Buffett Passes Slim to Become World’s Second-Richest Man
Warren Buffett became the world’s second-richest person on 5th December, 2014 after shares of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/B) reached a record high.
The Omaha, Nebraska-based company has soared 27 percent this year as the dozens of operating businesses the 84-year-old chairman bought over the past five decades churned out record profit.
“The all-time closing high stock price today is due to a widening appreciation of what Berkshire really is, a fortress,” Buffett biographer Andrew Kilpatrick said in an e-mail yesterday. With about $60 billion in cash at the company, “He could make a whopper of an acquisition at any moment.”
Berkshire’s Class A shares traded above $200,000 for the first time in August after a rally that followed the release of the company’s annual report, in which Buffett wrote that the company’s actual worth has been rising faster than suggested by metrics such as book value. Since that milestone, the shares have climbed another 13 percent, elevating Buffett’s fortune to $73.7 billion, $300 million more than Mexico’s Carlos Slim.
Berkshire’s performance dwarfs that of America Movil SAB (AMXL), the mobile-phone company controlled by Slim, which is up 6 percent for the year. Mexico’s richest man needs to divest a large portion of America Movil assets in the country to reduce its market share below 50 percent and avoid profit-reducing penalties put in place as part of an overhaul of the nation’s telecommunications market. The new rules force America Movil to cut its fees and share infrastructure with its competitors.
Warren Buffett, chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.,
Barring a downturn in global markets, Berkshire should finish 2014 with a flourish. It agreed last month to buy the Duracell battery business from Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) in a stock swap, and in October said it would buy Van Tuyl Group, the largest closely held U.S. auto dealer. The company also intends to provide $3 billion in financing for Burger King Worldwide Inc.’s planned takeover of Tim Hortons Inc. and earn 9 percent annual interest on the investment if the deal goes through.
Berkshire’s $26.5 billion purchase of railroad BNSF, struck during the depths of the financial crisis in 2009, is on pace to see all the cash it spent taking the company private returned by the end of this year. Buoyed by an onshore oil boom, BNSF has become a cash machine, paying more than $15 billion in dividends to Berkshire through Sept. 30, according to quarterly regulatory filings.
“Whatever you may have heard about our country’s crumbling infrastructure in no way applies to BNSF or railroads generally,” Buffett said in his 2013 annual letter to shareholders. “America’s rail system has never been in better shape, a consequence of huge investments by the industry.”
Arturo Elias Ayub, a spokesman for Slim, didn’t reply to an e-mail seeking comment. Buffett, who trails only Bill Gates as the world’s wealthiest person, didn’t respond to a request for comment sent to an assistant.
Had the investor held onto all of his Berkshire stock, which he began donating to charity in 2006, he’d have a fortune topping $110 billion.
Thao Hanh
Source: bloomberg
Around 100 of the best photos from the Vietnam Heritage Photo Awards are on display at an exhibition that opened in Hanoi on December 4.
Viet Nam's domain name ."vn" had the largest number of registrations among ASEAN countries' domain names as of September 2014, the Viet Nam Internet Network Information Centre (VNNIC) revealed on Friday.
When we hear animals making sounds, it usually seems like just noise because we don’t understand what they’re saying. But researchers have found that animals actually communicate a lot like us, if you know what those sounds mean.
.jpg)
Ho Chi Minh Museum is a celebrity souvenir museum. This is a cultural project to commemorate President Ho Chi Minh. He has been recognized “ a Vietnamese hero of national liberation and a great man of culture” by the UNESCO in November 1987.
As travelers, it's sort of par for the course to have a running knowledge of favorite places to stay when traveling abroad. Whether it's a five-star resort on a secluded island, or a cozy bed and breakfast overlooking a stunning mountain range, everyone has a favorite place to call a home away from home. From the farthest reaches of the world to a city that may just be in your very own backyard, see which hotels and resorts made the top 100 list.
.jpg)
Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park has an area of 123.326 ha. It is a part of the oldest major karst area in Asia which was formed over 400 million years ago.
What’s the best place to study? Higher education data experts QS have compiled a league table based on factors including affordability, desirability, academic standards and job prospects.
The ocean is a place of ceaseless wonder, and what is just as magical is the replication of such beauty on land. There are amazing aquariums that have been designed to showcase the beauty of the ocean all over the world. Some of them are so impressive that they rival Mother Nature in beauty and detail.
As the new year approaches, many travelers are looking for inspiration on where to head in 2015.
(Vietkings Records) Reunification Palace where took place the great historical events of the country, is special national monument.
(Vietkings Record) The history of Dong Nai region has gone through many ups and downs of the war against the invaders, but in Dong Nai people ‘s mind, Tran Bien Temple has always existed and is the pride for the culture of new land where followed closely thousands of years of culture the nation tradition
Established by French colonists, the cathedral was constructed between 1863 and 1880. It has two bell towers, reaching a height of over 58 meters (190 feet). Following the French conquest of Cochinchina and Saigon, the Roman Catholic Church established a community and religious services for French colonialists.
