.
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The biggest default in history has already happened: the US has devalued its promises of repayment to everyone who bought US Treasuries or US bonds of any kind, by devaluing the dollar 50% in just a few years.
What does this mean for the US? Higher interest rates. I don't understand why any person or any government would trust the dollar after this. The logical course of action would be to demand much higher interest rates to compensate for the risk of holding what is rapidly turning out to be only so much green toilet paper.
The thing I don't get is the huge gap between the interest rate the Fed sets for interbank lending (which seems to limit what Americans can get on their CD's and savings) and the very high rates we now see for municipal bond lending (sometimes as high as 20%). Something just doesn't make sense.