SavvySugar

Warren Buffett Wants Kids in His Secret Millionaire's Club

SavvySugar — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 10:30:46 -0700

Some investment managers bid millions of dollars to have lunch with Warren Buffett, but kids will soon be able to benefit from his expertise for free through a new series of webisodes. The Secret Millionaire's Club is an animated series that features Buffett in cartoon form giving guidance on money matters to a group of kids. Don't expect lectures from the Oracle of Omaha; the interactive story lines are developed to keep kids' attention and inspire them to form healthy habits at a young age.

Buffett spoke with CNBC about the project, and while he's not the one writing the scripts, he believes in the importance of financial education and is lending his voice for free. He said:

If we can get through to some young people, say it's better to be ahead of the game than behind, watch out for credit cards, most important message is the best investment you can make is in yourself. Teach them if something is too good to be true it probably is. So if they learn those things the easy way through these stories early on it may save them learning the hard way later on.

To see a video of The Secret Millionaire's Club, read more.

Lunch With Warren Buffett: Guess How Much?

SavvySugar — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 05:30:19 -0700

Advice from a great business mind like Warren Buffett does not come cheap, as demonstrated by the amount raised by his annual charity auctions that award the highest bidder lunch with the billionaire. The auctions benefit Glide, which provides social services to San Francisco’s homeless and poor. The 2009 auction winners are a group of Canadian investment managers - can you guess how much they paid for their future lunch with Buffett?

Take the quiz

Forbes List Reminds Us Billionaires Are Suffering Too

SavvySugar — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 07:15:44 -0700

Billionaires! They're just like us! Well, they still have better Summer homes, private planes and much bigger blocks of gold, but Forbes reports the richest people in the world have gotten poorer along with the rest of us over the last year. Bill Gates lost $18 billion this year, but won back his title as the world's richest man and is estimated to be worth $40 billion. Last year's champ Warren Buffet and Mexican telecom giant Carlos Slim Helú came in second and third place. How bad are the numbers for the rest? This year the billionaires have an average net worth of $3 billion, down 23 percent in 12 months.

The world now has 793 billionaires, down from 1,125 a year ago.
After slipping in recent years, the US is gaining dominance on the list. Americans account for 44 percent of the money and 45 percent of the list's slots, up seven and three percentage points from last year.
Warren Buffett was last year's No. 1, but saw his fortune decline $25 billion as shares of Berkshire Hathaway fell nearly 50 percent in 12 months.
Mexican telecom giant Carlos Slim Helú maintains his spot in the top three, but lost $25 billion.

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Biggest Headline of 2008: World's Richest Person Is a Different Name

SavvySugar — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 13:30:29 -0800

What's the first word that comes to mind when you hear the name Bill Gates? Billions, perhaps? The self-made billionaire owned the title of World's Richest Person for 13 years until this year, when another household name, Warren Buffett, took it away. When the announcement was made back in March, Buffett's fortune was valued at $62 billion compared to Gates's $58 billion.

Both billionaires likely took a hit, along with the rest of us, when the stock market spiraled downward. Still, Warren Buffett stepped in to boost investor confidence when he bought $5 billion of Goldman Sachs shares during a crucial time for the firm and the whole financial services industry.

Warren Buffett's admirable business mind made him the billionaire he is today, and has earned him a place in the Best of 2008.

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Speakers Who Inspire: Maria Shriver, Jennifer Lopez, and More

SavvySugar — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 08:00:42 -0700

What started out as a small government initiative for working women is now an event attended by thousands and draws only the most inspirational voices to speak. The 2008 Women's Conference was held in Long Beach, CA yesterday, hosted by Maria Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenegger. The all-day conference drew a crowd of 14,000 international women from various professional walks of life and 60 speakers aiming to "empower and inspire women to become architects of change." The agenda covered all the bases with discussions about how to live an authentic life, how to step forward with confidence, starting your own business, managing your financial life, and many, many, more. Check out who was on stage - hit start slideshow to begin.

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10 Tips For Getting Rich From Warren Buffett

SavvySugar — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 09:30:11 -0700

The wealthiest man in the world is self-made billionaire Warren Buffett, and the $62 billion dollar man was gracious enough to sit down with Parade and discuss his 10 best tips for getting rich. I'm inspired by Buffett's entrepreneurial spirit and tenacity for success; here are his five tips I like best.

Reinvest your profits. In high school, Buffett and a friend bought a pin-ball machine for a barbershop. They took their profits from that first investment and bought more machines for different shops, and Buffett took his proceeds to invest in stocks and a small business. By the time he was 26 he'd amassed $174,000, the equivalent of $1.4 million today.
Watch small expenses. Be aware and cautious with your spending, and your paycheck will go much further.
Limit what you borrow. Buffett's advice: Negotiate with creditors to pay what you can. Then, when you’re debt-free, work on saving some money that you can use to invest.

See two more of Warren Buffett's tips when you read more.

Be persistent.We've talked about this before, and it's a point that Buffett includes in his top ten tips: With tenacity and ingenuity, you can win against a more established competitor.
Assess the risks. Consider the worst and best case scenarios when making a difficult choice; seeing the consequences clearly will lead you to the smartest decision.

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Guess Who?

SavvySugar — Mon, 05 May 2008 13:55:48 -0700

Guess which daytime soap-opera star made an appearance at the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders' meeting this weekend? Warren Buffett even let her address the crowd!

World's Richest Person Is a Different Name After 13 Years

SavvySugar — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 06:51:33 -0800

Bill Gates' fortune has been trumped by that of Warren Buffett, according to Forbes' annual ranking of the world's wealthiest people. While Gates topped Vanity Fair's 2007 Windfall Report earlier this week, he fell from his number one spot as world's richest person after 13 years of owning the title. Warren Buffett (Berkshire Hathaway CEO) is now proclaimed to be wealthiest with his $62 billion and Carlos Slim Helú (Mexican telecom tycoon) is number two with $60 billion to his name, while Bill Gates settled in at three with his $58 billion.

This is the 22nd time Forbes has ranked the world's billionaires, and there are some stand out stats from this year's list. This is the first year that the number of billionaires crossed the 1,000 mark and reached 1,125 total, 226 of these are newcomers, and 50 are under the age of 40. The list has greater international representation this year - India has four in the top 10 (more than any other country), and while the U.S. still has the most billionaires overall Russia is the new number two with 87 billionaires.

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Cheapest Family in America Tells Its Secrets

SavvySugar — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 09:30:37 -0800

"Economides" may sound like a fictional last name in a book teaching kids about money, but it's in fact the fortuitous surname of the so-called "cheapest family in America." The Economides family, composed of parents Steve and Annette and their five kids, live in Arizona debt-free and on an annual income of about $44,000. Five of the seven family members were featured on a Today show segment yesterday that covered how the family handles Christmas spending, and spending in general. Find out more about this frugal family when you read more.

The family doesn't use credit cards, paid off their first home in nine years when they were bringing in $33,000 a year, and their second home is almost paid off, too. Annette calls herself "the Warren Buffett of groceries," the two daughters say they buy brand name jeans but never pay more than $8 a pair, and one of the girls recently paid cash she saved for a used truck. The Economides do their Christmas shopping in thrift stores and explains that many Americans think things must be new for Christmas, as if new is equal to love.

They are now teaching others about being frugal and have a book called America's Cheapest Family. The Today Show host said that these ideas aren't new and that our grandparents used to do them, but they are new to us. The concept of living within or below our means is definitely not original, but kudos to this family of seven for doing it so successfully.

How to Invest Like a Girl

SavvySugar — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 07:59:16 -0700

While throwing or screaming like a girl haven't exactly been populated as compliments, investing may give the usually downer-descriptor a positive twist. The folks at The Motley Fool have given women investors the ultimate confidence boost by claiming that Warren Buffett, Mr. Richest Person in the World himself, invests like a girl. Buffett's long-term, patient approach to investing sets him apart from typical male investors who react to the market by transforming their portfolios. To find out how to invest like a girl just read more

Women are typically more patient in most aspects of investing and below are the positive characteristics that women often bring to the investment table.

Women spend more time researching their investment choices than men do which prevents them from chasing "hot" tips and trading on whims.
Men trade 45 percent more often than women do and tend to be overconfident investors. Trading often without enough research can reduce net returns. Women trade less often and get better returns while saving on transaction costs.
A study by the University of California at Davis found that women's portfolios gained 1.4 percent more than men's portfolios did. Single women did even better than single men, with 2.3 percent greater gains.
Women tend to look at more than just numbers when deciding whether to invest in a company. They invest in companies they feel good about ethically and personally. And companies with good products, good services, and ethics tend to have better long-term prospects, and face fewer lawsuits.

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