Becoming Warren Buffett Page #9

the same information

from the comprehensive

annual report.

We don't meet

with the analysts.

I'm not interested in what an

analyst thinks about Berkshire.

I'm interested in what the owners

of Berkshire think about Berkshire.

Munger:

He came out of a private partnership

where people he knew

were trusting him.

And he had his relatives

in the partnership,

and they were not rich.

And as it got bigger,

he started treating

everybody else the way

he treated his relatives.

Warren:

In terms of our feeling

toward the people

who are shareholders,

we regard them

as our partners.

They're not some

faceless group of people.

And that's why at the annual meeting,

I love seeing 40,000 of them.

It gives real meaning to what

we're doing every day.

Let's try.

If you know...

Men:

Susie like I know Susie

Oh, oh, oh, what a gal

We just have a lot of love

and respect for each other.

And that's never changed.

Oh, oh... Susie:

I don't go to most things in Omaha,

because I think

Astrid lives there with him,

and that's for her to do.

And then we do

all kinds of things.

Susie Jr.

: Strange as it may seem to people,

I always think,

you know, "Who cares?

"If it's working between the

people who are directly involved,

who cares

what anyone thinks?"

And my mother and Astrid

were very close, you know.

They really,

really loved each other,

and I think that my mother

was glad that she was there,

'cause she...

she loved my dad.

She wanted him

taken care of and happy,

and there's

no one better than Astrid.

She's just... she loves my dad.

She wouldn't care if he had one cent.

All:

...back where you belong

Well, Astrid has lived

with me for a long time.

She's done wonders for me.

It worked well,

but I don't think it'll work

for lots of other people

necessarily.

Susie and I loved each other,

we admired each other,

and we were totally in sync

with what the other was doing,

but we were

two different individuals.

Susie:
The first time Warren

came out to San Francisco...

we took a walk,

and he looked around,

and he doesn't...

he's not very visual.

He was looking around,

and he said,

"This really is...

this is your city."

I am so drawn to color,

light, form, and nature,

that he thought

it was a good place for me.

Warren:

Over the years I've developed

a better understanding

of human nature.

I can learn a lot about

investments out of a book,

but I don't think you can learn

as much about human beings.

You really need

some experiences,

and I'm wiser in that respect

than I was 40 or 50 years ago,

even though

I can't rattle off numbers

the same way

I used to be able to.

Well, I think that what we do

reflects who we are,

and that's true for everybody

in this room.

And if you do the work I do,

you meet the best

human beings in the world.

People who

have made a choice

not to make money,

but to serve other human beings.

I think it's the best kind

of life anyone could have.

I was with her in Arizona at this "Fortune"

Most Powerful Women's Conference,

and she told me she had

a biopsy the day before,

and I didn't really think

much of it.

Then we got home,

and the biopsy results were not good.

It was stage four

oral cancer.

Howard:

I was on my way to a board meeting in India,

and I remember

saying to her,

"I'll see you

when I get back."

And she rarely cried,

and she just

started crying and said,

"No, you need to stay here,

and you need to come out

for the operation."

Susie Jr.:

So we were all there,

and the day she was

going into the surgery,

that morning,

my dad...

It's funny, he...

there's some of it he just can't...

you know, he just can't...

the thought of something happening

to her was just, for him...

you know,

was just the worst thing that could happen.

Peter:

She knew it was going to be really difficult.

She knew the recovery

was going to be brutal,

so I think that she had

that surgery for others.

It was...

quite a big surgery.

She couldn't talk,

she couldn't swallow, she couldn't eat.

But she came out,

and I really was with her

for the next

four months or so.

And my dad came out

every weekend.

And in a few months

she was doing better.

She and my dad had gone

to Cody, Wyoming,

which they did every year

with a bunch of friends.

And my dad called. This was,

I don't know, 8:
00 at night or something,

and he said,

"Something happened to Mom.

I'm in an ambulance.

You need to come."

Howard:
I actually thought

something had happened to my dad.

I don't know why I thought that,

but I... I guess I thought

my mom had

had this recovery,

it was successful,

and why would anything happen to her?

It was horrible.

And a total shock.

You know, she'd been fine.

She'd been fine.

They went off to Cody,

she was fine,

and they were having dinner,

and you know,

she didn't feel well after dinner,

and... she had the stroke.

We went into the hospital room,

and my dad was sitting there.

He'd been sitting there

all night, holding her hand.

I was so proud of him,

because when

it came down to it,

he knew what

he was supposed to do,

and he did it,

which was nothing.

So my dad went to sleep,

and I sat with her.

And I just kept

putting my hand on her heart

to see if she was

breathing, and...

At one point, you know,

I didn't feel anything,

so I went out,

I got the nurse,

and I said,

"Can you come in here?"

And she said,

"No, she's gone."

So, I have to say one

of the worst moments of my life

was waking my dad up

to tell him that.

Warren:

It's a very strange thing, love.

You can't get rid of it.

If you try to give it out,

you get more back.

If you try to hang onto it,

you lose it.

Susie...

really put me together.

She believed in me.

She-she-she...

she put me together.

And I would not only have turned out

to be the person I turned out to be,

but I would not have...

I actually wouldn't have been as successful

in business without that, and...

she made me more

of a whole person.

Peter:
He went dark,

essentially, quiet and inward

for a certain amount

of time.

You know, my dad is

a solitary guy,

and he had lived, essentially,

a solitary life in a lot of ways.

I think it came down

to him figuring out

how he was gonna

get through this tunnel

and get out the other side.

In my head

at the time, I thought,

"God, I don't know

if he'll ever get out of bed."

But he did.

Welcome.

I'm Patty Stonesifer,

the CEO of the Bill

and Melinda Gates Foundation.

And we appreciate

you coming today,

especially since I sent a very

vague and very late notice

to ask you to come to a

conversation with Bill and Melinda

on the future on philanthropy.

So, lets get on with it.

I have the pleasure

of introducing a good man

whose great decision is going to

change the world, Warren Buffett.

Man:

A remarkable decision tonight

from one of the richest men

in the world.

Mega-billionaire

Warren Buffett says

he is giving away most of

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