Utah Students Quiz Buffett on Biz
By Rosemary Winters, The Salt Lake Tribune
Mar. 30–Free lunch for a college student is a huge score. But a group of Utah students dining in Nebraska this month found their company even more rewarding than the complimentary steak.
Warren Buffett, the “Oracle of Omaha,” treated students from Brigham Young University and the University Venture Fund, primarily run by University of Utah students, to lunch at his favorite steakhouse and to some of his renowned pearls of wisdom.
“He’s definitely a role model,” said Brandon Blonquist, a senior in finance at the University of Utah. “Not only because of the success that he’s had with investing in and managing businesses, but also because of the way he lives his life and maintains a perspective about what is really important.”
One of the world’s richest men, Buffett routinely declines invitations to speak to businesses and professional groups but has devoted an increasing amount of time to students in recent years.
When the 2005-06 school year closes in May, roughly 2,000 students from 35 schools will have visited Berkshire Hathaway headquarters to speak with Buffett. He typically spends two hours answering students’ questions at his offices and then treats the students to lunch at Gorat’s Steakhouse. He devotes about 20 days per year with student groups that make the trek to Omaha. A group of about 70 is coming from India in May.
“I’m virtually a students-only talker,” Buffett, 75, said Wednesday in an interview from his office. “If I talk to a bunch of 60-year-olds, they’re not going to change. . . . It’s the people I listened to when I was 20 or 25 who had an impact on what I have done.”
In the past few years, students from Utah have been able to arrange visits with Buffett thanks to the help of Bill Child, chairman of Salt Lake City-based RC Willey, which Buffett bought in 1995.
This month’s group included 22 students from BYU’s Marriott School and 35 from the University Venture Fund, a $15 million venture capital fund managed by Salt Lake City students. They asked Buffett questions about his opinion on the national debt, his worst investment and who his successor will be (Buffett wouldn’t disclose his choice).
Buffett emphasized business ethics, social responsibility, honesty and frugality, according to attendees. He drove a few students to the restaurant in his 2001 Lincoln Town Car, which has vanity plates that read “Thrifty.” Buffett also told students he will donate 99.5 percent of his wealth to charity when he dies.
“He preached some great sermons,” said James Engebretsen, assistant dean of the Marriott School, who accompanied students on the trip. “It was very valuable [to the students]. . . . He answered any question they asked.”
Rich Eggett, who graduates from BYU next month with his master’s in business administration, was interested to hear how Buffett picks investments. He told the students, Eggett said, to invest in “what they know,” noting that he wouldn’t invest in the technology sector because he’s not knowledgeable about it.
Buffett said he has enjoyed meeting with Utah students and will try to keep time open for them in the future. Demand for Buffett’s attention is climbing, and many student groups are turned away.
“I’m going to have to ration this thing somehow,” Buffett said. “I’m not going to cut out anybody from Utah. They’re terrific. . . . They’re the kind of people you like to have in your house.”
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