Warren Buffett donates $10m to Rambam Hospital

The contribution was announced by his close friend Eitan Wertheimer at an event to celebrate 75 years since the hospital's establishment.

US billionaire Warren Buffet has donated $10 million to Rambam Hospital in Haifa. The contribution was announced by his close friend Eitan Wertheimer at an event last weekend to celebrate 75 years since the hospital's establishment.

Wertheimer has been a close friend of Buffett since the sale of the family's precision tool developer and manufacturer Iscar Ltd. to the American's company Berkshire Hathaway. In May 2006, Berkshire Hathaway bought 80% of Iscar for $4 billion, and in May this year it exercised an option to buy the remaining 20% for $2.05 billion. 


Source @ Globes

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3 Things Shared by Warren Buffett's Best Investments

Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A  ) (NYSE: BRK-B  ) didn't grow to become a $290 billion company without some help. HavingWarren Buffett at the helm helped a lot.

As Chairman of Berkshire, Buffett's made several outstanding investments in industries ranging from financial services to consumer products. And although these investments differed in some ways, they all shared surprising similarities.

1. Brands that have pricing power
Warren Buffett looks for companies that can survive and thrive over decades, and even centuries. One common attribute of Buffett's best portfolio companies is pricing power -- the ability to pass on price increases to consumers.

See's Candies is an excellent example. Berkshire Hathaway purchased the company for $25 million in 1972. Today, it earns $80 million per year. See's Candies has not grown tremendously -- it's still a West Coast confectioner -- but it has raised prices. In fact, Buffett's raised prices every single year for 41 years since he acquired the company.

Other Berkshire mainstays have this attribute. Coca-Cola prices have only gone up over time. In a similar vein, automobile values have gone up over history, and so have the insurance premiums Geico charges its customers. Prices for consumer goods have only risen, driving merchant processing volume at American Express.

When a brand has pricing power, it benefits from the consistent, perpetual tailwinds of inflation.

Source @ The Motleyfoo

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Soros’ ex-wife buys Shelter Island estate

Susan Weber Soros, the ex-wife of George Soros — who’s worth an estimated $20 billion and is currently number 19 on Forbes’ 400 richest Americans list — has just purchased a waterfront estate on Shelter Island, Gimme Shelter has learned.

Weber Soros bought the 4,358 square foot traditional home, on 1.37 acres, for close to its $5.95 million asking price. Built in 2005, the beach manse has five bedrooms and 5½ baths. There is no pool, but there is room for Weber Soros to build one. The property, in Dering Harbor, also comes with a deep water dock. The home has panoramic water views from the living room, which has double height ceilings and a fireplace. There’s also a chef’s kitchen, and a “Hollywood style serpentine staircase that wraps around the fireplace,” according to the listing. A “hand cut river stone” path leads to the bulkheaded sandy beach and deep water dock. There’s also a generator and cistern for irrigation.

Last year, Weber Soros put her 6,000 square foot pad at the Majestic, on Central Park West, on the market for $50 million — and then chopped it to $39 million — which doesn’t appear to be on the market any more, and she also bought a $22 million 1869 townhouse on E. 70th St. Listing broker Penelope Moore of Saunders & Associates declined to comment.

Last year, Weber Soros put her 6,000 square foot pad at the Majestic, on Central Park West, on the market for $50 million — and then chopped it to $39 million — which doesn’t appear to be on the market any more, and she also bought a $22 million 1869 townhouse on E. 70th St. Listing broker Penelope Moore of Saunders & Associates declined to comment.

Source @ nypost.com

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