Warren Buffett’s breathtaking offer for the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad, the nation’s largest by revenue, sent writers scurrying to the history books for comparable coups in the era of swaggering rail tycoons a century or more ago.

Many mentioned Cornelius Vanderbilt and his sons. But there’s a better comparison: Edward H. Harriman, a Wall Street banker who in 1897 joined a group that bought the Union Pacific, then in bankruptcy, for the bargain price of $110 million. He soon became chairman of the executive committee and remained in charge until his death.

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truthczar

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Buffet thought but didn't say "I'd better trade some of the paper stock for some hard assets, because there's nothing else to invest in. The stock market is getting ready for another crash and t-bill are paying .5%. Maybe I'll pick up some cheap condos on Boston next."

 

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