Why Warren Buffett matters more than ever on his 90th birthday; Bill Gates' tribute to Buffett; Buffett's life expectancy; Buffett's Bet Paves Way for Japan as a Global Value Trade; United eliminates change fees

1) Picking up where I left off in Friday's e-mail, here's a beautiful tribute to Warren Buffett for his 90th birthday by Yahoo Finance's Andy Serwer: Why Warren Buffett matters more than ever on his 90th birthday. Excerpt:

Buffett's footprint is bigger than ever. He gets even more calls from CEOs, politicians and societal leaders. His market moves attract more attention – like when he sold airlines stocks or bought gold this year. Internationally he's more well known than he's ever been.

"Since the financial crisis of 08-09, the luster of the U.S. financial model began to wane in China and all over the world," says Li Lu, founder and chairman of Himalaya Capital Management, a multi-billion dollar investment firm which has business ties to Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B).

"The example of Buffett and Berkshire on the contrary have increased their influence precisely because they point to a different way of conducting yourself. He's singled out as someone who's not typical of American ways. I don't think the current tense relationship between China and the U.S. has in any way dented his reputation."

At 90 years old, that's impact.

But even more than that, Buffett has become a paradigm for living. That's really why millions around the globe hang on his every word. Or why when you go to his annual meeting in Omaha, tens of thousands sit in stone silence for hours listening to him and Munger wax poetic. I've always felt it was like a church in there, or a cult, which it kind of is. Except in this cult the members invest in Berkshire Hathaway stock and make money – and they get to keep it!

Every person I've ever spoken to about Buffett for any period of time, talks about his effect on them.

I'm quoted briefly in the article and appear in the video, right after Mario Gabelli:

"I showed up at the Berkshire meeting to learn how to become rich and make a lot of money and compound stocks at a high rate," says Wall Street hedge fund manager Whitney Tilson.

"And instead, what I got was a dose of what they call worldly wisdom, about developing good habits and the importance of integrity becoming a learning machine and how to be a good spouse and all these other things that have really helped shape me second only to my parents, I suppose."

2) Here's a similarly heartfelt tribute by Buffett's best friend, Bill Gates: Happy 90th, Warren! Excerpt:

It's hard to believe that my close friend is entering his tenth decade. Warren has the mental sharpness of a 30-year-old, the mischievous laugh of a 10-year-old, and the diet of a 6-year-old. He once told me that he looked at the data and discovered that first-graders have the best actuarial odds, so he decided to eat like one. He was only half-joking…

I couldn't possibly list all the interests Warren and I share. But one thing we discovered the first time we met is that we both love math and numbers. So in honor of Warren's birthday, I thought I would share a few numbers related to turning 90 – and to our friendship.

• 30: Number of years Warren has spent sleeping in his lifetime (assuming he gets his 8 hours a night) 

• 10,649: Days since we met for the first time, on July 5, 1991

• 2: Phone numbers I have on speed dial at my office – Melinda's and Warren's 

• Incalculable: The impact Warren has had on the world by committing to give virtually all of his wealth back to society

One of Warren's most admirable qualities is his unshakable sense of right and wrong…

For as long as I've known Warren, his approach to life and work has stayed constant. It's amazing, in fact, how little he has changed even as Berkshire Hathaway has become wildly successful. He has been taking questions at shareholder meetings for decades and still does today – even though the venues have had to expand a little bit…

Of all the things I've learned from Warren, the most important thing might be what friendship is all about. As Warren himself put it a few years ago when we spoke with some college students, "You will move in the direction of the people that you associate with. So it's important to associate with people that are better than yourself. The friends you have will form you as you go through life. Make some good friends, keep them for the rest of your life, but have them be people that you admire as well as like."

A person that I admire as well as like – that's the perfect description of how I feel about Warren. Happy birthday, my friend.

3) A lot of folks talk like Buffett already has one foot in the grave, but I think there's a reasonable chance that he lives to 100 – and the numbers back me up. Though I had to guess at some of the questions, this life expectancy calculator pegs him to live to 98 – and I'll take the over on that…

4) This isn't as surprising as his investment in gold mining giant Barrick Gold (GOLD), but Buffett continues to invest outside the box. His mental openness and flexibility are remarkable, especially for someone his age! Buffett looks to Japan with 5% stakes in five biggest trading firms. Excerpt:

Berkshire Hathaway has bought a 5% stake in each of Japan's five biggest trading houses, together worth over $6 billion, marking a departure for Chairman Warren Buffett as he looks beyond the United States to diversify his conglomerate.

The long-term investment in Itochu (8001.T), Marubeni (8002.T), Mitsubishi (8058.T), Mitsui & Co Ltd (8031.T) and Sumitomo (8053.T) could see the stakes rise to 9.9%, Berkshire said on Sunday, Buffett's 90th birthday.

"The five major trading companies have many joint ventures throughout the world and are likely to have more," Buffett said in a statement. "I hope that in the future there may be opportunities of mutual benefit."…

Itochu is the only one whose stock trades above its book value. That means, for the other four, their market capitalization is less than the value of their assets, making them attractive to a value investor like Buffett.

Several have large amounts of cash on hand, raising their appeal.

Here's a Bloomberg article with commentary on the investment: Buffett's Bet Paves Way for Japan as a Global Value Trade. Excerpt:

Warren Buffett's $6 billion wager on Japan's trading companies may serve as a catalyst to bring back foreign investors to the country's value-sector heavy stock market, according to some strategists.

Berkshire Hathaway's purchase of stakes in five major trading firms that dominate Japan's energy and raw-materials industries – Itochu, Marubeni, Mitsubishi, Mitsui & Co. and Sumitomo – shows the U.S. conglomerate is likely looking beyond the pandemic and betting on global growth, said Amir Anvarzadeh, a senior strategist at Asymmetric Advisors in Singapore.

"Given the highly cyclical nature of the Japanese market, the bets on trading firms seem to underline his bet that perhaps economic cycles are bottoming out and he's looking beyond the pandemic," said Anvarzadeh. "If value starts to outperform growth, then investors will start focusing on Japan – and that would be a bigger change than what Buffett does."

Japan looks like a sensible choice for the global value investor, with its shares trading well below their average historical relative valuation to world peers, at least on a forward price-earnings basis. Classic value sectors – industrials, financials and materials – make up about 37% of the benchmark Topix Index, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

5) Kudos to United (UAL) for joining Southwest (LUV) in eliminating change fees, which I hate! Let's hope other airlines follow suit... United Airlines bids farewell to change fees in push for bookings. Excerpt:

United Airlines said on Sunday it is permanently eliminating change fees on tickets for U.S. travel effective immediately, the latest effort by a U.S. airline to try to stimulate bookings hit by the coronavirus pandemic…

Now it is making the policy permanent for all standard Economy and Premium cabin tickets and also applying it to any ticket already booked through the end of the year. The standard change fee – charged to passengers who change their tickets – for domestic flights was $200…

In another change, beginning Jan. 1 United will allow customers to list for stand-by for free on a different flight on the same day of travel with the same departure and arrival cities if a seat is available.

Best regards,

Whitney