Warren Buffett

'Laissez-Faire' Media Mogul Refused To Meddle With Ideology Of His Outlets
By Joseph Rossell | August 3, 2015 | 11:15 AM EDT

Lefty billionaires Warren Buffett and George Soros, who have used their fortunes to influence the media, could learn from the example of the late media mogul Roy H. Park Sr.

In the 2015 revised edition of Sons in the Shadow, Roy H. Park Jr. described how his father founded Park Communications and built his nearly $1-billion fortune. His company owned “seven TV stations, 21 radio stations and 144 newspaper publications in 24 states” when he passed away in 1993, but the younger Park says his father steered clear of allowing his political opinions to influence the content these outlets produced.

In Rush to Condemn Burger King, 'Hardball' Host Makes Whopper of a Factual Error
By Ken Shepherd | August 27, 2014 | 9:35 PM EDT

In his rush to flame-broil Burger King as an unpatriotic fast-food joint looking to skip out on paying its taxes to Uncle Sam, MSNBC Hardball host Chris Matthews sought to enlist the famously pro-free market, pro-capitalism Wall Street Journal. The only problem is his claim is 100 percent Grade A baloney.

"The Wall Street Journal lead editorial today came out against it.... The lead editorial today, surprisingly, attacked this tax scheme," Matthews insisted to guest David Corn of the leftist Mother Jones magazine. In point of fact, the Journal editorial board slammed not corporate "inversion" schemes but the current U.S. tax code, which it called "the reigning world champion in punishing investment and discouraging job creation." [MP3 audio here; video embedded below page break]

CBS Hits Warren Buffett From Left Over Burger King Deal: ‘Capitalist Before He’s A Patriot’
By Jeffrey Meyer | August 27, 2014 | 10:55 AM EDT

Ever since fast food chain Burger King announced its desire to purchase Canadian coffee and doughnut chain Tim Hortons, CBS has done its best to play up the supposed backlash the company will face as it moves its headquarters overseas to lower its tax burden. 

On Wednesday morning, following the news that billionaire investor Warren Buffett is helping finance the merger, CBS This Morning made sure to hit Buffett from the left with fill-in anchor Anthony Mason going so far as to proclaim that “somebody once said Warren Buffett is a capitalist before he’s a patriot.” [See video below.] 

Ugh: Charlie Rose Starts Interview With ‘Friend’ Hillary Clinton With a Gooey Maya Angelou Poem
By Curtis Houck | July 18, 2014 | 1:00 PM EDT

On Thursday night’s episode of his PBS show, Charlie Rose began by showering guest and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with praises from the likes of Henry Kissinger, the late Maya Angelous and, naturally, Charlie Rose himself! From reading a glowing quote from Henry Kissinger to reading a Maya Angelou poem all about her to Rose announcing “I consider Hillary Clinton a friend,” it was a slobbering start to a softball interview.

After summarizing the premise of her book about her time as Secretary of State, Rose gushed that “few people have spent the past 20 years as she has” with all the positions of power she’s held. It was then that read the following quote from former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger: “[W]hen I call Mrs. Clinton Hillary, I do that not so much to indicate familiarity, but to use a name that the whole world uses. It shows to what extend she has succeeded in her people-to-people work.” [MP3 audio here; Video below]

Press Lionizes Buffett, Ignores Near Reappearance of Recession Under His Definition
By Tom Blumer | July 8, 2014 | 5:20 PM EDT

The press loves billionaire Warren Buffett, who can be relied to support President Barack Obama even in implausible circumstances — such as the current economy, where the "recovery" following the 2008-2009 traditionally defined recession has been worse than any since World War II, and barely better than what was seen during the awful post-Depression 1930s.

Thus far, the press has managed to ignore one of the implications of the first quarter's serious contraction. One more quarter of economic contraction could mean that the end of the recession, as Buffett himself has defined it, failed to permanently arrive.

Mark Levin: Warren Buffett a 'Stupid Billionaire'
By Mike Ciandella | May 14, 2014 | 5:16 PM EDT

Talk radio host Mark Levin discussed CMI's report on Warren Buffett's funding of the abortion industry.

Levin noted that "this guy is held up as this great public figure, even though he's a private, corporate titan. Tens of billions of dollars. $1.2 billion dollars, one man? And he's this great guy, he knows all about the economy -- he doesn't know anything. He's just another stupid billionaire."

(audio after break)

CMI's Warren Buffett Report Discussed on 'The Five'
By Mike Ciandella | May 14, 2014 | 9:14 AM EDT

CMI's special report which revealed that Warren Buffett had donated more than $1.2 billion to pro-abortion groups, including Planned Parenthood, was discussed on Fox News' "The Five."

A partial transcript of the interview follows:

(video after break)

Warren Buffett Opposed Obamacare
By Noel Sheppard | September 17, 2013 | 11:56 AM EDT

Executive editor's note: Due to an error made by a secondary source, the piece below incorrectly claimed that Warren Buffett had called for the repeal of Obamacare in 2013. The interview which was cited actually took place in 2010. We regret the error.

When Warren Buffett proposed higher taxes on millionaires in 2011, the media gushed and fawned giving him and his views airtime as if Elvis Presley returned from the dead.

Will they be as fascinating by the Oracle of Omaha stating that ObamaCare should be scrapped?

Zuckerman: Billionaires Are Buying Newspapers ‘Because They No Longer Wish To Be Billionaires’
By Noel Sheppard | August 11, 2013 | 8:30 PM EDT

Media mogul Mort Zuckerman wins this weekend’s funniest line on a political talk show.

Asked by the host of PBS's McLaughlin Group why successful billionaires would invest in a dying business such as newspapers, Zuckerman replied, “Because they no longer wish to be billionaires” (video follows with transcribed highlights and commentary):

Kurtz on Kochs Buying Newspapers: Liberal Warren Buffett Does it Without Compromising Journalism
By Noel Sheppard | June 9, 2013 | 4:31 PM EDT

As NewsBusters has been reporting, liberal media members have been absolutely apoplectic over the thought of the Koch brothers buying the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times.

CNN's Howard Kurtz gave a somewhat more reasoned view of such an eventuality on Reliable Sources Sunday saying, "Let's remember that more liberal businessmen such as Warren Buffett have been snapping up newspapers without compromising their journalistic mission" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

Most News Reports Don't Tell Readers or Viewers How Little Money 'Buffett Rule' or Even Obama's Tax Hikes Will Raise
By Tom Blumer | November 29, 2012 | 5:54 PM EST

A search at the Associated Press's national website on Warren Buffett's last name at about 5 p.m. ET returned two recent items which are still present there. Each item (here and here) mentions the Obama Fan of Omaha's idea to "impose a minimum tax of 30 percent on income between $1 million and $10 million, and a 35 percent rate for income above that." Neither mentions the pathetically small amount such a tax would raise while seriously impacting the ability of high income earners who own or run businesses to expand them -- or in some cases causing them to shrink.

It's the same at other establishment press outlets. Two recent New York Times items found in a search on Buffett's full name (here and here, the latter item being Buffett's own op-ed on Sunday) fail to note how little money Buffett's proposed tax hikes would raise. So how little is "little"?

NBC's Lauer Tees Up Warren Buffett to Demand Tax Hikes and Dismiss GOP Opposition
By Kyle Drennen | November 27, 2012 | 11:55 AM EST

In an interview with Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett on Tuesday's NBC Today, co-host Matt Lauer was puzzled by GOP opposition to the billionaire investor's call for higher taxes: "One of the ideas being pushed out there by the Right is that if you raise taxes on the wealthy it will have a chilling effect on hiring and investment in this country....Why do you think Republicans are clinging so tightly to that idea?" Buffett replied: "Well, I think they're worried about primaries next time, but I think you're seeing people peel away from that." [Listen to the audio or watch the video after the jump]

Earlier in the discussion, Lauer wondered: "...you favor a minimum tax rate for the wealthy....Do you see the political will in Washington right now to accomplish that and come up with a compromise?" Buffett replied: "I think there's a general feeling among the American public certainly, and even among many in Congress, that the rich like me have been getting away with low tax rates, and that it's time to make the tax rates more progressive."