When Warren Buffett met India Inc’s top honchos...

The idea was for Warren Buffett, Bill and Melinda Gates to share their experiences from the Giving Pledge initiative that they had recently organised in the US. Then there were philanthropists from India who shared their experiences of philanthropy, how they do it and the issues they faced. For example, I talked about the philanthropy that we do in the areas like education, health and youth leadership.

It was a relatively small group. There were Narayana Murthy, Azim Premji, Rajashree Birla, Nandan Nilekani, Anu Aga. A few of us came along with our spouses. The entire group had around 15 people.

They (Buffett and Gates) were not giving any recommendations as to what you should do and what you should not do. They were very clear about that from the beginning — that they just wanted to share their experiences.

In India, a lot of people don’t want to talk about the good (philanthropic) work they are doing. In a way that is the dilemma we ourselves are facing — whether to talk about it or not. But then, we were told us that we should talk about it. People are looking for role models. So, now I’ve started talking about the work we do, which I haven’t really done earlier.

There was another meeting earlier in the morning where he was talking about his business philosophy. One thing that struck me was how he still believed that the world is still a good place to invest in for the long term.

There will be ups and downs. In some years there will be depressions, but by and large there is a great future ahead, both for the United States and here in India. What also struck me was how simple he was and the wisdom in his words. You don’t need to use big words or complex language.

He runs 70 different businesses.

A lot of people, strategists and such, talk about how you should focus on a few. I think I connected with him in the sense that you can do so many more businesses. I could also connect with him in that he makes his decisions based on simple understanding and not relying on a lot of people to make up your mind about whether you should make an investment decision or not. Just because you are different from others, doesn’t mean you are right or wrong. I was also impressed with his humility and the way he talks.

People asked him if he regrets not investing in India before. He said I don’t regret anything I never did. There are hundreds of things you can do. Some you can do, some you can’t.

Another thing that impressed me about him was when he said although he has given away 99% of his wealth for philanthropy, he has never missed a good meal, he has not missed a good vacation and that he never missed anything he wanted and yet, after that, he had so much he could give.

I think that is a very good approach. I think he just wanted to let people know that they shouldn’t be scared to give. And in some ways, it is also Gandhian because according to Gandhi, the wealth is not yours, it is the society’s.

Somebody asked him about investing in gold. He said gold is not used, it is only hoarded. The only reason somebody might buy gold is when they think its value will be higher. He said he doesn’t believe in that and that he believes in investing in businesses where there is consumption.

(As told to Lison Joseph)