William Gallagher
The 89-year-old billionaire Warren Buffet says that he has switched to the latest iPhone after years of using a $20 flip phone, despite years of investing in Apple and describing it as the best business in the world.
Famed billionaire investor Warren Buffet says that Apple is an "incredible" company that he should have paid attention to sooner. The businessman currently owns around 5.7% of Apple's stock, and describes it as important to his own company, but admits he has only just switched to using an iPhone 11.
"I don't think of Apple as a stock," he told "Squawk Box" on CNBC, "I think of it as our third business. It's probably the best business I know in the world, and that [5.7% ownership] is a bigger commitment than we have in any business except insurance and the railroad."
"[Apple] is an incredible company," he continued. "I should have appreciated it earlier."
Despite rating Apple as a company, Buffet has famously continued to use an old-style flip phone — until now.
"I'm glad you brought that up," he told CNBC. "I am now using — not very often — the latest model. I've been given several of them, including by Tim Cook, [and] my flip phone is permanently gone. I mean, you're looking at an 89-year-old guy that's barely beginning to be with it."
Reportedly, it's an iPhone 11 that Warren Buffet has switched toBuffet joked that he likes his iPhone so much that you may see him crushing his old flip phone, a $20 Samsung SCH-U320. Even so, when pressed about what's best about the iPhone, he admits to not using any smartphone a great deal.
"I don't use all of its facilities," he said. "I mean most people are living their lives around it, and I use it as a phone."
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21 Comments
I know quite a few people in my age group (70+) who still use flip phones. The funny thing is they are very proud of that fact. They are usually technology averse too, proudly proclaiming they do not have or use a computer, use email, etc. I've always interpreted this position as an expression of fear of technology rather than an aversion to it. These same people were most likely the ones whose VCR displays were flashing in the 1970s. Avoiding what you fear is not exactly the best way to wind your way through life.
The Oracle of Omaha has always said he doesn't invest in companies whose business he doesn't understand. I guess he finally understands Apple.
If the tool you have is doing the job you need, why change it? I know quite a few people who still use a flip phone... they have no interest in being "connected" 24/7, and don't want to pay for it. I basically only use my iPhone for texting, Apple Pay, taking pics and looking up things when I need to, so I'll probably never upgrade from my iPhone SE (unless we see another smaller sized iPhone). In fact, I just downgrading my plan, going from $60/month to $35, because I was paying for a data limit I never got close to reaching.
I'm seriously thinking about just getting an Apple Watch instead of another phone. Thinking this next generation will finally go solo?
My parents, both over 80, don’t care about smartphones. My mother has two (a BlackBerry and an iPhone plus an iPad) while my father has a flip phone. They come from a different generation - one that values face-to-face contact and actually doing something with their hands and time, not spending it on social media with people you don’t really know.
Makes sense. I doubt someone his age is spending 18 hours a day on FaceTweetInstaApp crap. And those older flip phones? The battery will last a week or more. If all you need to do is make a phone call, why do you need a $1,000 pocket computer? Generally Buffet is a smart guy, but this was an incredibly dumb move for him to publicize it. Think back a couple weeks to the stories about Jeff Bezos and Saudi Arabia...