Western Railroad Discussion > Buffett Owned BNSF - Positive Or Negative Impact?

Is it positive or negative to have a snobbish man like Warren Buffett, aka Richest Person on Earth (see edit) own a rail company?

Pro's
- he MIGHT be intellegent and handle the company well
- may bring back green BN paint scheme (when pigs fly)
- give company a good (or not good) image
- perhaps make it a very dependable transportation system (or not)

Con's
- might cause a mega-merger. Either way, it really is all crap now. True railfans just have to be satisfied with what they have and what they will get.
- what he says goes and he is in control
- will he treat all employees under him like crap? FYI he fired his own granddaughter before and insulted her on television.

No right or wrong answers. Post your opinions.

Edit - He was the richest and currently the second.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 11/04/09 20:47 by coast7.

Where did you get the opinion that Buffett is a snobbish man? Do your homework...you'll find quite the opposite.

Also not the richest.

Adam

Alco251 Wrote:
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> Where did you get the opinion that Buffett is a
> snobbish man? Do your homework...you'll find quite
> the opposite.

His biography, Snowball, is not exactly a page- turning easy read but it gives some great insight into a very complex man.
C.

Carol Voss
Bakersfield, CA

This is what i said under Yarddogh's post yesaurday.However this is only a thought.

This is what i have been thinking all along that there will be 2 super mega railroads in the hull of North America.They are follows.BNSF CN KCS NS with some regional and shortline railroads to form North American railways Incorporated.CP CSX Ferromex UP and other regional and shortline railroads to form American Continental Railways Incorporated.All regional and shortline railroads will have to fall in step or face abandonment.And one other thing that i see is there will more than likly be 1 super mega passenger railroad merging Amtrak and Via Rail Canada to form North American Railroad Passenger Corporation with possible new routes in Canada Central America Mexico and the United States.I also think that Alaska with rail lines being built from the lower 48 states and Central Americas railroads will be a part of these 2 super meaga railroads as well.I know many of you might think it's a long shot but anything is possible.It would be very sad to see but it is possible.And yes this is about mergers and aquisitions.And yes goverments can be bought.I do see it comming.

Everything on the BNSF will remain the same, no changes to the paint schemes, heralds, etc.
I wonder where some of you all come up with these crazy and out of this world ideas or predictions.

The only concerns we have is our stocks & shares within the company.

bnsftrucker Wrote:
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> The only concerns we have is our stocks & shares
> within the company.

I'll bet every CPA and financial Planner in Dallas/Fort Worth was inundated by calls asking what it all meant!! I have a grand total of 90 shares and don't imagine I'll be cleaning up a lot of BH shares in whatever falls out of this. :-)
C.

Carol Voss
Bakersfield, CA

coast7 Wrote:
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> Is it positive or negative to have a snobbish man
> like Warren Buffett, aka Richest Person on Earth
> own a rail company?
>

You do understand that Berkshire-Hathaway will own BNSF, not Buffett personally, don't you? Buffett owns about 27% of Berkshire, well less than a 51% controlling interest. Also, how do you know that Buffett is a "snobbish man"? I have owned BRK.B shares for several years and have followed Buffett during that time and he seems like a pretty normal person to me. He does not seem to be snobbish.

To answer your question, I don't think you will notice any changes at all. Buffett's history is to not change direction or make large management changes in companies he buys as long as financial targets continue to be met. His purchase of BNSF tells you that he is comfortable with BNSF management and the direction they have chosen.

How can $100 for every one of my shares be considered anything but positive?

Bob

CarolVoss Wrote:

>
> His biography, Snowball, is not exactly a page-
> turning easy read but it gives some great insight
> into a very complex man.
> C.

I thought it was a page-turner. One of the best biographies I've ever read, and I've read many.

Mark

coast7 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Is it positive or negative to have a snobbish man
> like Warren Buffett, aka Richest Person on Earth
> own a rail company?
>
> Pro's
> - he MIGHT be smart and handle the company well
> - may bring back green BN paint scheme (when pigs
> fly)
> - give company a good (or bad) image
> - perhaps make it a very dependable transportation
> system (or not)
>
> Con's
> - might cause a mega-merger. Either way, it IS all
> crap now. True railfans just have to be content
> with what they got.
> - he's in control and every single thing will go
> his way
> - will he treat every employee under him like
> crap? FYI he fired his own granddaughter before
> and insulted her on television.
>
> No right or wrong answers. Post your opinions.


OK, here's my opinion: Might be nice if you actually knew what you were talking about before you posted this gibberish.

Go chase a train or something and relax.

The BNSF will be business as usual, transportation, engineering, mechanical, signal, dispatching, etc will remain the same.

Buffet is not a corporate raider. He does not buy companies in order to tear them apart, sell the good parts and scrap the rest. He buys good, well-run companies that are profitable and have the potential for more, and for the most part leaves current management in place to keep doing what they've been doing that attracted his interest in the first place.

BobE, can you clarify 'presumptive control'? I vaguely recall from many years ago that it was a ridiculously-low percentage to us rank amateurs, like 10% or so. Whatever it was I know it made no sense to me.

lowwater

I have seen several, lengthy interviews with Warren Buffett. He appears to be about as down to earth as can be. Snobbish is not even close.

He takes on what most investors consider boring companies, that just produce modest, steady returns for the long haul. It's a formula that obviously works.

Unless BNSF management screws up mightily, Mr. Buffet will leave well enough alone and nothing much is going to change. If anything, BNSF will have a bit more freedom from worries about what Wall St. thinks about every little move.

bnsfbob Wrote:
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> How can $100 for every one of my shares be
> considered anything but positive?
>
> Bob

No more quarterly dividends, which was raised last year. BRK-A and BRK-B do not pay dividends. There's no more upside above $100, depending on what your shares of BNI will become after the purchase. Way I see it, Warren Buffett is going to get a better deal than any of the current shareholders, in the long term.

At least BNSF won't need to appease the sheeps on Wall St. anymore, so maybe they'll get more money for capital improvements by getting rid of PR people. Did anyone see all the "Neutral to Buy", "Hold to Buy" analyst upgrades after the news broke? That's why they are sheeps.

From what I've seen and heard of the man, especially with his interview on Fox about the deal, he seems about as down to earth as one can get. And what I liked was his comment about "you can't buy a RR and ship it overseas to China or India", he continued when he said "you buy something like this because you believe in America", I'd say he's pretty genuine.

BobL Wrote:
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> You do understand that Berkshire-Hathaway will own
> BNSF, not Buffett personally, don't you? Buffett
> owns about 27% of Berkshire, well less than a 51%
> controlling interest. Also, how do you know that
> Buffett is a "snobbish man"? I have owned BRK.B
> shares for several years and have followed Buffett
> during that time and he seems like a pretty normal
> person to me. He does not seem to be snobbish.
>

I'm hoping he'll bring back the warbonnet paint scheme.

And, he should replace the diesels with steam locomotives. Yeah!

And on the Trans-Con, electrify it with a fleet of 50kv Little Joes, BiPolars, and GG1 replicas.

And, since he's rich, why not replace all those horrible traffic-light signals with lower quadrant semaphores!

And change the name to something snazzier than BNSF.

And he should lead the way by ordering a fleet of state-of-the-art high-speed passenger trains featuring fluted sides and domes!

Sure, why not. We're all a bunch of foamers on here anyway.

Anyone who likes DAIRY QUEEN and invests long-term in American companies is OK with me.

I wish him all the best.

Definitely positive.

Many people thing railroads are so 19th century. Buffett knows railroads are going to grow strongly in the 21st century and will cause a lot of people to reassess their antiquated views.

Buffett's upbeat view on railroads' future should make it easier for railroads to attract more capital and to fend off those in Congress who want to re-regulate the industry.

Buffett has generously given away most of his fortune. I can quibble with his choice of worthy cause (The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation), but I have to admire the man.