Here's to Bill Gates

You might think I have jumped ship after being an Apple loyalist for years. No - this blog is not about Apple vs Microsoft.

William H Gates III co-founded Micro-soft in 1975 [the hyphen was dropped a year later] and shaped the way we use a PC today. He has been the world's richest man from 1995 to 2007 [briefly surpassed $101bn net worth in 1999]. This blog is not about his business empire or wealth either.

Bill [now 52] has made public that he will officially retire from Microsoft - his entire life's work, to pursue other interests on July 1, 2008. He's leaving behind a $60bn business to follow his heart. This blog is about his other interest.

Bill will solely focus on philanthropy. His Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation [formed in 2000] is focused on health care, education and removing extreme poverty.  I have heard many business leaders talk about plans to give back to the society and the world but Bill has actually done it. 

What a way to retire and give back to the world. Hat's off.

Game on...

The players: Warren Buffett, the celebrity CEO of Berkshire Hathaway [he owns 38% of the shares] and Protégé Partners LLC, a New York based wealth management firm.

The bet is between Warren Buffett [not Berkshire] and Protégé [the firm, not its funds].

The bet: Over a period of 10 years [from Jan 1, 2008], Protégé has challenged that their 5 selected funds of hedge funds will outperform the S&P 500 after commissions [c2.5%], management fees [c23%] and expenses.

Warren Buffett has long advocated that the high fees charged by such funds far outweigh any additional earnings over S&P 500 growth [Remember: the investor does not get more than c75% of the accrued earnings - net of commissions and fees]. Protégé believes that their expertise in wealth management means that their selected funds bring better returns, even after the commissions and fees charged to the clients.

Each player has put $320,000 into a zero-coupon treasury bond for now. The winning, which will be in excess of $1m will go towards the charities already identified by the players.

What is in it for the players?
If all the winnings will go to charities – what is in it for the winner? For Warren Buffett – it's nothing more than proving a point he's promoted all his life – that no hedge fund can give better net returns than what the individual investor can invest and make. For Protégé – they've got more free publicity than they could ever imagine by going into this bet with Warren. If they win, they will be the golden boy of hedge funds. If they lose, the loss will not be entirely theirs – investors will look at all hedge funds with equal suspicion.

Who would you go with?
On one side we have Warren Buffett – the richest man in the world [self-made; net worth c$62b], who has made all his wealth by investments and is regarded as the top money manager of the 20th century. His Berkshire Hathaway [NYSE: BRK.B] owns 13% of American Express, 7% of The Coca Cola Company and 8% of Kraft Foods, to name a few.

On the other side is Protégé Partners LLC - a wealth management firm whose very existence depends on outperforming S&P 500 to give higher returns to their investors. They must have been exceptionally careful in selecting these 5 funds of hedge funds [only known to them and Warren Buffett].

The performance will be compared every year at the Berkshire Hathaway annual conference. The 10 year period irons out a lot of peaks and falls to bring realistic results, but we will have to wait till 2017 for the final winner.

For now, the game is on…and if history is any indicator, my money is on Mr Buffett. Who would you go with? Click comments [below] to leave your vote please.

How far would you go for love?

Quite a coincidence that we watched this late night movie 'Wallis & Edward' and the next day The Times carried the print advertisement of Cartier with the tagline – "How far would you go for love?"

How far would you go for love?

Would you go into debt to buy an expensive ring for your loved one?
Would you give up your job and move to a different country for your loved one?
Would you sell your house to buy something grand for your loved one?
Would you give up the throne of one of the biggest empires in the history of the world for your loved one?

King Edward VIII did just that. He abdicated the British throne to marry Wallis in 1936. The movie is based on their love story. Was it politically motivated or would the people of the country have actually objected to his marriage is a matter of meaningless debate after 75 years. The man [no longer king] and his wife lived in exile [in France] for the rest of their lives...

A brilliant story and a well made movie.

There is also a book called The Heart Has Its Reasons - the Story of the Abdication by Wallis.

The last Land Rover...

My new car arrived last week. I have never been a fan of SUV's [4x4's] but now that I know this might be my last Land Rover – it has become dear to me. I am surprised at its nimbleness - it drives and manoeuvres like a medium sized car and is not a gas guzzler like the previous one we had. I am extremely happy with all the technology they have put in. And, though I admit I might never use its off-road capabilities, it's still a very good on-road car to drive

iPhone Nano

As the world gets ready for the Worldwide Developers Conference [June 9 -13], everyone expects at least one new product from Steve Jobs with his keynote address.

I would put my money on iPhone Nano...

PS: It may not look like I've sketched it. Or should I say - it WILL NOT look like this at all. Don't we know Steve by now?

Jazz tonight? Or, in the morning?

From AM to FM to DAB - one would have thought the radio has come a long way already. Wait till you see the Blik digital WiFi RadioStation - it connects to your home broadband through WiFi and can tune into 9000 radio stations across the globe [from analogue to DAB to Internet radio]

And, that's not all. This neat device is capable of becoming speaker system for your iPod or stream music from PC or Mac. It also functions as an alarm clock so you can even wake up to some Smooth Jazz if you want.

All for under £150.