Warren Buffett is already best buds with one Seattle area billionaire, his bridge-playing software mogul friend Bill Gates.
Now, the Oracle of Omaha — a value investor who backed Walmart and whose Berkshire Hathaway owns Ben Bridge Jeweler, Jordan’s Furniture and other traditional retailers — has some nice things to say Jeff Bezos.
Speaking at Berkshire’s annual shareholder meeting in Omaha this weekend, Buffett noted that Amazon’s rise in recent years has been nothing short of remarkable, according to a report by CNN.
“We’re not going to out-Bezos Bezos,” said Buffett when asked about the impact that online retail is having on traditional retail.
The investor, whose net worth is said to be $68.4 billion, added that Berkshire’s companies were initially slow to embrace the Internet revolution. But he added that companies such as Geico are benefitting greatly from e-commerce.
After an extraordinary earnings report, Amazon’s stock soared this past week, with the company’s shares trading at $659, near an all-time high. Amazon now boasts a market value of $340 billion. Walmart, by comparison, is valued at $203 billion.
