Until May, Warren Buffett was driving a 2006 Cadillac. The king of value investing was happy with his ride, too, until he ran into GM CEO Mary Barra–who chatted him up about all Cadillac’s innovations since Buffett had bought his 2006 DTS. Buffett, who respects a good salesperson, took Barra’s advice on the upgrade. Figuring that the second richest man in America was unlikely to bargain well at the dealership, Buffet sent his daughter Susie to pick out and purchase the car–anonymously.
Buffet was so pleased with the results that he wrote Barra a note praising the sales team that had guided Susie, singling out the young saleswoman–Madison Willers–who closed the deal and delivered the car to Buffet’s home. “So I can now offer you a ride in a 2014 Cadillac the next time you visit,” Buffet wrote to his CEO friend. Barra probably had mixed feelings about Buffet’s charm offensive, though. A week before he wrote his warm and fuzzy missive, Buffet’s company sold off a quarter of its stake in General Motors, dumping 10 million shares.
