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Buffett Mocking Gold Sidesteps Slump As He Bets on Stocks
Investors including hedge-fund manager John Paulson faced losses this week as gold suffered its biggest rout in three decades. Warren Buffett told them there were better places to put their money.
The billionaire chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRKA) cautioned against investing in the metal in February 2012, when an ounce sold for more than $1,700, because it’s not productive like a farm or company. Gold fell 14 percent to $1,348.21 in the two trading days through April 15, the biggest decline since 1983, and wiped out almost $1 billion in Paulson’s wealth. The price rebounded to $1,374.36 at 4:20 p.m. in New York today.
Enlarge image Buffett Mocking Gold Sidesteps Slump As He Bets on Stocks
“What motivates most gold purchasers is their belief that the ranks of the fearful will grow,” Buffett wrote last year in a letter to shareholders. “During the past decade that belief has proved correct. Beyond that, the rising price has on its own generated additional buying enthusiasm, attracting purchasers who see the rise as validating an investment thesis. As ‘bandwagon’ investors join any party, they create their own truth — for a while.”
Buffett, 82, has said his preference is to build Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire by investing in companies, such as chemical maker Lubrizol Corp., which he bought in 2011. Since his comments about gold, his firm has struck a deal with Jorge Paulo Lemann’s 3G Capital to take HJ Heinz Co. private, acquired more than two dozen daily newspapers, bought retailer Oriental Trading and added to its $87.7 billion stock portfolio.
Read More: http://www.stockgoldmarket.com/buffett-mocking-gold-sidesteps-slump-as-he-bets-on-stocks
