One thing about Warren Buffett is that he does it his way, even when “it” leaves Wall Street wizards scratching their heads. He likes to stockpile cash, but, in Nov. 2009, he baffled investors when he plunked down $$-billions for BNSF. He joked that he’d “always wanted to own a train set”. However, his motivation was one word: INFLATION! A year into Obama’s administration, Buffett was so worried about the devaluing of the dollar that he decided to bet against it. The good news for Montanans is, so far, there’s no indication that he’ll sell BNSF.
Buffett loves newspapers, too. He paid Lee Enterprises $5-million/year to run his print empire, which included five Montana dailies. But, then, last week (January 2020), he sold 30 of his Berkshire Hathaway publications to Lee Enterprises. It looked good for Montana until 8 hours later when it turned sinister. Alden Global Capital (AGC), a New York vulture hedge fund famous for buying and gutting, sunk its claws into Lee. Some years ago, a Washington Post columnist referred to AGC as “one of the most ruthless of the corporate strip-miners, seem-ingly intent on destroying local journalism”.
Montanans need to pay attention. In this day and age, it’s too simple for big changes to slip under the radar.
