LowIQinvestor Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 https://blogs.rhsmith.umd.edu/davidkass/uncategorized/warren-buffetts-meeting-with-university-of-maryland-mbams-students-november-18-2016/ "He said that recently he stood across the room from Charlie Munger (age 92) (CM) and said “Let’s buy General Motors at 33, do you agree?” Since there was no response, he moved closer and repeated the same statement. Again, no response. Then he went very close to CM and repeated his statement. CM replied “for the third time, yes!” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racemize Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 Given CM's comments on GM last year, I think this is likely just a joke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmp8822 Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 Given CM's comments on GM last year, I think this is likely just a joke. I would agree this is a joke - I've heard him tell the same joke using Microsoft instead of GM about 7 years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyten1 Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 i am not so sure... i have heard web saying he won't buy msft due to his relationship with gates, but i have never heard him said he would not invest in msft due to the fact its not a good investment. if you guys have read this or seen this please let me know. i mean he did invest in IBM and a big position at that, MSFT and IBM are similar in many ways as for valuation that is another discussion, also msft few years ago was reasonable valued vs today (you can argue otherwise etc.) EDIT: http://www.geekwire.com/2011/warren-buffett-vows-buy-microsoft-stock/ http://www.cnbc.com/id/45290263 search for microsoft "I think Microsoft is attractive but that—but we will never buy Microsoft. " Given CM's comments on GM last year, I think this is likely just a joke. I would agree this is a joke - I've heard him tell the same joke using Microsoft instead of GM about 7 years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmp8822 Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 i am not so sure... i have heard web saying he won't buy msft due to his relationship with gates, but i have never heard him said he would not invest in msft due to the fact its not a good investment. if you guys have read this or seen this please let me know. i mean he did invest in IBM and a big position at that, MSFT and IBM are similar in many ways as for valuation that is another discussion, also msft few years ago was reasonable valued vs today (you can argue otherwise etc.) Given CM's comments on GM last year, I think this is likely just a joke. I would agree this is a joke - I've heard him tell the same joke using Microsoft instead of GM about 7 years ago. I am about 99-percent sure this is a joke - again, I've heard him say the exact same thing in a similar setting using MSFT as the company instead of GM. Could he be actually interested in GM? Maybe - but in this case he was joking regarding his age/hearing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mephistopheles Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 Decades old joke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyten1 Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 jmp8822, i hear ya you are probably right. but i secretly believe a fews year back web would like to buy MSFT, but he can't due to his relationship with gates, that is my belief "I think Microsoft is attractive but that—but we will never buy Microsoft. " from the cnbc interview in above post link i am not so sure... i have heard web saying he won't buy msft due to his relationship with gates, but i have never heard him said he would not invest in msft due to the fact its not a good investment. if you guys have read this or seen this please let me know. i mean he did invest in IBM and a big position at that, MSFT and IBM are similar in many ways as for valuation that is another discussion, also msft few years ago was reasonable valued vs today (you can argue otherwise etc.) Given CM's comments on GM last year, I think this is likely just a joke. I would agree this is a joke - I've heard him tell the same joke using Microsoft instead of GM about 7 years ago. I am about 99-percent sure this is a joke - again, I've heard him say the exact same thing in a similar setting using MSFT as the company instead of GM. Could he be actually interested in GM? Maybe - but in this case he was joking regarding his age/hearing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Txvestor Posted November 23, 2016 Share Posted November 23, 2016 Yet, if he had bought MSFT when he took his IBM stake, he'd have a double on his hands unlike IBM which has thus fsr been a dud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LowIQinvestor Posted November 23, 2016 Author Share Posted November 23, 2016 I understand the historical precedent set by Warren in regards to this joke (setup). But I find it curious that he said" GM " . Berkshire already owns about $1B of GM and just like when he mentioned MSFT years ago, I bet he thinks GM is extremely undervalued now. He chooses his words carefully...why would he want to mislead a bunch of University students into buying GM if he didn't think it was a worthy investment.... I guess we will find out once 13-Fs come out.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mephistopheles Posted November 23, 2016 Share Posted November 23, 2016 I understand the historical precedent set by Warren in regards to this joke (setup). But I find it curious that he said" GM " . Berkshire already owns about $1B of GM and just like when he mentioned MSFT years ago, I bet he thinks GM is extremely undervalued now. He chooses his words carefully...why would he want to mislead a bunch of University students into buying GM if he didn't think it was a worthy investment.... I guess we will find out once 13-Fs come out.... He's also used GM in other examples/scenarios, well before T&T even joined/BRK owned GM. I remember an old speech in which he was talking about having a clear one liner understanding of why you own a stock, and he used GM as an example. I recall him talking to students telling them to say to themselves "I bought 100 shares of GM because...". The point was to come up with a back of an envelope reason, not to pitch GM. Buffett is not one to drop hints like that, so I wouldn't read into it. The more likely reason he used GM is because it's a well known American brand. He's made it clear, like when asked about airlines in the very same meeting, that he doesn't talk about current investments. So I really don't think he was trying to send some hidden messages with this GM joke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RadMan24 Posted December 9, 2016 Share Posted December 9, 2016 He said that as a joke at an annual meeting a few years ago, GM at $35, same line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorpRaider Posted December 9, 2016 Share Posted December 9, 2016 Yeah, he's been using that one for a loooong time. Noticed Monish recently said (in one of this presentations to students) that he thinks the auto business isn't crappy anymore (or less crappy). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RadMan24 Posted December 10, 2016 Share Posted December 10, 2016 Barron's had an interview with Mohnish in today's paper about Big Autos and Southwest, for those who are subscribed check it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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