The success of Warren Buffett

From the February issue of Vanity Fair:

Buffett and [Vice-Chairman] Munger have built a reputation for being the "buyer of first resort." In other words, when a certain type of owner wants to sell his business, he'll turn to Buffett first -- because Berkshire is widely seen as the most benevolent of owners for the right kind of business. "For the last 20 years Buffett has been like Steven Spielberg -- every good script comes across his desk," says an observer. . . .

"We think faster and operate faster than anyone," says Munger. "There is no one in the world better at buying something Monday morning that we heard about Saturday." Another Wall Streeter says about Buffett, "His true genius is, given the flow of deals and investments that cross his desk, he sifts through them very efficiently. I call this the uncluttered mind. And he has the guts to write big checks."

And after that Buffett leaves the business alone. It is free from the pressures of being a publicly traded company, and it is managed as the original management sees fit. This is the opposite of the private-equity approach, in which businesses are loaded with debt and profits are boosted via layoffs. "Love of money over love of business," says Buffett about private equity. Every two years, Buffett sends a memo to his top managers, whom he calls his "All-Stars." This summer, he wrote, "Talk to me about what is going on as little or as much as you wish. Each of you does a first-class job of running your operation with your own individual style and you don't need me to help." . . .