Two massive conventions were held this past weekend, one for gun enthusiasts, and the other for the financially savvy. The former was the NRA’s annual convention, which featured speeches from President Donald Trump, and Vice President Mike Pence, among other pro-gun conservative firebrands. The latter was the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting, which is often something of a pilgrimage for some Berkshire investors looking to meet and hear from legendary investor Warren Buffet.
While the annual meeting does cover general corporate information in regards to the company (as all annual meetings of public companies do), Berkshire’s are unique in that they become a forum in which Buffet can preach his investment philosophy, and take questions from those who’ve entrusted him with their money over the decades.
At this year’s convention, Buffet, whose politics can only be described as left-of-center, was read a question by a shareholder asking why Berkshire invests in gun companies, and what his opinions are on doing business with gun owners. According to CNBC, Buffet replied: “I don’t believe in imposing my political opinions on the activities of our businesses.”
For example, he said, “I don’t think we should put a question on the Geico policy form (that says): ‘Are you a member of the NRA? And if you are, you’re just not good enough for us.’ Or something like that.” (Geico is owned by Berkshire Hathaway).””If you get into which of our companies are pure and which ones aren’t pure, I think it will be very difficult,” Buffett said.
This is a reiteration of comments that Buffet made in the wake of the Valentine’s Day shooting at Majority Stoneman Douglas High School – that he doesn’t let his personal politics influence his business decisions. It’s a wise business decision, and Buffet has clearly made plenty of those during his 87-year life, now boasting an $83.5 billion net worth (and that’s after giving over $30 billion to charity).
Buffet does draw the line somewhere, though. He’s famously described tobacco as the perfect investment, as it costs “only a penny to produce, sells for a dollar, and it’s addictive” – but refuses to invest in tobacco companies, because he doesn’t want to deal with the public backlash over moral/ethics concerns. Ironically, that could explain his extremely sensible position on investing in guns; he doesn’t want to deal with the backlash.
Do you think Buffet’s comments on guns are genuine, or is he trying to protect his money? Share your thoughts with us below!
