THE BUFFETT - GATES CONNECTION

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett made headlines over the weekend when it was announced that he would begin annual donations to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation that will culminate in the ultimate dispersal of most of his wealth to that organization.
Bill Gates, Melinda Gates and the musician Bono were chosen as the "Persons of the Year" by Time Magazine last year, citing their revolutionary changes in funding needy causes, particularly those involved with public health.
Some of the Buffett money will also be channeled to foundations run by his children, including the NoVo Foundation (formerly Spirit Foundation), established by Peter Buffett, who lived in Milwaukee from about 1990 until last year.
Gates, the world's richest individual, and Buffett, the world's second-wealthiest individual, have been close, according to newspaper accounts.
I remember Peter Buffett telling me years ago exactly how close the two were.
Warren Buffett sold Bill Gates the engagement ring he gave the former Melinda French in 1993. Buffett owns Borsheim's, an Omaha jewelry store. According to Time Magazine, Gates diverted a private jet to Omaha as a surprise for his fiancee. Buffett met the pair there and brought them to Borsheim's to select the stone and setting for the ring.
As Peter told me, his father later delivered the finished product to Gates at a hotel near O'Hare Airport in Chicago.
--Michael Horne