Bloomberg does a poll of its terminal subscribers from time to time. The most recent was done among 1,452 people from October 23 to October 27.
The question and answer that will probably get the most media attention is “who is the best assessor of financial markets?” Warren Buffett took a quarter of the votes followed by fixed income investor Bill Gross of PIMCO who received 16% of the votes cast. No one will find it surprising that George Soros and Ben Bernanke were also high on the list.
Buffett’s reputation is going through a renaissance. Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A), the company he runs and which holds many of his investments, had a very bad year last year, particularly by Buffettian standards. Buffett has been on the media circuit since then offering his opinions on the credit crisis, government regulation of the financial markets, and the recession and potential recovery. Those media appearances have probably enhanced his “oracle” reputation. Berkshire’s investments are also gaining value as the markets recover.
Buffett-mania has been going on for decades. His track records in the market justifies that. He often talks about replacing himself as the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. The is not likely, at least anytime soon. The stock would lose a lot of value if he retired, and it probably should.
Douglas A. McIntyre
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