How many Americans are really aware of HOW Warren Buffet makes his money? He comes across as a grandfatherly successful investor when he appears on TV and his populist support for various policies he supports sounds like a great thing for the country.

Until you begin to understand how he deals off both the top and bottom of the deck. He plays politics to pad his own nest.

Great article in Reason on just this topic.

Quote:In 19th-century America, there was a concerted effort to ban alcohol sales on Sunday. “Blue laws,” intended to protect the sanctity and sobriety of the Sabbath, were pushed by what seemed like an odd alliance: Baptists and bootleggers. Baptists backed the ban publicly on moral and religious grounds, while the bootleggers lobbied for the ban privately to boost their own bottom lines. Blocking legal alcohol purchases for even one day each week meant more opportunities for their illegal sales.

Quote:Economist Bruce Yandle immortalized the phrase “Bootleggers and Baptists” in a 1983 Regulation magazine article of the same name, making the point that ostensibly opposing sides will happily collude when it serves their mutual interests.

The old paradox continues in modern-day Washington. Politicians enrich their friends and allies—and sometimes themselves—by coming off as earnest “Baptists” for a worthy cause. Lobbyists for big corporate interests, by contrast, are widely considered bootleggers, no matter how nobly they cloak their arguments. This arrangement has created an opening for a third way: What if a capitalist could somehow manage to sound like a Baptist?

Quote:Buffett the Bootlegger

But this image does not always reflect reality. Warren Buffett is very much a political entrepreneur; his best investments are often in political relationships. In recent years, Buffett has used taxpayer money as a vehicle to even greater profit and wealth. Indeed, the success of some of his biggest bets and the profitability of some of his largest investments rely on government largesse and “coddling” with taxpayer money.

http://reason.com/archives/2012/02/09/wa...bootlegger

A burglar can also be successful if he has someone on the inside working for him. Buffet's inside guy is Obama.

True, of course. In fact, Buffett might be Obama's favorite capitalist. He certainly is a frequent guest at the WH.