The snowball effect…

I recently finished reading Warren Buffet’s biography, The Snowball by Alice Schroeder. It is an incredible story and a loooooong book. The snowball is a metaphor for the compounding effect of money. The effect of spirituality and religion in Buffet’s life was conspicuous in its absence. The result of the snowball effect in Buffet’s life is massive wealth which he is in the process of giving away through acts of philanthropy.

His current plan is to give a great deal of his wealth to the Gates Foundation. His reason? They are geared up to handle the distribution of such a massive amount of money.

I’ll admit, reading the book made me want to be a Berkshire Hathaway shareholder and attend one of BRK’s annual stockholder’s meetings. Even at today’s depressed share price, however, I am unlikely to become even a “B” stock owner.

My friend, Steve Sjogren, would probably want to point out another kind of snowball effect, the compounding of acts of kindness in our daily lives. Seems like something worth considering, especially when massive amounts of perceived wealth are disappearing before our eyes.