By Daniel Pryzbyla

One U.S. billionaire giving another U.S. billionaire billions of dollars to put into the billionaire's already multi-billion dollar foundation didn't bring hordes of fans into the streets to rejoice. They were too busy. "Did you find a cheaper gas station?"

Announced in the media on Monday, June 26, 2006, the historic exchange of about $31 billion of Warren Buffett's net worth of $44 billion as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was front page news. His net worth is 2 nd only to Bill Gates, the world's wealthiest person worth $50 billion. A full-page ad in the New York Times announcing the trio's appearance the same evening on the PBS Charlie Rose talk show headlined in part, "Warren Buffett - Bill and Melinda Gates combine their wealth to change the world." To put a perspective on this sum of money in a single philanthropy, NY Times reporters Timothy L. O'Brien and Stephanie Saul compared it to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Its 2004-05 budget was $610 million. "However," they also noted, "Mr. Buffett's contribution will not be made all at once, but rather in 5 percent annual increments." A Reuters news report June 26 stated "Buffett pledged 10 million Berkshire Class "B" shares, valued at $30.7 billion to the Gates Foundation." In turn, the donation would double the Gates Foundation current assets of about $30 billion to roughly $60 billion, "exceeding the gross domestic product of Kuwait ." Berkshire Hathaway, located in Omaha , Nebraska , is the $142 billion insurance and investment company Buffett has led since 1965.

Under the leadership of 75-year old Buffett, Berkshire had a long-standing charitable giving program within its Class "A" share plan from 1981 until it was terminated in 2003. "Any owner of an 'A' share was allowed to make a proportional donation from corporate profits set aside for the program," wrote Bill Mann in the June 28 Motley Fool investor website. During that time frame more than 3,000 charities benefited. " Berkshire gave away $197 million (during the 22 years) at its shareholders' behest." Political differences donating to certain charities caused the program to end in 2003. Without a philanthropy plan and being on a personal friendship basis with Gates no doubt aided his decision.

Education professionals thinking of buying Berkshire "A" or "B" shares would get an eye-opening learning experience in the stock market. These are not exactly "penny stocks." In the June 28 "consolidated stock listings" from the NY Stock Exchange, NASDAQ and American Exchange, Berkshire "A" was "down" $50, now selling at $91,450 per share. No, that's not a typo. You'll have to just "dig a little deeper." Or you might want to try Berkshire "B" shares instead. They were down 1 penny, selling at just $3,043 per share. Decisions, decisions! Teachers thought these ended when school was out for summer break. Buffett understands, and both stocks are really for "institutional" investors, although the NY Times article noted, "Mr. Gates said early last year that he personally owned about $300 million worth of Berkshire stock." Hold the crocodile tears, please.

But as long as we're on the topic of "Microsoft Bill," teachers or others in the education professions could consider investing in his company, being that it's indirectly involved with the charity giving issue and its shares are less pricey. However, investment gurus might toss a "red flag" of warning to novice investors thinking "technology" stocks are guaranteed sound investments. The price range of Microsoft is definitely less expensive than Berkshire shares. In the past 52-week span, its shares have gone up and down between $21.46 and $28.38 per share. On June 28, it was down 4 cents to $22.86 per share. In the past 5-year span, it reached its highest price back in 2002 at about $34 per share. If by chance you bought Microsoft shares back then, welcome to decision-making time and uncertainties of stock investments. Sell, buy, or "hold"? What would Warren Buffett, the 2 nd wealthiest individual in the world, do? Sorry, Berkshire doesn't even invest in technology stocks. Say what? Here's his "lesson plan" to ponder.

"We think (new technology) is very beneficial from a societal standpoint," he had stated at previous stockholder meetings held in the late 1990s, quoted by Whitney Tilson web site in March 2000 from Outstanding Investor Digest. "Our own emphasis is on trying to find businesses that are predictable in a general way as to where they'll be in 10 or 15 or 20 years. That means we look for businesses that in general aren't going to be susceptible to very much change. We view change as more of a threat investment-wise than an opportunity .

That's quite contrary to the way most people are looking at equities right now. With few exceptions, we do not get enthused about change as a way to make a lot of money. We're looking for the absence of change to protect ways that are already making a lot of money and show them to make even more in the future."

Even if technology companies offered the long-term certainty Buffett seeks, said Tilson, he still would not invest in them for another reason that baffles advisors. "I don't want to play in a game where the other guy has an advantage," said Buffett. "I could spend all my time thinking about technology for the next year and still not be the 100 th , 1,000 th or even the 10,000 th smartest guy in the country in analyzing those businesses. The fact that there'll be a lot of money made by somebody doesn't bother me really. There's going to be a lot of money made by somebody in cocoa beans. But I don't know anything about 'em. There are a whole lot of areas I don't know anything about. So, more power to 'em." As for the companies Berkshire invests in, he also cautioned, "It's not that easy to make lots of money in a business in a capitalist society. There are people that are looking at what you're doing every day and trying to figure out a way to do it better, underprice you, bring out a better product or whatever it may be."

That's pretty basic. In his March 12, 2004 "Journal" Jim Jubek reminded investors of Buffett's track record. Birkshire had an "average annual increase in book value of 22% from 1965 to 2003 versus the 10.4% gain in the Standard & Poor's 500 with dividends included." And what were the top 6 investments in the portfolio at the end of 2003? Not exactly newcomers or names you're not familiar with. Listed in order of their highest "market value" were: Coca-Cola, American Express, Gillette, Wells Fargo, Moody's, and the Washington Post Company. As a sampling, Birkshire held 200 million shares of Coca-Cola with a market value of $10.15 billion. As of June 29, Coca-Cola Company (KO) was selling for $42.80 per share.

Not everyone was smiling after hearing the joint Buffett-Gates philanthropy venture. It brought up old arguments and wounds of U.S. foreign aid investment. "The annual overseas development assistance component of the U.S. federal budget could actually be overtaken by the total annual spending of the Gates Foundation," reported Guy Dinmore in the June 28, 2006 Financial Times daily newspaper, headlined "Donation sparks attack on U.S. foreign aid." Some development analysts "fear that a huge boost in funding by philanthropists will encourage some in Congress to reduce government spending even more." Speaking at the US Global Leadership Campaign June 27, 2006 - a business NGO alliance campaigning for greater U.S. spending abroad, Dinmore quoted former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright "regretting that polls showed many Americans believed that 25 percent of the budget went on foreign spending - 'aid for corrupt dictators like snow ploughs to Nigeria' - when overseas spending was only about 1 percent of the total $2,700 billion federal budget."(Excluding War in Iraq ) She, along with other speakers, including former General and Secretary of State Colin Powell, called for increasing foreign affairs programs. Powell rebuked any suggestion that Congress reduce foreign aid. "This is the place to invest."

It has been briefly noted when Buffett is at a conference, instead of a glass of water on the table, sometimes his glass includes Coca-Cola. That's okay with the education establishment, but it's not okay having it in vending machines at their schools. While educators are trying desperately to push for more healthy foods in vending machines to encourage better diets for children and teens, Coke and its arch-rival Pepsi Cola company have been busy offering the more popular, but calorie loaded treats instead. For schools continuously facing budget cutbacks, they get a share of vending machine profits. These profit temptations often prove to be as difficult to give up as their students' "sweet tooth" temptations. "Don't forget that helps pay for the boys and girls basketball uniforms."

As Buffett proclaimed, "It's not that easy to make lots of money in a business in a capitalist society." In addition to hurdles he mentioned, there are the inherent and ongoing social contradictions and conflicts with investing too. How does a 75-year old investor that doesn't believe in buying technology shares team up in the world's largest philanthropy endeavor with a 50-year old guy whose Microsoft operating system is a monopoly that controls 95 percent of the computer market? Buffett also pledged 1 million Class B shares to a foundation in the name of his late wife Susan, who died in 2004. As with all deaths, the social and personal consequences of friends and loved ones can be, and often are - life altering. Life's investments are not all monetary.