The Hidden Meaning Behind Buffett’s Hiring: Alice Schroeder

Sept. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Sometimes the cutesiness ofBerkshire Hathaway Inc. is part of its endearing charm.Sometimes it is a minor quirk to be brushed aside. Occasionally,it can mislead, as happened this week when Warren Buffett’sfavorite scribe, Carol J. Loomis of Fortune magazine, began herinsider’s report on the hiring of 50-year-old Ted Weschler, thefounder of Peninsula Capital Advisors LLC, as a Berkshireinvestment manager. She wrote: “It is surely unprecedented fora person to spend $5,252,722 to get a job, but in a funny way,that is precisely what Ted Weschler, of Charlottesville,Virginia, did.”

At first blush, the Fortune description of the Weschlerhiring wasn’t at all inspiring: A “cute meet” in whichWeschler twice spent millions to win a charity auction for ameal with Buffett. At 81, the Berkshire chairman and chiefexecutive officer is beginning to delegate his responsibilitiesfor investing the company’s $100 billion portfolio to as many asthree money managers. Those meetings led directly to Buffettoffering Weschler one of the most prestigious jobs in assetmanagement. “I should have bid higher,” a few people joked ata meeting of asset managers that I attended this week.