- 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 “has managed to create a great image of himself as a kind grandfather, which may overstate the case,” Musk said.
- Musk said earlier this year that he was not Buffett’s “biggest fan” and that the Berkshire chief had “a kind of boring job.”
- Buffett is less divisive than other famous billionaires, perhaps for his simpler lifestyle, his philanthropic efforts, and his largely scandal-free career.
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While Warren Buffett portrays himself as a benevolent old man, he may not 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 may perhaps overstate the case,” Musk said when asked if he believed the famous investor and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway were “overrated.”
Read more: Warren Buffett’s Apple bet is among the “best investments ever,” says Berkshire Hathaway shareholder Bill Brewster
Buffett, 89, is among the richest and most powerful people in the world, but he is far less polarizing than Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, or even Musk.
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 known 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 criticized Buffett before. The Tesla boss said on Joe Rogan’s podcast in May that he was “not the biggest fan” and 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 in May 2018 dismissed Buffett’s idea of economic pits as “lame.” Buffett replied, “I don’t think he wants to confront us with candy.”
However, Musk has also quoted Buffett in the past, suggesting that there is still a chance that he could follow “Big Short” author Michael Lewis and change his mind about Buffett.
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