128-441: The Omaha Streetcar is a planned streetcar system in Omaha, Nebraska . It is estimated to be completed in 2027. The Omaha-Council Bluffs streetcar era began operations in 1868. By 1890, the metropolitan area had 90 miles (140 km) of tracks — more than any city except Boston. The Omaha Traction Company was the dominant private streetcar provider of the time; it was engulfed in repeated labor disputes. By 1955,
256-491: A margin of safety . That's what Ben Graham taught us. A hundred years from now they will still be the cornerstones of investing. Buffett worked from 1951 to 1954 at his father's firm, Buffett-Falk & Co., as an investment salesman; from 1954 to 1956 at Graham-Newman Corp. as a securities analyst; from 1956 to 1969 at several investment partnerships as the general partner; and from 1970 as chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc . In 1951, Buffett discovered that Graham
384-509: A streetcar or trolley in the United States) is a type of urban rail transit consisting of either individual railcars or self-propelled multiple unit trains that run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way . The tramlines or tram networks operated as public transport are called tramways or simply trams/streetcars. Because of their close similarities, trams are commonly included in
512-603: A tram engine in the UK) at the head of a line of one or more carriages, similar to a small train. Systems with such steam trams included Christchurch , New Zealand; Sydney, Australia; other city systems in New South Wales ; Munich , Germany (from August 1883 on), British India (from 1885) and the Dublin & Blessington Steam Tramway (from 1888) in Ireland. Steam tramways also were used on
640-470: A $ 35 deduction for the use of his bicycle and watch on his paper route. In 1945, as a high school sophomore, Buffett and a friend spent $ 25 to purchase a used pinball machine, which they placed in the local barber shop . Within months, they owned several machines in three different barber shops across Omaha. They later sold the business to a war veteran for $ 1,200. Buffett's interest in the stock market and investing dated back to his schoolboy days spent in
768-515: A Vermont blacksmith, had invented a battery-powered electric motor which he later patented. The following year he used it to operate a small model electric car on a short section of track four feet in diameter. Attempts to use batteries as a source of electricity were made from the 1880s and 1890s, with unsuccessful trials conducted in among other places Bendigo and Adelaide in Australia, and for about 14 years as The Hague accutram of HTM in
896-415: A bus system. The streetcar would run on a three-mile (4.8 km) route from Cass to Farnam on South 10th Street, Farnam west to 42nd Street, and back to 10th Street on Harney. The streetcar was originally expected to be operational in 2026, and free for all riders. On June 12, 2023 streetcar officials stated plans to hire an outside company to run the streetcar, as Omaha has no one capable, and moved
1024-428: A fantastic ability to simply consume capital. It makes no difference to a widow with her savings in a 5 percent passbook account whether she pays 100 percent income tax on her interest income during a period of zero inflation, or pays no income taxes during years of 5 percent inflation. In his article, " The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville ", Buffett rebutted the academic efficient-market hypothesis , that beating
1152-452: A far lower cost that does not require hundreds of millions of dollars of additional taxpayer capital. Rubin also highlights, per HDR analysis , the Omaha streetcar achieved most of the development potential already since ORBT began operations two years ago with two-thirds of the growth development ability of the proposed streetcar in the development corridor under study. On December 13, 2022,
1280-603: A key reason for the purchase was to diversify Berkshire Hathaway from the financial industry. Measured by market capitalization in the Financial Times Global 500 , Berkshire Hathaway was the eighteenth largest corporation in the world as of June 2009. In 2009, Buffett divested his failed investment in ConocoPhillips , saying to his Berkshire investors, I bought a large amount of ConocoPhillips stock when oil and gas prices were near their peak. I in no way anticipated
1408-560: A lot, but people have really changed their habits like I haven't seen". Additionally, Buffett feared that inflation levels that occurred in the 1970s—which led to years of painful stagflation —might re-emerge. In 2009, Buffett invested $ 2.6 billion as a part of Swiss Re 's campaign to raise equity capital. Berkshire Hathaway already owned a 3% stake, with rights to own more than 20%. Also in 2009, Buffett acquired Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. for $ 34 billion in cash and stock. Alice Schroeder , author of Snowball , said that
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#17328444827741536-425: A philanthropist). At 15, Warren made more than $ 175 monthly delivering Washington Post newspapers. In high school, he invested in a business owned by his father and bought a 40-acre farm worked by a tenant farmer. He bought the land when he was 14 years old with $ 1,200 of his savings. By the time he finished college, Buffett had amassed $ 9,800 in savings (about $ 125,000 today). In 1947, Buffett matriculated at
1664-422: A portion of its investment portfolio. 77% of the outstanding shares were turned in. Buffett had reaped a 50 percent return on investment in just two years. In 1962, Buffett became a millionaire with the success of his partnerships, which by then had grown to 11 entities and held in excess of $ 7,178,500, of which over $ 1,025,000 belonged to Buffett. At the start of the year, he merged the various partnerships into
1792-477: A series of investment partnerships. In 1957, Buffett operated three investment partnerships. By 1959, the total had grown to six partnerships. That year, Buffett met future partner Charlie Munger . In 1961, Buffett revealed that 35% of the partnerships' assets were invested in the Sanborn Map Company . He explained that Sanborn stock sold for only $ 45 per share in 1958, but the company's investment portfolio
1920-695: A similar technology, Pirotsky put into service the first public electric tramway in St. Petersburg, which operated only during September 1880. The second demonstration tramway was presented by Siemens & Halske at the 1879 Berlin Industrial Exposition. The first public electric tramway used for permanent service was the Gross-Lichterfelde tramway in Lichterfelde near Berlin in Germany, which opened in 1881. It
2048-561: A stockbroker while taking a Dale Carnegie public speaking course. Using what he learned, he felt confident enough to teach an "Investment Principles" night class at the University of Nebraska-Omaha . The average age of his students was more than twice his own. During this time he also purchased a Sinclair gas station as a side investment but it was unsuccessful. In 1954, Buffett accepted a job at Benjamin Graham 's partnership. His starting salary
2176-550: A subsidiary in a deal that presented difficulties — according to the Rational Walk investment website, "underwriting standards proved to be inadequate", while a "problematic derivatives book" was resolved after numerous years and a significant loss. Gen Re later provided reinsurance after Buffett became involved with Maurice R. Greenberg at AIG in 2002. During a 2005 investigation of an accounting fraud case involving AIG, Gen Re executives became implicated. On March 15, 2005,
2304-517: A supporter of index funds for people who are either not interested in managing their own money or do not have the time. Buffett is skeptical that active management can outperform the market in the long run, and has advised both individual and institutional investors to move their money to low-cost index funds that track broad, diversified stock market indices. Buffett said in one of his letters to shareholders that "when trillions of dollars are managed by Wall Streeters charging high fees, it will usually be
2432-514: A textile manufacturing firm, Berkshire Hathaway, assuming its name to create a diversified holding company . Buffett emerged as the company's chairman and majority shareholder in 1970. In 1978, fellow investor and long-time business associate Charlie Munger joined Buffett as vice-chairman. Since 1970, Buffett has presided as the chairman and largest shareholder of Berkshire Hathaway, one of America's foremost holding companies and world's leading corporate conglomerates . He has been referred to as
2560-911: A well-known tourist attraction . A single cable line also survives in Wellington (rebuilt in 1979 as a funicular but still called the " Wellington Cable Car "). Another system, with two separate cable lines and a shared power station in the middle, operates from the Welsh town of Llandudno up to the top of the Great Orme hill in North Wales , UK. Hastings and some other tramways, for example Stockholms Spårvägar in Sweden and some lines in Karachi , used petrol trams. Galveston Island Trolley in Texas operated diesel trams due to
2688-564: Is an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist who currently serves as the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway . As a result of his investment success, Buffett is one of the best-known investors in the world. As of October 2024, he had a net worth of $ 147 billion, making him the eighth-richest person in the world . Buffett was born in Omaha, Nebraska . The son of US congressman and businessman Howard Buffett , he developed an interest in business and investing during his youth. He entered
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#17328444827742816-468: Is doing something that is deeply evil to make money for himself." Buffett's writings include his annual reports and various articles. Buffett is recognized by communicators as a great story-teller, as evidenced by his annual letters to shareholders. He has warned about the pernicious effects of inflation: The arithmetic makes it plain that inflation is a far more devastating tax than anything that has been enacted by our legislatures. The inflation tax has
2944-622: Is still in operation in modernised form. The earliest tram system in Canada was built by John Joseph Wright , brother of the famous mining entrepreneur Whitaker Wright , in Toronto in 1883, introducing electric trams in 1892. In the US, multiple experimental electric trams were exhibited at the 1884 World Cotton Centennial World's Fair in New Orleans, Louisiana , but they were not deemed good enough to replace
3072-729: Is the sole survivor of the fleet). In Italy, in Trieste , the Trieste–Opicina tramway was opened in 1902, with the steepest section of the route being negotiated with the help of a funicular and its cables. Cable cars suffered from high infrastructure costs, since an expensive system of cables , pulleys , stationary engines and lengthy underground vault structures beneath the rails had to be provided. They also required physical strength and skill to operate, and alert operators to avoid obstructions and other cable cars. The cable had to be disconnected ("dropped") at designated locations to allow
3200-459: Is to figure out how nobody gets left too far behind. After the difficulties of the economic crisis , Buffett managed to bring its company back to its pre-recession standards: in Q2 2014, Berkshire Hathaway made $ 6.4 billion in net profit, the most it had ever made in a three-month period. On August 14, 2014, the price of Berkshire Hathaway's shares hit $ 200,000 a share for the first time, capitalizing
3328-652: The Buffalo Courier-Express . Both papers lost money until the Courier-Express folded in 1982. In 1979, Berkshire began to acquire stock in ABC . Capital Cities announced a $ 3.5 billion purchase of ABC on March 18, 1985, surprising the media industry, as ABC was four times bigger than Capital Cities at the time. Buffett helped finance the deal in return for a 25% stake in the combined company. The newly merged company, known as Capital Cities/ABC (or CapCities/ABC),
3456-688: The Bleecker Street Line until its closure in 1917. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania , had its Sarah Street line drawn by horses until 1923. The last regular mule-drawn cars in the US ran in Sulphur Rock, Arkansas , until 1926 and were commemorated by a U.S. postage stamp issued in 1983. The last mule tram service in Mexico City ended in 1932, and a mule tram in Celaya, Mexico , survived until 1954. The last horse-drawn tram to be withdrawn from public service in
3584-511: The Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce 's Urban Core Committee. State Senator Justin Wayne , champion of TIF legislation for 'extremely blighted' areas of the state, questioned the use of TIF for the streetcar saying “For them to extremely blight that area is a slap in the face to North and South Omaha," citing multimillion-dollar investment and renovation projects going on in the urban core of
3712-879: The Lamm fireless engines then propelling the St. Charles Avenue Streetcar in that city. The first commercial installation of an electric streetcar in the United States was built in 1884 in Cleveland, Ohio , and operated for a period of one year by the East Cleveland Street Railway Company. The first city-wide electric streetcar system was implemented in 1886 in Montgomery, Alabama , by the Capital City Street Railway Company, and ran for 50 years. In 1888,
3840-525: The Omaha City Council approved $ 440 million in bonds to fund the streetcar, $ 360 million TIF bonds and $ 80 million from lease purchase bonds. The City of Omaha published a plan to pay back the $ 600 million needed, $ 440 million principle plus $ 160 million in interest, by: first, diverting $ 421 million from $ 2.2 billion in new TIF subsidized projects in the streetcar district; second, diverting $ 71 million from existing development in
3968-692: The Richmond Union Passenger Railway began to operate trams in Richmond, Virginia , that Frank J. Sprague had built. Sprague later developed multiple unit control, first demonstrated in Chicago in 1897, allowing multiple cars to be coupled together and operated by a single motorman. This gave rise to the modern subway train. Following the improvement of an overhead "trolley" system on streetcars for collecting electricity from overhead wires by Sprague, electric tram systems were rapidly adopted across
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4096-620: The S&;P 500 was "pure chance", by highlighting the results achieved by a number of students of the Graham and Dodd value investing school of thought. In addition to himself, Buffett named Walter J. Schloss , Tom Knapp, Ed Anderson ( Tweedy, Browne LLC ), William J. Ruane ( Sequoia Fund ), Charlie Munger (Buffett's partner at Berkshire), Rick Guerin (Pacific Partners Ltd.), and Stan Perlmeter (Perlmeter Investments). In his November 1999 Fortune article, he warned of investors' unrealistic expectations: Let me summarize what I've been saying about
4224-537: The United States Congress , and after moving with his family to Washington, D.C., Warren finished elementary school, attended Alice Deal Junior High School and graduated from what was then Woodrow Wilson High School in 1947, where his senior yearbook picture reads: "likes math; a future stockbroker". After finishing high school and finding success with his side entrepreneurial and investment ventures, Buffett wanted to skip college to go directly into business but
4352-652: The Washington Post Company . Buffett became close friends with Katharine Graham , who controlled the company and its flagship newspaper and joined its board. In 1974, the SEC opened a formal investigation into Buffett and Berkshire's acquisition of Wesco Financial , due to possible conflict of interest. No charges were brought. In 1977, Berkshire indirectly purchased the Buffalo Evening News for $ 32.5 million. Antitrust charges started, instigated by its rival,
4480-785: The West Midlands Metro in Birmingham , England adopted battery-powered trams on sections through the city centre close to Grade I listed Birmingham Town Hall . Paris and Berne (Switzerland) operated trams that were powered by compressed air using the Mekarski system . Trials on street tramways in Britain, including by the North Metropolitan Tramway Company between Kings Cross and Holloway, London (1883), achieved acceptable results but were found not to be economic because of
4608-706: The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1947 before graduating from the University of Nebraska at 19. He went on to graduate from Columbia Business School , where he molded his investment philosophy around the concept of value investing pioneered by Benjamin Graham . He attended New York Institute of Finance to focus on his economics background and soon pursued a business career. He later began various business ventures and investment partnerships, including one with Graham. He created Buffett Partnership Ltd. in 1956 and his investment firm eventually acquired
4736-491: The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania . He would have preferred to focus on his business ventures, but enrolled due to pressure from his father. Warren studied there for two years and joined the Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity. He then transferred to the University of Nebraska where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in business administration in 1951. After being rejected by Harvard Business School in
4864-917: The subprime mortgage crisis of 2007 and 2008, part of the Great Recession starting in 2007, that he had allocated capital too early resulting in suboptimal deals. "Buy American. I am." he wrote for an opinion piece published in the New York Times in 2008. Buffett called the downturn in the financial sector that started in 2007 " poetic justice ". Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway suffered a 77% drop in earnings during Q3 2008 and several of his later deals suffered large mark-to-market losses. On September 23, 2008, Berkshire Hathaway acquired 10 percent of perpetual preferred stock of Goldman Sachs . Some of Buffett's put options (European exercise at expiry only) that he wrote (sold) were running at around $ 6.73 billion mark-to-market losses as of late 2008. The scale of
4992-459: The "Oracle" or "Sage" of Omaha by global media as a result of having accumulated a massive fortune derived from his business and investment success. He is noted for his adherence to the principles of value investing, and his frugality despite his wealth. Buffett has pledged to give away 99 percent of his fortune to philanthropic causes, primarily via the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation . He founded
5120-1202: The 1850s, after which the "animal railway" became an increasingly common feature in the larger towns. The first permanent tram line in continental Europe was opened in Paris in 1855 by Alphonse Loubat who had previously worked on American streetcar lines. The tram was developed in numerous cities of Europe (some of the most extensive systems were found in Berlin, Budapest , Birmingham , Saint Petersburg , Lisbon , London , Manchester , Paris , Kyiv ). The first tram in South America opened in 1858 in Santiago, Chile . The first trams in Australia opened in 1860 in Sydney . Africa's first tram service started in Alexandria on 8 January 1863. The first trams in Asia opened in 1869 in Batavia (Jakarta), Netherlands East Indies (Indonesia) . Limitations of horsecars included
5248-692: The 1894-built horse tram at Victor Harbor in South Australia . New horse-drawn systems have been established at the Hokkaidō Museum in Japan and also in Disneyland . A horse-tram route in Polish gmina Mrozy , first built in 1902, was reopened in 2012. The first mechanical trams were powered by steam . Generally, there were two types of steam tram. The first and most common had a small steam locomotive (called
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5376-420: The 1980s. The history of passenger trams, streetcars and trolley systems, began in the early nineteenth century. It can be divided into several distinct periods defined by the principal means of power used. Precursors to the tramway included the wooden or stone wagonways that were used in central Europe to transport mine carts with unflanged wheels since the 1500s, and the paved limestone trackways designed by
5504-481: The 2019 to 2020 election cycle Stothert received: $ 10,000 from HDR Inc , an engineering firm advocating for streetcars nationwide, and $ 5,000 from Kutak Rock LLP , a legal firm with specialists in Tax Increment Financing (TIF). Representative Don Bacon was unsuccessful in obtaining an $ 8 million earmark for the project in 2021. In 2022, a revised plan was announced by Mayor Jean Stothert and
5632-512: The AIG board forced Greenberg to resign from his post as chairman and CEO after New York state regulators claimed that AIG had engaged in questionable transactions and improper accounting. On February 9, 2006, AIG agreed to pay a $ 1.6 billion fine. In 2010, the U.S. government agreed to a $ 92 million settlement with Gen Re, allowing the Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary to avoid prosecution in
5760-433: The AIG case. Gen Re also made a commitment to implement "corporate governance concessions", which required Berkshire Hathaway's chief financial officer to attend General Re's audit committee meetings and mandated the appointment of an independent director. In 2002, Buffett entered in $ 11 billion worth of forward contracts to deliver U.S. dollars against other currencies. By April 2006, his total gain on these contracts
5888-475: The Australian state of Queensland between 1909 and 1939. Stockholm , Sweden, had a steam tram line at the island of Södermalm between 1887 and 1901. Tram engines usually had modifications to make them suitable for street running in residential areas. The wheels, and other moving parts of the machinery, were usually enclosed for safety reasons and to make the engines quieter. Measures were often taken to prevent
6016-457: The British newspaper Newcastle Daily Chronicle reported that, "A large number of London's discarded horse tramcars have been sent to Lincolnshire where they are used as sleeping rooms for potato pickers ". Horses continued to be used for light shunting well into the 20th century, and many large metropolitan lines lasted into the early 20th century. New York City had a regular horsecar service on
6144-744: The Entertainment Centre, and work is progressing on further extensions. Sydney re-introduced trams (or light rail) on 31 August 1997. A completely new system, known as G:link , was introduced on the Gold Coast, Queensland , on 20 July 2014. The Newcastle Light Rail opened in February 2019, while the Canberra light rail opened on 20 April 2019. This is the first time that there have been trams in Canberra, even though Walter Burley Griffin 's 1914–1920 plans for
6272-474: The Giving Pledge in 2010 with Bill Gates , whereby billionaires pledge to give away at least half of their fortunes. Warren Edward Buffett was born on August 30, 1930 in Omaha, Nebraska , as the second of three children and the only son of Leila (née Stahl) and Congressman Howard Buffett . He began his education at Rose Hill Elementary School. In 1942, his father was elected to the first of four terms in
6400-568: The Irish coach builder John Stephenson , in New York City which began service in the year 1832. The New York and Harlem Railroad's Fourth Avenue Line ran along the Bowery and Fourth Avenue in New York City. It was followed in 1835 by the New Orleans and Carrollton Railroad in New Orleans, Louisiana , which still operates as the St. Charles Streetcar Line . Other American cities did not follow until
6528-534: The Netherlands. The first trams in Bendigo, Australia, in 1892, were battery-powered, but within as little as three months they were replaced with horse-drawn trams. In New York City some minor lines also used storage batteries. Then, more recently during the 1950s, a longer battery-operated tramway line ran from Milan to Bergamo . In China there is a Nanjing battery Tram line and has been running since 2014. In 2019,
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#17328444827746656-755: The North Sydney line from 1886 to 1900, and the King Street line from 1892 to 1905. In Dresden , Germany, in 1901 an elevated suspended cable car following the Eugen Langen one-railed floating tram system started operating. Cable cars operated on Highgate Hill in North London and Kennington to Brixton Hill in South London. They also worked around "Upper Douglas" in the Isle of Man from 1897 to 1929 (cable car 72/73
6784-463: The Romans for heavy horse and ox-drawn transportation. By the 1700s, paved plateways with cast iron rails were introduced in England for transporting coal, stone or iron ore from the mines to the urban factories and docks. The world's first passenger train or tram was the Swansea and Mumbles Railway , in Wales , UK. The British Parliament passed the Mumbles Railway Act in 1804, and horse-drawn service started in 1807. The service closed in 1827, but
6912-413: The Second Street Cable Railroad, which operated from 1885 to 1889, and the Temple Street Cable Railway, which operated from 1886 to 1898. From 1885 to 1940, the city of Melbourne , Victoria, Australia operated one of the largest cable systems in the world, at its peak running 592 trams on 75 kilometres (47 mi) of track. There were also two isolated cable lines in Sydney , New South Wales, Australia;
7040-427: The U.S. Federal Reserve to a hedge fund and stated that the bank is generating "$ 80 billion or $ 90 billion a year probably" in revenue for the U.S. government. Buffett also advocated further on the issue of wealth equality in society: We have learned to turn out lots of goods and services, but we haven't learned as well how to have everybody share in the bounty. The obligation of a society as prosperous as ours
7168-562: The UK at Lytham St Annes , Trafford Park , Manchester (1897–1908) and Neath , Wales (1896–1920). Comparatively little has been published about gas trams. However, research on the subject was carried out for an article in the October 2011 edition of "The Times", the historical journal of the Australian Association of Timetable Collectors, later renamed the Australian Timetable Association. The world's first electric tram line operated in Sestroretsk near Saint Petersburg invented and tested by inventor Fyodor Pirotsky in 1875. Later, using
7296-410: The UK took passengers from Fintona railway station to Fintona Junction one mile away on the main Omagh to Enniskillen railway in Northern Ireland. The tram made its last journey on 30 September 1957 when the Omagh to Enniskillen line closed. The "van" is preserved at the Ulster Transport Museum . Horse-drawn trams still operate on the 1876-built Douglas Bay Horse Tramway on the Isle of Man , and at
7424-508: The advantages over earlier forms of transit was the low rolling resistance of metal wheels on steel rails, allowing the trams to haul a greater load for a given effort. Another factor which contributed to the rise of trams was the high total cost of ownership of horses. Electric trams largely replaced animal power in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Improvements in other vehicles such as buses led to decline of trams in early to mid 20th century. However, trams have seen resurgence since
7552-557: The beginning of operations to spring 2027. While future expansions north, south, and west in Omaha and Council Bluffs, Iowa , have been proposed, Omaha city planning stated an alternatives analysis has yet to be completed on any proposal and would take a total of 8 to 10 years once started. Utility relocation work along the route began in September 2023. At a June 18, 2024 news conference Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert and Omaha Streetcar Authority Chairman and developer Jay Noddle updated streetcar corridor costs to $ 459 million, with $ 39 million of
7680-460: The busiest tram line in Europe, with a tram running once per minute at rush hour. Bucharest and Belgrade ran a regular service from 1894. Ljubljana introduced its tram system in 1901 – it closed in 1958. Oslo had the first tramway in Scandinavia , starting operation on 2 March 1894. The first electric tramway in Australia was a Sprague system demonstrated at the 1888 Melbourne Centennial Exhibition in Melbourne ; afterwards, this
7808-439: The capital then in the planning stage did propose a Canberra tram system. In Japan, the Kyoto Electric railroad was the first tram system, starting operation in 1895. By 1932, the network had grown to 82 railway companies in 65 cities, with a total network length of 1,479 km (919 mi). By the 1960s the tram had generally died out in Japan. Two rare but significant alternatives were conduit current collection , which
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#17328444827747936-458: The car up the hill at a steady pace, unlike a low-powered steam or horse-drawn car. Cable cars do have wheel brakes and track brakes , but the cable also helps restrain the car to going downhill at a constant speed. Performance in steep terrain partially explains the survival of cable cars in San Francisco. The San Francisco cable cars , though significantly reduced in number, continue to provide regular transportation service, in addition to being
8064-402: The cars to coast by inertia, for example when crossing another cable line. The cable then had to be "picked up" to resume progress, the whole operation requiring precise timing to avoid damage to the cable and the grip mechanism. Breaks and frays in the cable, which occurred frequently, required the complete cessation of services over a cable route while the cable was repaired. Due to overall wear,
8192-671: The city closed its streetcar system in favor of buses. In 2009, the City of Omaha and Heritage Services developed a Downtown Omaha Masterplan to improve the Omaha downtown area by 2030. The transportation element of the Omaha Master Plan was completed in 2012, and included a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and other non-car transit as part of the transportation blueprints. In 2013 as part of a central Omaha transit analysis, SB Friedman Development Advisors forecast central Omaha development impacts from improved transit. The Friedman analysis compared streetcar projects from Portland, Seattle, and Tampa to BRT alternatives from Cleveland and Kansas, estimating
8320-409: The city's hurricane-prone location, which would have resulted in frequent damage to an electrical supply system. Although Portland, Victoria promotes its tourist tram as being a cable car it actually operates using a diesel motor. The tram, which runs on a circular route around the town of Portland, uses dummies and salons formerly used on the Melbourne cable tramway system and since restored. In
8448-513: The classic tramway built in the early 20th century with the tram system operating in mixed traffic, and the later type which is most often associated with the tram system having its own right of way. Tram systems that have their own right of way are often called light rail but this does not always hold true. Though these two systems differ in their operation, their equipment is much the same. Warren Buffett Warren Edward Buffett ( / ˈ b ʌ f ɪ t / BUF -it ; born August 30, 1930)
8576-416: The combined coal consumption of the stationary compressor and the onboard steam boiler. The Trieste–Opicina tramway in Trieste operates a hybrid funicular tramway system. Conventional electric trams are operated in street running and on reserved track for most of their route. However, on one steep segment of track, they are assisted by cable tractors, which push the trams uphill and act as brakes for
8704-524: The company at $ 328 billion. While Buffett had given away much of his stock to charities by this time, he still held 321,000 shares worth $ 64.2 billion. On August 20, 2014, Berkshire Hathaway was fined $ 896,000 for failing to report as required the December 9, 2013 purchase of shares in USG Corporation . A 2023 ProPublica article based on a leak of confidential IRS data alleged that Buffett had made equity trades in his personal portfolio involving companies that Berkshire Hathaway bought or sold during
8832-399: The company had working capital of $ 19 per share. This did not include the value of fixed assets (factory and equipment). Buffett took control of Berkshire Hathaway at a board meeting and named a new president, Ken Chace, to run the company. In 1966, Buffett closed the partnership to new money. He later claimed that the textile business had been his worst trade. He then moved the business into
8960-410: The crisis in debt and equity markets. In 2008, Buffett became the richest person in the world, garnering a total net worth estimated at $ 62 billion by Forbes and at $ 58 billion by Yahoo , dethroning Bill Gates , who had been number one on the Forbes list for 13 consecutive years. In 2009, Gates regained the top position on the Forbes list, with Buffett shifted to second place. Both of
9088-443: The customers' lounge of a regional stock brokerage near his father's own brokerage office. His father took interest in cultivating and educating the young Warren's curiosity surrounding the subject of business and investing, even at one point taking him to visit the New York Stock Exchange when he was 10. At 11, he bought three shares of Cities Service Preferred for himself, and three for his sister Doris Buffett (who also became
9216-422: The difficulties of knowing when to sell in the company's 2004 annual report: That may seem easy to do when one looks through an always-clean, rear-view mirror. Unfortunately, however, it's the windshield through which investors must peer, and that glass is invariably fogged. In March 2009, Buffett said in a cable television interview that the economy had "fallen off a cliff ... Not only has the economy slowed down
9344-652: The downhill run. For safety, the cable tractors are always deployed on the downhill side of the tram vehicle. Similar systems were used elsewhere in the past, notably on the Queen Anne Counterbalance in Seattle and the Darling Street wharf line in Sydney. In the mid-20th century many tram systems were disbanded, replaced by buses, trolleybuses , automobiles or rapid transit . The General Motors streetcar conspiracy
9472-550: The dramatic fall in energy prices that occurred in the last half of the year. I still believe the odds are good that oil sells far higher in the future than the current $ 40–$ 50 price. But so far I have been dead wrong. Even if prices should rise, moreover, the terrible timing of my purchase has cost Berkshire several billion dollars. The merger with the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway ( BNSF ) closed upon BNSF shareholder approval during Q1 of 2010. This deal
9600-446: The engines from emitting visible smoke or steam. Usually the engines used coke rather than coal as fuel to avoid emitting smoke; condensers or superheating were used to avoid emitting visible steam. A major drawback of this style of tram was the limited space for the engine, so that these trams were usually underpowered. Steam trams faded out around the 1890s to 1900s, being replaced by electric trams. Another motive system for trams
9728-429: The entire length of cable (typically several kilometres) had to be replaced on a regular schedule. After the development of reliable electrically powered trams, the costly high-maintenance cable car systems were rapidly replaced in most locations. Cable cars remained especially effective in hilly cities, since their nondriven wheels did not lose traction as they climbed or descended a steep hill. The moving cable pulled
9856-439: The fact that any given animal could only work so many hours on a given day, had to be housed, groomed, fed and cared for day in and day out, and produced prodigious amounts of manure, which the streetcar company was charged with storing and then disposing. Since a typical horse pulled a streetcar for about a dozen miles a day and worked for four or five hours, many systems needed ten or more horses in stable for each horsecar. In 1905
9984-432: The five years following the agreement, and Buffett also received a 10% dividend (callable within three years). In February 2009, Buffett sold some Procter & Gamble Co. and Johnson & Johnson shares from his personal portfolio. In addition to suggestions of mistiming, the wisdom in keeping some of Berkshire's major holdings, including The Coca-Cola Company, which in 1998 peaked at $ 86, raised questions. Buffett discussed
10112-524: The increase to be paid by city sewer fees, and a potential cost-sharing agreement with Nebraska Department of Transportation to cover about $ 21.5 million in bridge replacement costs. In February 2024, it was announced that the line will use six CAF Urbos streetcars similar to those currently in use in Kansas City and Cincinnati. Funding was approved in May of that year. Streetcar A tram (also known as
10240-597: The instrument at stockholder meetings and other opportunities. His love of the instrument led to the commissioning of two custom Dairy Queen ukuleles by Dave Talsma, one of which was auctioned for charity. In 1952, Buffett married Susan at Dundee Presbyterian Church . The following year, they had their first child, Susan Alice . She was followed by Howard (b. 1954) and Peter (b. 1958). The couple began living separately in 1977, although they remained married until Susan's death in July 2004. Their only daughter Susan lives in Omaha,
10368-613: The insurance sector, and, in 1985, the last of the mills that had been the core business of Berkshire Hathaway was sold. In a second letter, Buffett announced his first investment in a private business — Hochschild, Kohn and Co, a privately owned Baltimore department store. In 1967, Berkshire paid out its first and only dividend of 10 cents. In 1969, Buffett liquidated the partnership and transferred their assets to his partners including shares of Berkshire Hathaway. He lived solely on his salary of $ 50,000 per year and his outside investment income. In 1973, Berkshire began to acquire stock in
10496-542: The late 19th and early 20th centuries a number of systems in various parts of the world employed trams powered by gas, naphtha gas or coal gas in particular. Gas trams are known to have operated between Alphington and Clifton Hill in the northern suburbs of Melbourne , Australia (1886–1888); in Berlin and Dresden , Germany; in Estonia (1921–1951); between Jelenia Góra , Cieplice , and Sobieszów in Poland (from 1897); and in
10624-402: The late 19th and early 20th centuries. There was one particular hazard associated with trams powered from a trolley pole off an overhead line on the early electrified systems. Since the tram relies on contact with the rails for the current return path, a problem arises if the tram is derailed or (more usually) if it halts on a section of track that has been heavily sanded by a previous tram, and
10752-422: The managers who reap outsized profits, not the clients". In 2007, Buffett made a bet with numerous managers that a simple S&P 500 index fund will outperform hedge funds that charge exorbitant fees. By 2017, the index fund was outperforming every hedge fund that made the bet against Buffett. Buffet has a long-standing aversion to using the services of investment banks via Berkshire Hathaway. This dynamic
10880-410: The men's values dropped, to $ 40 billion and $ 37 billion respectively—according to Forbes, Buffett lost $ 25 billion over a 12-month period during 2008/2009. In October 2008, the media reported that Buffett had agreed to buy General Electric (GE) preferred stock. The operation included special incentives: he received an option to buy three billion shares of GE stock, at $ 22.25, over
11008-452: The move came as a surprise to many investors and observers. During the interview, in which he revealed the investment to the public, Buffett stated that he was impressed by the company's ability to retain corporate clients and said, "I don't know of any large company that really has been as specific on what they intend to do and how they intend to do it as IBM". In May 2012, Buffett's acquisition of Media General, consisting of 63 newspapers in
11136-475: The necessity of overhead wire and a trolley pole for street cars and railways. While at the University of Denver he conducted experiments which established that multiple unit powered cars were a better way to operate trains and trolleys. Electric tramways spread to many European cities in the 1890s, such as: Sarajevo built a citywide system of electric trams in 1895. Budapest established its tramway system in 1887, and its ring line has grown to be
11264-508: The needle" at Berkshire with newspaper acquisitions, but he anticipates an annual return of 10 percent. The Press of Atlantic City became Berkshire's 30th daily newspaper, following other purchases such as Virginia, U.S.' Roanoke Times and The Tulsa World in Oklahoma, U.S. During a presentation to Georgetown University students in Washington, D.C. , in late September 2013, Buffett compared
11392-523: The oldest operating electric tramway in the world. Also in 1883, Mödling and Hinterbrühl Tram was opened near Vienna in Austria. It was the first tram in the world in regular service that was run with electricity served by an overhead line with pantograph current collectors . The Blackpool Tramway was opened in Blackpool, UK on 29 September 1885 using conduit collection along Blackpool Promenade. This system
11520-617: The poor paving of the streets in American cities which made them unsuitable for horsebuses , which were then common on the well-paved streets of European cities. Running the horsecars on rails allowed for a much smoother ride. There are records of a street railway running in Baltimore as early as 1828, however the first authenticated streetcar in America, was the New York and Harlem Railroad developed by
11648-404: The potential loss prompted the SEC to demand that Berkshire produce, "a more robust disclosure" of factors used to value the contracts. Buffett also helped Dow Chemical pay for its $ 18.8 billion takeover of Rohm & Haas . He thus became the single largest shareholder in the enlarged group with his Berkshire Hathaway, which provided $ 3 billion, underlining his instrumental role during
11776-425: The same quarter or the quarter before, raising concerns about conflicts of interest. On three dates between 2009 and 2012, Buffett sold shares of Johnson and Johnson, Walmart, and Wells Fargo, with the sales totaling $ 80 million in value. Although Buffett has not commented, Berkshire Hathaway's Vice Chairman Charlie Munger dismissed the allegations, saying "I don’t think there’s the slightest chance that Warren Buffett
11904-552: The single entity Buffett Partnership, Ltd., which would be his primary investment vehicle for the remainder of the decade. Buffett invested in and eventually took control of a textile manufacturing company, Berkshire Hathaway . He began buying shares in Berkshire from Seabury Stanton , the owner, whom he later fired. Buffett's partnerships began purchasing shares at $ 7.60 per share. In 1965, when Buffett's partnerships began purchasing Berkshire aggressively, they paid $ 14.86 per share while
12032-520: The south-eastern U.S., was announced. The company was the second news print purchase made by Buffett in one year. Interim publisher James W. Hopson announced on July 18, 2013, that the Press of Atlantic City would be sold to Buffett's BH Media Group by ABARTA, a private holding company based in Pittsburgh , U.S. At the Berkshire shareholders meeting in May 2013, Buffett explained that he did not expect to "move
12160-470: The spring of 1950, Buffett enrolled at Columbia Business School of Columbia University upon learning that Benjamin Graham taught there. He earned a Master of Science in economics from Columbia in 1951. After graduating, Buffett attended the New York Institute of Finance . The basic ideas of investing are to look at stocks as business, use the market's fluctuations to your advantage, and seek
12288-731: The state's biggest city, “In no way is downtown Omaha extremely blighted.” At the December 6, 2022, Omaha City Council meeting Thomas Rubin, CPA, CMA, CMC, CIA, CGFM, CFM, a transit industry senior executive, consultant, and auditor with four decades experience in transportation and an Omaha native provided a presentation. Rubin states the Omaha Rapid Bus Transit (ORBT) excels over the proposed streetcar line on almost all standard transportation measures: going over three times as far west to serve more potential riders and destinations, faster operating speed, and more trips/day – and at
12416-456: The stock market: I think it's very hard to come up with a persuasive case that equities will over the next 17 years perform anything like—anything like—they've performed in the past 17. If I had to pick the most probable return, from appreciation and dividends combined, that investors in aggregate—repeat, aggregate—would earn in a world of constant interest rates, 2% inflation, and those ever hurtful frictional costs, it would be 6%! Buffett has been
12544-481: The streetcar district; and third, diverting $ 115 million from existing TIF subsidized projects by extending those TIFs 5 years for a total of $ 607 million in diverted property taxes. Subsequently, investor Warren Buffett , an Omaha resident and owner of Berkshire Hathaway , published a letter to the editor in the Omaha World-Herald to oppose the street project. He cited its cost and inflexibility compared to
12672-511: The streetcar increases development by $ 1 billion and the BRT alternative by $ 262 million. However, the Friedman analysis ignored Portland's $ 725 million, Seattle's $ 1 billion, and Tampa's $ 165 million in direct subsidies to developers, calling into question if streetcar economic impact differs from other modes of transportation. The central Omaha transit alternatives analysis
12800-529: The suburban tramway lines around Milan and Padua ; the last Gamba de Legn ("Peg-Leg") tramway ran on the Milan- Magenta -Castano Primo route in late 1957. The other style of steam tram had the steam engine in the body of the tram, referred to as a tram engine (UK) or steam dummy (US). The most notable system to adopt such trams was in Paris. French-designed steam trams also operated in Rockhampton , in
12928-545: The tracks. Siemens later designed his own version of overhead current collection, called the bow collector . One of the first systems to use it was in Thorold, Ontario , opened in 1887, and it was considered quite successful. While this line proved quite versatile as one of the earliest fully functional electric streetcar installations, it required horse-drawn support while climbing the Niagara Escarpment and for two months of
13056-416: The tram and completing the earth return circuit with their body could receive a serious electric shock. If "grounded", the driver was required to jump off the tram (avoiding simultaneous contact with the tram and the ground) and pull down the trolley pole, before allowing passengers off the tram. Unless derailed, the tram could usually be recovered by running water down the running rails from a point higher than
13184-460: The tram loses electrical contact with the rails. In this event, the underframe of the tram, by virtue of a circuit path through ancillary loads (such as interior lighting), is live at the full supply voltage, typically 600 volts DC. In British terminology, such a tram was said to be 'grounded'—not to be confused with the US English use of the term, which means the exact opposite. Any person stepping off
13312-427: The tram, the water providing a conducting bridge between the tram and the rails. With improved technology, this ceased to be an problem. In the 2000s, several companies introduced catenary-free designs: Alstom's Citadis line uses a third rail, Bombardier's PRIMOVE LRV is charged by contactless induction plates embedded in the trackway and CAF URBOS tram uses ultracaps technology As early as 1834, Thomas Davenport ,
13440-804: The wider term light rail , which also includes systems separated from other traffic. Tram vehicles are usually lighter and shorter than main line and rapid transit trains. Most trams use electrical power, usually fed by a pantograph sliding on an overhead line ; older systems may use a trolley pole or a bow collector . In some cases, a contact shoe on a third rail is used. If necessary, they may have dual power systems—electricity in city streets and diesel in more rural environments. Occasionally, trams also carry freight . Some trams, known as tram-trains , may have segments that run on mainline railway tracks, similar to interurban systems. The differences between these modes of rail transport are often indistinct, and systems may combine multiple features. One of
13568-409: The winter when hydroelectricity was not available. It continued in service in its original form into the 1950s. Sidney Howe Short designed and produced the first electric motor that operated a streetcar without gears. The motor had its armature direct-connected to the streetcar 's axle for the driving force. Short pioneered "use of a conduit system of concealed feed" thereby eliminating
13696-524: The world's first hydrogen fuel cell vehicle tramcar at an assembly facility in Qingdao . The chief engineer of the CSR subsidiary CSR Sifang Co Ltd. , Liang Jianying, said that the company is studying how to reduce the running costs of the tram. Trams have been used for two main purposes: for carrying passengers and for carrying cargo. There are several types of passenger tram: There are two main types of tramways,
13824-401: The world. Earlier electric trains proved difficult or unreliable and experienced limited success until the second half of the 1880s, when new types of current collectors were developed. Siemens' line, for example, provided power through a live rail and a return rail, like a model train , limiting the voltage that could be used, and delivering electric shocks to people and animals crossing
13952-465: Was $ 12,000 a year (about $ 136,000 today). There he worked closely with Walter Schloss . Graham was adamant that stock picks should provide a wide margin of safety after weighing the trade-off between their price and their intrinsic value. In 1956, Benjamin Graham retired and closed his partnership. At this time Buffett, who had amassed personal savings over $ 174,000 (about $ 1.95 million today) , decided to return to Omaha, where he would quickly start
14080-665: Was a case study of the decline of trams in the United States. In the 21st century, trams have been re-introduced in cities where they had been closed down for decades (such as Tramlink in London), or kept in heritage use (such as Spårväg City in Stockholm). Most trams made since the 1990s (such as the Bombardier Flexity series and Alstom Citadis ) are articulated low-floor trams with features such as regenerative braking . In March 2015, China South Rail Corporation (CSR) demonstrated
14208-508: Was also reported in Barron's , Insider , and Seeking Alpha , among others. In 1949, Buffett developed a crush on a young woman whose boyfriend had a ukulele . In an attempt to compete, he bought one of the instruments and has been playing it ever since. Though the attempt to capture her attention was unsuccessful, his music interest became a key part of his becoming a part of Susan Thompson 's life, and led to their marriage. Buffett often plays
14336-523: Was announced that over the course of the previous eight months, Buffett had bought 64 million shares of International Business Machine Corp (IBM) stock, worth around $ 11 billion. This unanticipated investment raised his stake in the company to around 5.5 percent—the largest stake in IBM alongside that of State Street Global Advisors . Buffett had said on numerous prior occasions that he would not invest in technology because he did not fully understand it, so
14464-486: Was built by Werner von Siemens who contacted Pirotsky. This was the world's first commercially successful electric tram. It drew current from the rails at first, with overhead wire being installed in 1883. In Britain, Volk's Electric Railway was opened in 1883 in Brighton. This two kilometer line along the seafront, re-gauged to 2 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ( 825 mm ) in 1884, remains in service as
14592-518: Was completed in 2014, narrowing down the alternatives to a BRT or streetcar system along Farnam and Harney or a Farnam Contraflow route. (2013) During her re-election campaign in April 2017, Mayor Jean Stothert said voters should decide the streetcar's future, hoping to put it on the November 2018 ballot, "I've always wanted the people to be the final decision," the mayor said. "That's nothing different." In
14720-468: Was forced to sell some stations due to Federal Communications Commission ownership rules. The two companies also owned several radio stations in the same markets. In 1987, Berkshire Hathaway purchased a 12% stake in Salomon Inc., making it the largest shareholder and Buffett a director. In 1990, a scandal involving John Gutfreund (former CEO of Salomon Brothers ) surfaced. A rogue trader , Paul Mozer,
14848-608: Was given Federal Reserve approval to buy back Berkshire's preferred stock in Goldman. Buffett had been reluctant to give up the stock, which averaged $ 1.4 million in dividends per day, saying: I'm going to be the Osama bin Laden of capitalism. I'm on my way to an unknown destination in Asia where I'm going to look for a cave. If the U.S. Armed forces can't find Osama bin Laden in 10 years, let Goldman Sachs try to find me. In November 2011, it
14976-482: Was installed as a commercial venture operating between the outer Melbourne suburb of Box Hill and the then tourist-oriented country town Doncaster from 1889 to 1896. Electric systems were also built in Adelaide , Ballarat , Bendigo , Brisbane , Fremantle , Geelong , Hobart , Kalgoorlie , Launceston , Leonora , Newcastle , Perth , and Sydney . By the 1970s, the only full tramway system remaining in Australia
15104-713: Was on the board of GEICO insurance. Taking a train to Washington, D.C., on a Saturday, he knocked on the door of GEICO's headquarters until a janitor admitted him. There he met Lorimer Davidson, GEICO's vice president, and the two discussed the insurance business for hours, and Buffett made his first purchase of GEICO stock. Davidson would eventually become Buffett's lifelong friend and a lasting influence, and would later recall that he found Buffett to be an "extraordinary man" after only fifteen minutes. Buffett wanted to work on Wall Street but both his father and Ben Graham urged him not to. He offered to work for Graham for free, but Graham refused. Buffett returned to Omaha and worked as
15232-504: Was over $ 2 billion. Buffett announced in June 2006 that he would gradually give away 85% of his Berkshire holdings to five foundations in annual gifts of stock, starting in July 2006—the largest contribution going to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation . In 2007, in a letter to shareholders, Buffett announced that he was looking for a younger successor, or perhaps successors, to run his investment business. Buffett ran into criticism during
15360-661: Was overruled by his father. Buffett showcased an interest in business and investing at a young age. He was inspired by a book he borrowed from the Omaha public library at age seven, One Thousand Ways to Make $ 1000 . Much of Buffett's early childhood years were enlivened with entrepreneurial ventures. In one of his first business ventures, Buffett sold chewing gum, Coca-Cola , and weekly magazines door to door . He worked in his grandfather's grocery store. While still in high school, he made money delivering newspapers, selling golf balls and stamps, and detailing cars, among other means. On his first income tax return in 1944, Buffett took
15488-548: Was restarted in 1860, again using horses. It was worked by steam from 1877, and then, from 1929, by very large (106-seat) electric tramcars, until closure in 1960. The Swansea and Mumbles Railway was something of a one-off however, and no street tramway appeared in Britain until 1860 when one was built in Birkenhead by the American George Francis Train . Street railways developed in America before Europe, due to
15616-604: Was submitting bids in excess of what was allowed by Treasury rules. When this was brought to Gutfreund's attention, he did not immediately suspend the rogue trader. Gutfreund left the company in August 1991. Buffett became chairman of Salomon until the crisis passed. In 1988, Buffett began buying The Coca-Cola Company stock, eventually purchasing up to 7% of the company for $ 1.02 billion. It would turn out to be one of Berkshire's most lucrative investments and one which it still holds. In 1998 Buffett acquired General Re (Gen Re) as
15744-616: Was tested in San Francisco , in 1873. Part of its success is attributed to the development of an effective and reliable cable grip mechanism, to grab and release the moving cable without damage. The second city to operate cable trams was Dunedin , from 1881 to 1957. The most extensive cable system in the US was built in Chicago in stages between 1859 and 1892. New York City developed multiple cable car lines, that operated from 1883 to 1909. Los Angeles also had several cable car lines, including
15872-616: Was the Melbourne tram system. However, there were also a few single lines remaining elsewhere: the Glenelg tram line , connecting Adelaide to the beachside suburb of Glenelg , and tourist trams in the Victorian Goldfields cities of Bendigo and Ballarat. In recent years the Melbourne system, generally recognised as the largest urban tram network in the world, has been considerably modernised and expanded. The Adelaide line has been extended to
16000-411: Was the cable car, which was pulled along a fixed track by a moving steel cable, the cable usually running in a slot below the street level. The power to move the cable was normally provided at a "powerhouse" site a distance away from the actual vehicle. The London and Blackwall Railway , which opened for passengers in east London, England, in 1840 used such a system. The first practical cable car line
16128-414: Was valued at approximately $ 44 billion (with $ 10 billion of outstanding BNSF debt) and represented an increase of the previously existing stake of 22%. In June 2010, Buffett defended the credit-rating agencies for their role in the US financial crisis, claiming: Very, very few people could appreciate the bubble . That's the nature of bubbles—they're mass delusions. On March 18, 2011, Goldman Sachs
16256-851: Was widely used in London, Washington, D.C., and New York City, and the surface contact collection method, used in Wolverhampton (the Lorain system), Torquay and Hastings in the UK (the Dolter stud system), and in Bordeaux , France (the ground-level power supply system). The convenience and economy of electricity resulted in its rapid adoption once the technical problems of production and transmission of electricity were solved. Electric trams largely replaced animal power and other forms of motive power including cable and steam, in
16384-420: Was worth $ 65 per share. This meant that Sanborn's map business was being valued at "minus $ 20". Buffett eventually purchased 23% of the company's outstanding shares as an activist investor , obtaining a seat for himself on the board of directors, and allied with other dissatisfied shareholders to control 44% of the shares. To avoid a proxy fight , the board offered to repurchase shares at fair value, paying with
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