Financial journalist Max Keiser has levied sharp accusations against Warren Buffett, stating that the billionaire has profited from illegal and unethical practices.
The drama first unfolded when Keiser published a tweet condemning Buffett on Feb 23. Referencing the business magnate’s recently published annual letter, Keiser said that the document only serves to expose Buffett as an unmitigated fraud and charlatan.
Sponsored#Bitcoin up on news Warren Buffett exposes himself in his annual letter as an unmitigated fraud and charlatan reliant entirely on tax-payer bailouts and accounting tricks.
— Max Keiser (@maxkeiser) February 23, 2019
Buyback Fraud?
In a later interview with Russian international television network RT, Keiser explained that Buffett has been defrauding the system for several decades. This comment was directed specifically at the reports of corporate malpractice at American bank Wells Fargo, which is partially owned by Buffett’s holding company Berkshire Hathaway.
Furthermore, in his letter, Buffett revealed that Berkshire Hathaway had been repurchasing its own stock — claiming that it would benefit all shareholders, including the ones that choose to not sell their investment. However, buybacks can inflate the price of a stock and were considered to be market manipulation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) until a few decades ago.
While Buffett acknowledged these problems in his letter, Keiser took a strong stance against such actions. Calling it a fraudulent accounting practice, he said that repurchases do not benefit the investing public at large and only allows insiders to reap profits from the inflated valuations.
Buffett on Gold, Bitcoin
Keiser reserved a few words for Buffett’s criticism of the precious metals asset class, particularly gold.
In his letter, Buffett said that an investment in gold several decades ago would not return even one percent gains when compared to a simple unmanaged investment in American business. According to Keiser, this comment highlights how Buffett’s success is driven by a close relationship with Wall Street and the Federal Reserve — the latter of which gives him complete access to interest-free credit.
While Buffett did not make any statements on cryptocurrencies or Bitcoin in his letter, he has publicly derided them several times in the past for not having any intrinsic value. Keiser did not stop short of commenting on these claims either.
A long-time Bitcoin visionary, Keiser first predicted that Bitcoin (BTC) would surpass the $100,000 price point on his financial program back in 2011. Reinforcing that claim in his interview with RT, he added that the digital currency would eventually replace ‘worthless’ fiat currency and bring the regime of people like Warren Buffett to an unceremonious end.
Do you agree with Keiser’s prediction of BTC touching $100,000 in the foreseeable future? Is Warren Buffett a fraud? Let us know what you think in the comments below!
