BUFFETT TAKES CHARGE

• Published in: Fortune 2009-04, Vol.159 (8), p.44
• Main Author: Gunther, Marc
• Format: Magazinearticle
• Language: English
• Subjects: Automobile industry; Automobiles; Batteries; Buffett, Warren; Cellular telephones; Competition; Electric vehicles; Factories; Investment companies; Investment policy; Manufacturers; Manufacturing; Migrant workers; Portfolio management; R&D; Reputations; Research & development; Statistical data; Wang Chuan-Fu
• ISSN: 0015-8259

When Warren Buffett's friend and longtime partner in Berkshire Hathaway, Charlie Munger, suggested early last year that they invest in BYD, an obscure Chinese battery, mobile phone, and electric car company, one might have predicted Buffett would cite rule No. 3 above. He is, after all, a man who shunned the booming U.S. tech industry during the 1990s. But Buffett, who is 78, was intrigued by Munger's description of the entrepreneur behind BYD, a man named Wang Chuan-Fu, whom he had met through a mutual friend. This guy, Munger says, is a combination of Thomas Edison and Jack Welch - something like Edison in solving technical problems, and something like Welch in getting done what he needs to do. I have never seen anything like it. Last fall Berkshire Hathaway bought 10% of BYD for $230 million. The deal, which is awaiting final approval from the Chinese government, didn't get much notice at the time. hey think BYD has a shot at becoming the world's largest automaker, primarily by selling electric cars, as well as a leader in the fast-growing solar power industry.