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Buffett Once Called This The Best Run Bank In America


Parsad

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Thanks for posting this.

 

I have been reading The Davis Dynasty recently.  That book had a story about Shelby Davis getting a tip from the man himself in 1974.  Ben Graham told Shelby to buy GEICO.  It was Graham's largest holding, and I think it was a very significant amount of his personal net worth at the time.  Shelby Davis did not buy any.

 

Two years later GEICO was a $2 stock and only survived because Buffett revived it with capital.

 

So, the story goes that if you have all your eggs in your basket you should watch it very closely.  Apparently, even the directors at GEICO were not aware of the problems.  So much for that strategy.

 

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Guest dealraker

The Bank of Granite!  Ah!  It was run by John Forlines and was literally THE BANK OF GRANITE!  He retired in his 80's and is still healthy as hell and bee boppin' around like a 20 year old.  Unfortunately his long time President Charles Snipes (who was in his late 60's or early 70's when he took over) ran the damn thing straight into the ground within a couple of years.

 

Management is everything isn't it?  The only thing I find interesting about this is that Forlines is still a huge shareholder (ain't worth much now) and I can't help but wonder why he's not said anything or gotten involved in some way.  But at his age he's probably just completely over it all.

 

 

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