Buffett praises addition of Gates to board

OMAHA, Neb. — Investment wizard Warren Buffett said Sunday that adding fellow billionaire Bill Gates to the board of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. will help ensure Berkshire's success, even after Buffett is gone.

"With Bill you've got one of the best minds in the world. He's got a good business mind, and he is interested in things beyond business," said Buffett, the 74-year-old chairman and chief executive of Berkshire.

Gates, the 49-year-old founder and chairman of Microsoft Corp., the world's largest software company, and Buffett are both worth more than $40 billion each and are the two richest people in the world. They have been friends since 1991.

Buffett said Gates understands Berkshire's corporate culture, which includes making long-term investments and buying businesses to help them grow. Berkshire Hathaway purchased Utah-based RC Willey in 1995.

"You've got a person who wants very much to help during my life and beyond my life," Buffett said.

It is similar to making Gates a trustee of a will, Buffett said. "There's nothing more important to me than that Berkshire" continues as a strong company, Buffett said.

Buffett said he was reluctant to ask Gates to join Berkshire's board because Gates is busy and Berkshire will take some of his time.

"But he said 'yes,' " Buffett said.

Shareholders voted Gates onto Berkshire's board at the company's annual meeting on Saturday. He had been appointed to the board in December to fill the vacancy left by the July death of Buffett's wife, Susan.

One day after taking questions for nearly six hours at Berkshire's annual meeting, Buffett and Berkshire vice chairman Charlie Munger held a nearly three-hour news conference on subjects that ranged from investment strategies to the newspaper industry.

Asked about California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's handling of that state's difficult financial situation, Buffett said Schwarzenegger was doing as well as could be expected after being dealt a tough hand.

Buffett had served as a financial adviser to the actor during Schwarzenegger's 2003 campaign.

"He has provided leadership," Buffett said. "He has given people the idea that California, which has tremendous economic potential, can realize more of that potential than they knew."

Munger, who lives in California, said the state is better off with Schwarzenegger as governor, but Schwarzenegger does have to deal with a fractious and difficult legislature.

Berkshire Hathaway, based in Omaha, is a holding company with stakes in many different companies.

Federal regulators are investigating a reinsurance transaction between insurance company American International Group Inc. and Berkshire subsidiary General Re that appeared to boost AIG's reserves when markets were uneasy about the company's outstanding liabilities.

At Berkshire's annual meeting on Saturday, Buffett expressed confidence AIG, telling his stockholders that it is a "great company."