Warren Buffett Jokes About Breaking His Toe at Bill Gates' House
By: Alex Crippen | Executive Producer
Warren Buffett revealed during his Swiss news conference today that he broke his toe last week during a visit to the home of his "extremely good friend" Bill Gates.
And, he quipped, if his lawsuit against Gates is successful, he'll be able to increase his lead over the Microsoft chairman on the Forbes list of global billionaires. Buffett is currently number one on that list, followed by Gates.
(Serious matters were also discussed during the news conference. They're summarized in the WBW post Warren Buffett Doesn't Expect to Leave Europe With a Deal in His Pocket.)
The part about the lawsuit is clearly not serious. It's not entirely clear to me whether Buffett did actually break his toe, but it sounds like he did.
Listen for yourself. Here's the video clip from the news conference:
Reporter: I just want to know how it feels to be the richest man in the world and also if you're still friends with Bill Gates?
Buffett: Bill and I are very good, I was out at his house last week, and actually I broke a toe out there. So, I'm going to sue him and my margin will widen considerably over his if my suit is successful about my broken toe. (Laughs.) Now if you print that, you're going to be in trouble. (Laughs.) No, Bill and I are extremely good friends and Melinda and I are good friends. We do a lot of things together, and nothing changes at all. You know, my kids treat me with no more respect. I don't pick up the check more often at dinner than I did before. Nothing has changed. And incidentally, I won't stay there. I'm giving away the stock as I go along, so you're looking at a transitory phenomenon here.
If Mr. Buffett did indeed break his toe, we wish him a speedy recovery. According to MayoClinic.com, a toe fracture can be painful and may take four to six weeks to heal, although it usually doesn't require a cast.
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