Warren Buffett has "conned virtually everyone in the press to my knowledge"

Hedge fund manager Michael Steinhardt (MS) appeared on CNBC 4/5/11:

MS: "Here in America's the biggest thing we have to worry about is how long it will take for Buffett to come down to earth where he should have been a long time ago, so people like you begin to realize his reality and get off some cloud."

Q: "What is Buffett’s reality,”

MS: “His reality is that he is the greatest PR person of recent times. And he has managed to achieve a snow job that has conned virtually everyone in the press to my knowledge…and is remarkable that he continues to do it.”

Q: “Really, so outperforming the S&P, I don’t know how many hundred times, over the course of his portfolio…doesn’t matter?”

MS: “Ooo, I’m not sure he’s done that. What he has done, and this is a great measure of the man’s wonder, is that he gave away two and a half cents for the first 70 years of his life- he gave away nothing- and then in one fell swoop gave almost all of his money thoughtlessly, to one guy. And from that moment on became the greatest advocate of philanthropy and pitched all the bumbling billionaires to do the same thing. That takes a special guy having given away nothing and then in one fell swoop ‘boom!’ he gives it all away and pitches the other yo-yos to give it away too. Now what does that say? I think that’s worth reflecting.”

"He has just screwed all those nice old people who saved all their lives to retire and he is paying half of one percent so he could recapitalize the banks... The Journal does not talk about this because those people don't matter...If you listen to Bernanke inflation is low even though you can't help noticing what is really going on. Inflation is so skewed where inflation is commodities is flying and wages inflation is zero so for the average guy in America it is terrible. Not bad but terrible."