Wow. Cold is an understatement. His comment to her that, "I have not emotionally or legally adopted you as a grandchild, nor have the rest of my family adopted you as a niece or a cousin" is just plain shameful and disgusting. He owes her and the rest of the family an apology for saying something so petty and intentionally hurtful - over money.
If I knew nothing else about the man, I think that comment alone is quite enough for me. I have no further interest in anyone who could say something so hateful to his granddaughter - and she is his granddaughter regardless what he may wish to the contrary... __________________________________________________________________ James Landrith ja...@jameslandrith.com cell: 703-593-2065 * fax: 760-875-8547 AIM/MSN/Yahoo! IM: jlandrith http://www.linkedin.com/in/jlandrith http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=134400205 http://www.jameslandrith.com http://www.multiracial.com http://www.multiracial.com/abolitionist/ __________________________________________________________________ keithbjohn...@comcast.net wrote: > Wow, this is cold. I agree not giving out all your hard-earned money to > all family, but he could have set her up with an inheritance. I get > waiting your kids and grandkids to learn to survive and make their own > way, but this feels a bit cold-hearted to me. What else is the point of > earning money other than to provide for one's family, and then those less > fortunate? > > ********************* > http://www.marieclaire.com/world/news/warren-buffett-granddaughter-nicole-buffett?src=syn&dom=yah_buzz&mag=mar&ha=1&kw=ist > > The Billionaire's Black Sheep > What's it like when your grandpa is the richest man in the world? For > Nicole Buffett, it means forgoing cable TV and health insurance and making > do on $40,000 a year. Here, she dishes on her upbringing and why her > grandfather Warren Buffett disowned her. > By Leah McGrath Goodman > > Brigitte Sire > Nicole Buffett is at home among the neo-hippies who shuffle along the > laid-back, tree-lined streets of Berkeley, CA. At an elfin 5 feet tall, > clad in a flowing peasant dress and sandals adorned with peace signs, her > long hair cascading in ropy dreadlocks to her waist, the 32-year-old > abstract painter is just another of the city's free-thinking, > granola-crunching denizens. And yet, she's a walking oddity. "The first > thing most people think of when they hear my last name is money," she > laughs. > > Not just money gobs of it. Nicole Buffett's grandfather is the legendary > investor Warren Buffett, whose $58 billion fortune made him the richest > man on the planet, a mantle he seized from Bill Gates last fall. So deep > are Buffett's pockets that when the financial markets cratered in > September, the so-called Oracle of Omaha single-handedly buoyed Wall > Street (at least for a day) by plunking down $5 billion on troubled > investment bank Goldman Sachs. ("Canonize Warren Buffett," cried one > headline on CNBC's Website.) But there's a bitter irony to Buffett's > beneficence. Wall Street's white knight is also an unforgiving hardhead > when it comes to his own granddaughter, whom he cut off two years ago > after a falling-out. "For him to discard me like that was devastating," > Nicole says matter-of-factly. "It permanently divided our family." > > When Nicole was 4, her singer-songwriter mother married Warren Buffett's > youngest child, Peter, a composer for commercials and films. He later > adopted Nicole and her identical twin sister, who were embraced as kin by > the larger Buffett family especially Susan, Warren's first wife, an avid > music lover and cabaret performer. "A lot of people don't realize that my > family is full of artists," says Nicole. (Susan Buffett, who died in 2004, > was an early buyer of Nicole's art and named Nicole one of "my adored > grandchildren" in her will.) > > As a child, Nicole made regular visits to "Grandpa's" modest home in > Omaha, where he still lives, purchased in 1958 for $31,500. Despite the > humble digs, Nicole remembers the occasional spoils of Buffett's wealth. > At Christmas, when she was 5, he gave her a crisp $100 bill from his > wallet. Once, she was invited on a private tour of the See's Candies > factory he owned. And twice yearly, Peter Buffett packed up his brood for > a vacation at his father's compound in Laguna Beach. Nicole also remembers > once tiptoeing into her grandfather's study to fetch something, careful > not to disturb him while he read the Wall Street Journal. Just as she > turned to slip out, Buffett cleared his throat and said, "Nicole, I just > want you to know that your grandmother and I are very proud of all that > you've accomplished as an artist." "It's a really big deal for him to > communicate on such an emotional level," says Nicole, her eyes welling. > "So it was a big deal for me." > > Nicole was clueless about the scope of the Buffett fortune until she was > 17, when her grandfather appeared on the cover of Forbes for having topped > the magazine's annual list of the richest Americans. Her classmates nearly > stampeded her at school with the news. "I called my dad, and he said, > 'Yeah, Grandpa is going to be getting a lot more press, and we're going to > have to get used to that. But we'll be living our lives the same way and > doing what we always do,'" Nicole says. > > In fact, the national media debut only intensified Buffett's efforts to > preserve his unaffected lifestyle. Aware of the unfairness of what he > calls "the ovarian lottery," Buffett made clear to the family that there'd > be no handouts. "For most people, your life is largely determined by the > wealth you were or weren't born into," Nicole explains. "But our > family was supposed to be a meritocracy." That philosophy translated into > a near-fanatical devotion to living like regular Joes. Buffett's kids went > to public schools and, when they were old enough to drive, shared the > family car. "You wouldn't guess it, but I grew up in a household with my > parents saying, 'If you're fortunate enough to find something you love, > then do it,'" says Peter Buffett. > > Committed to instilling those homespun values in his grandkids, Buffett > agreed to pay for their college educations and nothing more. He picked > up the six-figure tab for Nicole's art school tuition. Once, Nicole called > her grandfather's office to ask if he'd help her buy a futon when she > moved to an off-campus apartment. "You know what the rules are: school > expenses only," his secretary told her. > > Four years ago, following Susan's death, Buffett showed up for his > family's annual Christmas gathering clad in a garishly over-the-top red > tracksuit and Santa hat, a gift from "Arnie" (California governor Arnold > Schwarzenegger). Everyone laughed at the absurdity of it all. When the > holiday ended, Nicole raced into Buffett's arms. "We're not a touchy-feely > family, so when I did it, the rest of the family seemed a little > surprised," Nicole says, beaming. "But he gave me this great big hug > back." > > It was the last time the pair would share an embrace. Two years later, > Nicole agreed to appear in The One Percent, a documentary by Johnson & > Johnson heir Jamie Johnson about the gap between rich and poor in America. > "I've been very blessed to have my education taken care of, and I have had > my living expenses taken care of while I'm in school," she states on > camera. None of the Buffetts, a famously press-averse bunch, had ever > before appeared in so public a forum to dish about their upbringing. > Though Nicole informed her father of her role in the film and he had no > objections, she failed to give her grandfather a heads-up. Asked in the > film how he'd react to her interview, Nicole responds, "I definitely fear > judgment. Money is the spoke in my grandfather's wheel of life." > > Nicole concedes that the remarks may have sounded brusque. "I meant that > my grandfather is like a Formula One driver who only wants to race he > just loves the game and wants to be the best," she says. But Buffett was > galled. He had for some time felt ambivalent about Nicole and her sister's > claim to his fortune though Peter had legally adopted them, he divorced > their mother in 1993 and remarried three years later. To make matters > worse, while plugging the film on Oprah, Nicole confessed, "It would be > nice to be involved with creating things for others with that money and to > be involved in it. I feel completely excluded from it." > > The perceived sense of entitlement and Nicole's self-appointed role as > family spokesperson prompted Buffett to tell Peter that he'd renounce her. > A month later, the mega-billionaire mailed Nicole a letter in which he > cautioned her about the pitfalls of the Buffett name: "People will react > to you based on that 'fact' rather than who you are or what you have > accomplished." He punctuated the letter by declaring, "I have not > emotionally or legally adopted you as a grandchild, nor have the rest of > my family adopted you as a niece or a cousin." Nicole was devastated. "He > signed the letter 'Warren,'" she says. "I have a card from him just a year > earlier that's signed 'Grandpa.'" > > But Buffett's decision was irrevocable. "I don't have an easy answer for > where my father is coming from," says Peter Buffett, who speaks to Nicole > regularly. "But I know I can't change the spots on a leopard." Jamie > Johnson convinced Nicole to tape a follow-up interview, which he added as > an emotional postscript to his film. "To pretend like we don't have a > familial relationship is not based in reality. I've spent years of my life > at his home in Omaha. I'm shocked and hurt," Nicole says. > > Now, despite her sterling surname, Buffett is getting by on $40,000 or so > a year, largely on the sale of her paintings (collectors include Shirley > Temple's daughter Lori Black and Hollywood special-effects guru Scott > Ross). There's no denying that the Buffett name piques interest in the art > world, where Nicole's pieces have fetched as much as $8000. One of her > techniques is to leave unfinished works outside, exposed to the elements. > "I like to see what happens," she says, hovering over canvases mottled > with sunbursts of color. > > Nicole supplements her income by working at a San Francisco boutique, but > still can't afford cable or health insurance. Since their falling-out, > Buffett has begun mailing sizable Christmas checks to his grandchildren, > despite his no-freebies rule. Even so, Nicole vigorously insists that she > has no regrets. "I think it shows he's trying to reach out to his > grandkids in a more personal way," she says, before pausing. "And probably > he's rewarding them for behaving." > > In the two years since they last spoke, Nicole has been besieged by her > grandfather's image. "I can't turn on the TV or read the paper without > seeing him," she says, referring to his role in the Wall Street bailout > and as Barack Obama's adviser during his presidential bid. She dreams > about a reconciliation, however unlikely. Still, she says she'll never > stop being a Buffett. "I will always be self-reliant," she says, curled up > on her couch, her dreadlocks draping her body like a quilt. "Grandpa > taught me that, and it has set the tone for my life." > > Leah McGrath Goodman is editor-at-large for Trader Monthly and is working > on a book about the traders who built the global oil market, due out in > 2010.
