Warren Buffett Contradictions

I have always suspected that Warren Buffett often has an agenda when he speaks to the public. But the man is tough to nail down on anything, given his Golly Gee public persona. He's sharp and rarely slips up. He slipped last week.

In his NYT article last week urging Americans to buy stocks, he wrote:

I’ve been buying American stocks. This is my personal account I’m talking about, in which I previously owned nothing but United States government bonds.

He even got a little technical about it:

(This description leaves aside my Berkshire Hathaway holdings, which are all committed to philanthropy.)

Which appears to be a problem in the fact department, since in November, 2000 the LA Times reported this:

Warren Buffett, the billionaire investor who caused a stir last year when he bought a big stake in tiny Bell Industries Inc., sparked a rally in Bell’s stock and then quickly sold out for a handsome profit, has once again bought a sizable position in the El Segundo company–again sending its stock sharply higher.

Buffett bought 442,200 shares, or 5.1%, of Bell’s common stock outstanding, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In response Wednesday, Bell’s thinly traded stock jumped $1.06 a share to close at $3.13 on the American Stock Exchange.

Buffett–who controls Berkshire Hathaway Inc., an Omaha, Neb.-based holding company for his investments and operating companies–once again bought the Bell stock with his own money, not Hathaway’s. And as investors learned the last time, that’s an important distinction for anyone evaluating Buffett’s interest in Bell.

The Times article goes on to say:

Despite Berkshire Hathaway’s record of patiently holding stocks, Buffett himself often makes small, quick purchases of stocks with his own money to generate income, according to people familiar with his investment habits. That’s especially true if he’s confident of generating a low-risk, sizable return in short order, they said.

This seems consistent with reports in one or more biographies (I don't recall which) and is probably accurate. His trading in Bell Industries is a fact backed up by SEC filings.

I have long suspected Buffett is operating with cards he isn't showing. He just dropped one on the floor. In my book, he is just smooth operator in the oligarchy.