Being Warren Buffett: It's fun

By KYLE PARKS

© St. Petersburg Times, published December 15, 1999

LAKELAND -- Yes, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. chief executive Warren Buffett is a billionaire. But how much money does he carry in his wallet?

"Let me see," he said, getting out his wallet and counting eight or so $100 bills. "I usually carry somewhere around $1,000," he said.

Though Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., spent most of the day Tuesday talking about subsidiary GEICO, he also found time to talk about some other things.

On what it's like to be rich:

Buffett recently talked to a group of high-schoolers, and the first question was this: Are all rich people jerks?

"I said, what being rich does, which is the same thing as age does, it makes you more so," Buffett said. "The same way you were originally, money and age causes you to be more extreme. If you are mean, it makes you meaner. . . . If you are rich, you can behave like you want, and if you want to be a jerk, you can be.

"I have a wonderful group of friends who are very rich. They are way above average as human beings. But I know all kinds of people who are rich that I don't want to know well, too."

On his starring role in former Washington Post publisher Katherine Graham's Pulitzer Prize-winning autobiography, Personal History:

"Kay Graham is such a dear friend . . . That has to be the most honest book in the history of the world. If I ever write an autobiography, I don't think it would be that honest."

On when he's going to retire:

"I'm 69, but I have the mind of a 12-year-old. . . . I'll retire about five years after I die."

On the importance of motivated employees:

"I worked at Penney's during high school and college, selling men's shirts and such for 75 cents an hour. The doors opened at 9:30, and by 4:30 it wasn't easy to smile at people.

"I had a great manager. We had meetings before the store opened, we'd sing songs and I would play the ukulele. We'd go out and work minimum wage, all charged up."

On why he likes his job:

"I find companies fascinating. We have had See's Candies since 1972, but I can tell you what its sales are day by day. We had 1,800 orders yesterday off the Internet, for example. . . . I would gladly do it even if I didn't get paid or owned a share of stock."

On his aversion to technology stocks:

"It's beyond me. But I did play bridge on the Internet with (Bill) Gates on Saturday."

How he tested the microphone before giving a speech at GEICO:

"Testing, 1-million, 2-million . . ."

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