Don't Ever Buy Into the Warren Buffett Myth

He's not a down-home simple guy who lives in the original home he had before he made his fortune.  It's well-known that he has at least one mistress and he has expensive real estate in several glamour locations, including Sun Valley and Santa Fe.

Follow his money and sphere of influence. Don't forget he has a big stake in Goldman Sachs and he recently expressed full support for the Company and it's antics. He also controls Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson: 

Anyway, WSJ reports that while the Democrats are making real progress on derivatives reform, the bill could contain a big pro-Berkshire loophole. And of course, the loophole was placed by Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson. Here's the nut of it: The provision, sought by Berkshire and pushed by Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson in the Senate Agriculture Committee, would largely exempt existing derivatives contracts from the proposed rules. Previously, the legislation could have allowed regulators to require that companies such as Nebraska-based Berkshire put aside large sums to cover potential losses. The change thus would aid Berkshire, which has a $63 billion derivatives portfolio, according to Barclays Capital.

Here's the link from Clusterstock.com:  The Buffett Rule

If this provision remains intact, it will enable Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway to escape expensing up front the massive cost of potential derivatives losses embedded throughout the Berkshire empire. Kick the can down the road at the expense of shareholders who might otherwise sell the stock in anticipation of lower reported earnings OR new buyers of the stock who get lured in by GAAP earnings that are essentially fictitious.

Lest we forget, Buffett also owns 10% of Wells Fargo, which is defiantly overstating the value of its toxic real estate-related assets, is sitting on a powder keg of subprime pay-option ARM mortgages (which currently have a 45% default rate, but you wouldn't know that from looking at WFC's balance sheet valuations) and has not even come close addressing the reality of the commercial real estate to which its exposed.

Just remember, there's rules for Warren Buffett and then there's rules for the rest of us. Just like in a Banana Republic. Buffett said it himself a couple years ago: the U.S. will become a country of serfs (and he'll be King). Oh ya, his frumpy "sack suits" designed to look inexpensive are actually very expensive Italian suits tailored to give the look he's known for.