Subject: Re: Alice Schroeder Interview
Those are very kind words from my long time friend, Texirish. What he said was nice, I've learned a LOT more from Tex than he's learned from me. And, of course, we've all learned the most from Warren the teacher.

As to the recent kind but opposing view on the Schroeder situation here -I considered responding with a personal story that could be taken as an attack on Warren--but decided initially against it. I mean--who am I? besides, I love Warren and his whole family.

But I think you can trust what Tex said about me and, without getting into specifics let me just say despite what I would call a good friendship there were a couple of not especially nice things Warren did that--well, while not truly awful--kind of haunted me after I left Omaha. I reached out to Alice years later who told me she knew exactly what I was talking about and while writing her book met several others who had similar adverse career impacting experiences. I got the distinct feeling Alice learned SOME really awful things among the MOSTLY wonderful lifelong gems she uncovered researching for the Book and really did a superb job. If you dig into every aspect of some one's life for years-no one is a Saint, right? Alice didn't want to hurt Warren, I believe she wanted to protect him. She LEFT OUT a number of negative things that weren't truly essential and probably would have sold more books. She's an incredibly decent woman who I've occasionally kept in touch with.

I thought long and hard about posting this--but it's to DEFEND Alice-- who I believe deserves defending.

Alice Schroeder only included the family mental illness information because it is a huge and RELEVANT part of the Buffett family's story. Families face challenges with major impacts. I think the mental illness parts demonstrated overcoming adversity --which Warren did marvelously. I mean whether it was Charlie's son's brutal illness or Warren's family's mental illness challenges these 2 titans could overcome adversity!

Tex is also spot-on with Buffett's tendencies and behaviors. Ghosting? I've seen it firsthand. He'd ghost people in PERSON 1 day, and best friends the next week. And for me, despite what I wrote earlier--I was invited by Warren and his late wife Susan to a wonderful event years later and had an amazingly sweet correspondence just 2 years ago. Yeah, it's complicated!!

Bottom line: Alice Schroeder is the special person Warren chose above everyone else to tell his life story! Warren the teacher, like for many of us here, is the most influential man in my life other my dad.


OK, maybe it's a long shot-- the 2 may never reconcile. But I hope they do. And Alice, to me, showed a TON of class in that MSN article even though she has every reason to be bitter. I feel very strongly Warren, who has mellowed a ton in 20 years--would love to talk with her. But I could be wrong. I've seen ghosting reversed :)