Everyone knows that Warren Buffett is known for being frugal. This is the billionaire who still lives in the same house he bought in Omaha for $31,500 in 1958 and is perfectly content with McDonald’s breakfast most mornings. But what is it like to be on the receiving end of gift giving? It turns out to be a mix of practical, surprising and downright hilarious.
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Though he’s often labeled “cheap,” even his daughter, Susie Buffett, has come to his defense. In a 2017 interview with Business Insider, she clarified, “My dad gets a bad rap for that. He’s been a lot more generous than people know.” And it’s not just about philanthropy – Buffett has given away billions to charities around the world – but also about the way he treats his loved ones.
For years, Buffett’s favorite Christmas gift for family members was cold, hard money — $10,000 in crisp $100 bills, to be precise. Mary Buffett, Warren’s former daughter-in-law and investing author, reminisced about that time in an interview with ThinkAdvisor:
“He used to give each of us $10,000 in hundred-dollar bills. As soon as we got home we spent it – whooo!’
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But Buffett, being Buffett, noticed a pattern. His family lost the money too quickly, so he decided to change course. One Christmas, instead of cash, he donated $10,000 worth of stock in a company he had recently invested in: Coca-Cola. Mary explained that the shares came with a letter that gave recipients a choice: “Cash them or hold them.”
Mary chose the latter option and it paid off. “I thought, ‘Well, this stock is worth over $10,000.’ So I kept it and it kept going up.” From then on, Buffett’s gift giving evolved into a mix of stock options carefully chosen from his latest investments, such as Wells Fargo.
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Dresses, delivered in Buffett style
In the 1960s, Buffett started a new unique holiday tradition: buying dresses for all the women in his family. But this was not a tailor-made, high-quality shopping experience. True to his practical nature, Buffett went to Topps, a local clothing store in Omaha, armed with a list of everyone’s sizes.
“They rolled out the dresses. I made several decisions and bought gifts for my sisters, Susie, Gladys and so on,” Buffett said in The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life. “I quite enjoyed it.”
The simplicity of this gesture is classic Buffett. He wasn’t trying to impress with luxury just to show that he cared.
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Sweet surprises from See’s sweets
If there’s one thing Buffett is known for besides his financial genius, it’s his love of See’s Candies. Berkshire Hathaway acquired the company in 1972; It has been a staple of Buffett’s Christmas gifts ever since.
Every year, Buffett sends boxes of See’s Candies to friends, family and business associates. But the chocolates aren’t the only treat: each box contains a hilariously themed Christmas card featuring Buffett in absurd scenarios.
In 2013, the card showed him dressed as Walter White from Breaking Bad, complete with a fake beard and the caption: “Haveyourself a Meth-y Little Christmas.”
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For another year, he posed in front of the 200-pound “bench press,” with the caption, “Working off a few pounds after eating my daily dose of See’s candy.”
Sure, $10,000 cash in an envelope sounds like a great gift. Still, in true Buffett fashion, he saw the bigger picture: Money is spent, but stocks can grow. The billionaire investing genius figured out how to make sure his family had some holiday cheer and a solid savings account.
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This article Warren Buffett Gave Loved Ones $10,000 Cash for Christmas, But Switched to Stocks with the Comment: ‘Cash Them In Or Hold Onto Them’ originally appeared on Benzinga.com
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