- Warren Buffett has cultivated a public persona that may not match reality, Tesla CEO Elon Musk told the New York Times.
- The Berkshire Hathaway billionaire investor and CEO “managed to create a great image of himself as a lovable grandfather, which may overstate the case,” Musk said.
- Musk said he was not Buffett’s “biggest fan” and that the Berkshire chief has “a kind of boring job” earlier this year.
- Buffett is less divisive than other famous billionaires, perhaps because of his simple lifestyle, philanthropic efforts, and a career largely free of scandals.
- Visit the Business Insider home page for more stories.
Warren Buffett portrays himself as a benevolent old man, but he may not fully deserve his brilliant reputation, Tesla CEO Elon Musk told The New York Times in an interview published Saturday.
“He managed to create a great image for himself as a lovable grandfather, which perhaps overstates the case,” Musk replied to a question about whether he believes the famous Berkshire Hathaway investor and CEO is “overrated.”
Read more: Warren Buffett’s Apple bet is among the “best investments ever,” says Berkshire Hathaway shareholder Bill Brewster
Buffett, who turns 90 next month, is among the richest and most powerful people in the world. However, it is much less polarizing than Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, or even Musk himself.
The Berkshire chief’s surprisingly simple lifestyle, his love of soft drinks and sweets, his long and largely scandal-free career, and his immense philanthropic efforts have earned him legions of fans and positive media coverage.
He is also famous for educating and entertaining the investment community with his annual letters, and hosting an annual meeting in Omaha that draws tens of thousands of enthusiastic shareholders.
However, Buffett is also a ruthless businessman. For example, he loaned money to struggling companies like Goldman Sachs, General Electric and Harley-Davidson during the financial crisis “at interest rates that in some cases bordered on usury,” wrote Alice Schroeder in “The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of life “.
Read more: Warren Buffett left the ‘Big 4’ airlines in April. His second-quarter earnings show what worried him.
Musk has targeted Buffett before. The Tesla boss said he was “not the biggest fan” on Joe Rogan’s podcast in May, adding that allocating capital among Berkshire’s various businesses was “a kind of boring job.”
The tech executive, who briefly beat Buffett on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index this month, also dismissed Buffett’s idea of economic pits as “lame” in May 2018.
“I don’t think he wants to take us candy,” Buffett replied to Musk’s comment.
However, Musk has also quoted Buffett in the past, suggesting that there is still a chance that he will follow “The Big Short” author Michael Lewis to change his mind about Buffett.
.
