RICHARD B. Wright is seeking a job as a stock analyst in New York. The 24-year-old has a recommendation letter from Warren Buffett that may do the trick.
Wright, as a member of a finance club at the University of Tennessee, helped set in motion Buffett's US$1.7 billion purchase of Clayton Homes Inc in 2003. He wants to work for a hedge fund or asset manager that follows the billionaire's value-investing approach, favoring stocks at low prices relative to companies' earnings and assets.
"He's got a letter from God," said Brian Sullivan, chief executive officer of Christian & Timbers, an executive-search firm in New York. "Anyone's going to be inquisitive enough to consider him."
Wright "is the type of person any company or institution would be lucky to have," wrote Buffett, 75, the chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc and the world's second-richest man according to Forbes magazine's annual ranking.
"With a high level of energy, intelligence and integrity, qualities that are prevalent in Berkshire managers, Richard has a very exciting career ahead."
Wright received a master's degree in business administration in May from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. He has interviewed for jobs in New York during the past two weeks.
The letter may give him a chance to work for firms that might otherwise ignore him because he didn't attend a higher-ranked business school, Sullivan said.
"It gets him somewhere that typically Vanderbilt MBAs don't get," he said. "That is, in the door to be considered."
Vanderbilt was tied for 45th in the most recent ranking of the country's graduate business schools by US News and World Report magazine. Harvard University was No. 1.
"It's unusual for Buffett to write a recommendation," said Andy Kilpatrick, author of the book "Of Permanent Value: The Story of Warren Buffett."
He would do this only for someone he's "100 percent about," Kilpatrick said.
The billionaire and the student met when Tennessee's investment club traveled to Omaha, Nebraska, from Knoxville in February 2003 for its annual visit to Berkshire's headquarters. The club's adviser, Al Auxier, has known Buffett since 1994 and arranged the trip. As always, the group brought him a gift.
"He thinks one of the best ways to become a better investor is by reading business biographies," Auxier said in an interview from Knoxville.
The group settled on the autobiography of James Clayton, founder of Clayton Homes, the largest US mobile-home manufacturer.
Michael Daniels, a former member of the investment club and intern for James Clayton, got a signed copy of the book, "First A Dream," for Buffett. Wright, who succeeded Daniels as an intern for Clayton, was selected to present the book.
"These are your kind of people," he told Buffett, according to the account in the letter.
"Reading the book that weekend caused me to immediately offer US$1.7 billion" for Clayton Homes, Buffett wrote.
He referred to Wright, who received a bachelor's degree from Tennessee in May 2003, as a "dealmaker" for "the fine acquisition he had brought to my attention."
Berkshire bought the company in October 2003. To show his gratitude, Buffett gave every member of the investment club one Class B share, valued at US$2,876.50. Auxier, the group leader, got one Class A share, valued at US$87,700.
Buffett also wrote recommendations for Wright and Daniels in October 2003, according to his assistant.
Wright, as a member of a finance club at the University of Tennessee, helped set in motion Buffett's US$1.7 billion purchase of Clayton Homes Inc in 2003. He wants to work for a hedge fund or asset manager that follows the billionaire's value-investing approach, favoring stocks at low prices relative to companies' earnings and assets.
"He's got a letter from God," said Brian Sullivan, chief executive officer of Christian & Timbers, an executive-search firm in New York. "Anyone's going to be inquisitive enough to consider him."
Wright "is the type of person any company or institution would be lucky to have," wrote Buffett, 75, the chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc and the world's second-richest man according to Forbes magazine's annual ranking.
"With a high level of energy, intelligence and integrity, qualities that are prevalent in Berkshire managers, Richard has a very exciting career ahead."
Wright received a master's degree in business administration in May from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. He has interviewed for jobs in New York during the past two weeks.
The letter may give him a chance to work for firms that might otherwise ignore him because he didn't attend a higher-ranked business school, Sullivan said.
"It gets him somewhere that typically Vanderbilt MBAs don't get," he said. "That is, in the door to be considered."
Vanderbilt was tied for 45th in the most recent ranking of the country's graduate business schools by US News and World Report magazine. Harvard University was No. 1.
"It's unusual for Buffett to write a recommendation," said Andy Kilpatrick, author of the book "Of Permanent Value: The Story of Warren Buffett."
He would do this only for someone he's "100 percent about," Kilpatrick said.
The billionaire and the student met when Tennessee's investment club traveled to Omaha, Nebraska, from Knoxville in February 2003 for its annual visit to Berkshire's headquarters. The club's adviser, Al Auxier, has known Buffett since 1994 and arranged the trip. As always, the group brought him a gift.
"He thinks one of the best ways to become a better investor is by reading business biographies," Auxier said in an interview from Knoxville.
The group settled on the autobiography of James Clayton, founder of Clayton Homes, the largest US mobile-home manufacturer.
Michael Daniels, a former member of the investment club and intern for James Clayton, got a signed copy of the book, "First A Dream," for Buffett. Wright, who succeeded Daniels as an intern for Clayton, was selected to present the book.
"These are your kind of people," he told Buffett, according to the account in the letter.
"Reading the book that weekend caused me to immediately offer US$1.7 billion" for Clayton Homes, Buffett wrote.
He referred to Wright, who received a bachelor's degree from Tennessee in May 2003, as a "dealmaker" for "the fine acquisition he had brought to my attention."
Berkshire bought the company in October 2003. To show his gratitude, Buffett gave every member of the investment club one Class B share, valued at US$2,876.50. Auxier, the group leader, got one Class A share, valued at US$87,700.
Buffett also wrote recommendations for Wright and Daniels in October 2003, according to his assistant.
Bloomberg
