Buffett versus Soros; Who Is the Better Trader?

Michael Berger emails:

Heard this morning on CNBC that [Nicholas Nassim]Taleb said [Warren] Buffett's success has been due to luck; that [George]Soros is a much better trader.

I always thought that about Buffett: he basically has profited by massive inflation for decades.

I thought Buffet would have been decimated, financially, a year or so ago, if the Gov't & Fed Reserve had not thrown trillions at the stock market. I never understood why the press did not question that Buffett served as an advisor to Gov't / Geithner, etc., during the time of the crisis.

I don't think Warren Buffett made his initial money by luck. He is a very good investor. That said, I think he he was lucky to hook up with Charlie Munger. Buffett even admits that Munger was a major influence in the way he invested. I think Munger is much shrewder investor than Buffett. But Buffett's investment philosophy was always sound until he got hooked up with the Washington crowd.

I blame the late publisher of the Washington Post, Katherine Graham. There are some women that seem to have a major influence on Buffett. She was one. She introduced him to the elite. Since then his investing has been much more reckless and has really required government bailouts to protect.

As for Soros, he is more of a trader than Buffett. But any big money he has made always seems to be the result of inside information from government insiders. Without the tips from insiders, I think he would be living somewhere in southern California with a house underwater that he would be trying to sell short back to the banks.