Referenced Resources

People

• Warren Buffett: discussed as the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, a legendary investor, the subject of the interview, and a source of financial and economic advice.
• Hamlet: mentioned in a quote comparing Warren Buffett to the King in Shakespeare’s play.
• Carol Loomis: mentioned as a Fortune reporter and a longtime friend of Warren Buffett who will interview him at a conference.
• Charlie: the interviewer, speaking directly to Warren Buffett.
• Jack Welch: mentioned as the former CEO of General Electric, whom Warren Buffett has known for decades.
• Jeff Immelt: mentioned as the current CEO of General Electric.
• Jesse Jones: mentioned as the person under whom the Reconstruction Finance Corp. was implemented in 1933.
• Hank Paulson: mentioned as the Secretary of the Treasury, praised for his knowledge of markets and corporations, and suggested as someone who could be given a blank check to invest.
• Sheila Bear: mentioned as a public servant who has seamlessly moved a significant amount of deposits to sound institutions, doing a magnificent job.
• President Reagan: mentioned in the context of his economic philosophy and a potential shift in government involvement.
• President Obama: mentioned as a Senator whom Warren Buffett supports and who talks about another stimulus program.
• Franklin D. Roosevelt: mentioned in the context of restoring confidence and jumpstarting the economy during the Great Depression, and the creation of FDIC.
• Tim Geithner: mentioned as the person who did a better job structuring the AIG deal.

Organizations

• Berkshire Hathaway: mentioned as the company Warren Buffett built into a trillion-dollar company, where he is the CEO, and his investment vehicle.
• Federal Reserve: mentioned as an entity that wants to talk to Warren Buffett and as a participant in the financial crisis.
• Fortune Magazine: mentioned as the organizer of the Most Powerful Women’s Summit where Warren Buffett was interviewed.
• KPBS: mentioned as the public television affiliate in San Diego where the interview was broadcast from.
• Goldman Sachs: mentioned as an institution that made an investment offer to Berkshire Hathaway, and with which Berkshire Hathaway has a similar investment deal.
• General Electric (GE): mentioned as a company in which Berkshire Hathaway announced a $3 billion investment.
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: mentioned as an index that General Electric has been a part of for a long time.
• Federal Government: mentioned in the context of propositions to take care of money market funds, the U.S. Treasury’s role in leveraging up, and the historical role of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation.
• Senate: mentioned as an entity that will vote on a rescue plan.
• House: mentioned in the context of voting on a rescue plan and the President’s party voting against him.
• Bear Stearns: mentioned as a financial institution that failed, and in the context of its shareholders losing money.
• Lehman Brothers: mentioned as a financial institution that failed, and in the context of its shareholders losing money.
• AIG: mentioned as a financial institution that faced difficulties, with its shareholders getting “creamed”, and that would be doing fine if it had never heard of derivatives.
• Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae: mentioned as entities that have been involved in the crisis.
• The Fed: mentioned as having done the right thing with Bear Stearns and as an entity that wants to scare the private sector.
• Wall Street: mentioned in the context of bailouts and executive compensation.
• Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC): mentioned as a model for a government entity that invested in banks and preferred stock, and as a historical example of government investment.
• Merrill Lynch: mentioned as an institution that sold mortgage-related assets.
• BYD: mentioned as a company in China that may develop a good electric car, and in which Berkshire Hathaway made a new investment.
• General Reinsurance: mentioned as a company Berkshire Hathaway bought in 1998 that had a derivative operation.
• FDIC: mentioned as one of the great inventions of the American government, and that was tweaked in relation to the rescue bill.
• SEC: mentioned as an entity that wants companies to calculate financial statements in a certain way.

Documents

• Hamlet: Shakespeare’s play, referenced in a quote.
• Annual Letter to Stockholders: mentioned as a document where Warren Buffett has warned about things contributing to the crisis.
• Fortune Magazine’s Most Powerful Women’s Summit: mentioned as a conference Warren Buffett was attending.
• The Rescue Plan: mentioned as a plan the Senate will vote on, and that needs to be passed.
• The Forbes 400: mentioned in relation to the tax rates paid by wealthy individuals compared to their employees.
• Annual Report: mentioned as a document where Warren Buffett has written a section explaining why he thinks certain balance sheet figures are wrong.

Tools

• Spreadsheets: Implied as a tool for managing financial data, though not explicitly named.

Technologies

• Electric Car Technology: Mentioned in relation to BYD.

Concepts/Events

• Capitalism: Discussed as a system that Warren Buffett represents the best of.
• Financial Crisis: The central event discussed in the interview, with its causes and potential solutions being analyzed.
• Great Depression: Mentioned as a historical event that impacted Warren Buffett’s father and as a comparison for the current economic situation.
• Pearl Harbor: Used as a metaphor to describe the economic crisis.
• Recession: Discussed as a possibility if the rescue plan doesn’t work.
• Depression: Mentioned as a greater fear than recession.
• Deleveraging: Mentioned as a process undertaken by major institutions that contributes to the crisis.
• Tsunami: Used as a metaphor for the financial crisis, indicating it was not fully foreseen.
• Cardiac Arrest: Used as a metaphor to describe the state of the economy.
• Economic Pearl Harbor: Used by Warren Buffett to describe the severity of the crisis.
• Credit Freeze: Mentioned as a symptom of the crisis.
• Tulip Bulbs in Holland: Mentioned as a historical example of a market bubble.
• South Sea Bubble: Mentioned as a historical example of a market bubble.
• Internet Bubble: Mentioned as a historical market bubble.
• Uranium Stocks Bubble: Mentioned as a historical market bubble.
• Real Estate Bubble: Identified as the biggest single cause of the current crisis.
• Leverage: Discussed as a tool that can amplify gains but also lead to ruin.
• Mark-to-Market Accounting: Warren Buffett expresses strong feelings in favor of it.
• Current Accounts Deficit: Mentioned as a bad reflection of America’s consumption ideas.
• Stimulus Program: Mentioned in relation to Senator Obama and the need for financial support for lower and middle-income people.
• Confidence: Stated as a key element in markets and the economy, being compared to oxygen.
• Oversight: Discussed in relation to government spending and investment.
• Nuclear Bombs: Mentioned in the context of living in a world with other countries possessing them, making global prosperity beneficial.