They’re Off To See the ‘Wizard’

While Dorothy left the Midwest to find her wizard, 85 Harvard students will travel to heartland America in early October to meet the man Time Magazine named the “Wizard of Nebraska”—the legendary investor Warren Buffett.

As the chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett used his financial acumen to accrue a personal fortune of $44 billion, according to an Associated Press estimate. He most recently made headlines in June by announcing he’ll give $37 billion to charity.

The trip has been organized by the Harvard Undergraduate Women in Business (WIB) and the newly-founded Smart Woman Securities (SWS).

The trip “provides women who are interested in investing the opportunity to learn about a field that has been predominately male focused for the last century,” said an SWS founding partner and WIB officer, Tiffany T. Niver ’08. “Harvard, being a liberal arts school, doesn’t give students a business education that is practical in their business careers or financial management.”

WIB President Tracy L. Britt ’07, also a SWS co-founder, said that last spring, after the group contacted the multi-billionaire, “Buffett e-mailed us saying that women have been at a disadvantage for so long that he wanted to give us priority in booking.”

The trip’s participants will attend a two hour question-and-answer session with Buffet and join him for lunch with him at his favorite restaurant, Gorat’s Steakhouse. They’ll visit a Berkshire Hathaway-owned furniture warehouse and jewelry store and dine with CEOs of Fortune 500 companies.

Though sponsored by women’s groups, the trip is open to men as well. Neel K. Rai ’08 said he was not deterred from going on the trip by the gender focus of the sponsors. “Warren Buffett is one of the greatest business leaders ever, so whatever he talks about will probably be relevant,” Rai said.

Students also cited Buffett’s philanthropy as an integral part of their desire to meet him.

“I was really impressed by his decision to donate 85 percent of his wealth to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation,” said WIB member Elizabeth K. Stahl ’08. “I thought it was a noble act and I want to hear from him why he wanted to give his money away.”

—Staff writer Margot E. Edelman can be reached at medelman@fas.harvard.edu.