Free Trial

Reactions Copying and distributing are prohibited without permission of the publisher

FEATURE: The Buffett supremacy

23 March 2010

Warren Buffett’s investments in Swiss Re and Munich Re mean he increasingly pulls the strings in the reinsurance industry. But is the revered investor’s growing influence a blessing or a curse?

Read more: warren buffett national indenity general re ajit jain swiss re munich re

In his Omaha-based headquarters on the 14th floor of the nondescript office block he has rented for the past 50 years, Warren Buffett does not strike the appearance a man many believe to be the greatest investor of his time. Nor does he behave in the manner of a person who has amassed a personal fortune of $47bn and is ranked the third-richest man in the world, according to Forbes’ latest rich list.

Buffett – who lives in same the house in Omaha, Nebraska that he bought in 1958 for $31,500 – subsists on a diet of hamburgers and cola, spends his days in a repetitive routine thumbing his way through newspapers and companies’ annual reports.

In Buffett’s case appearances are deceptive. Buffett, nicknamed the Oracle of Omaha because of his impressive investing prowess, has created a financial powerhouse, part industrial conglomerate, part investment vehicle and one of the biggest insurance...


  • Philippines Earthquake Mw 6.7 06 Feb 2012 - On Monday, 6 February a magnitude Mw 6.7 (regional moment magnitude) earthquake ...
  • Queensland Floods 06 Feb 2012 - Monsoonal rains since mid-January have resulted in flooding in northeast Australia, affecting ...
  • Peru Earthquake Mw6.3 30 Jan 2012 - Updated 1 February. On Monday, 30 January a magnitude Mw6.3 (regional moment ...
For more catastrophe reports, data and news, click through to the RMS/Reactions Catastrophe Centre.

Poll

Catastrophe bond issuance was $4.3bn in 2011. How much new issuance will there be in 2012?

Less than $3bn
0%
$3bn-$4bn
43%
$4bn-$5bn
29%
$5bn-$6bn
14%
$6bn-$7bn
14%
More than $7bn
0%