ire
Warren
Buffett strummed the ukulele, singer Leehom Wang played a
dragon-shaped guitar and Premier
Wen Jiabao visited
oil workers as China ushered in the Lunar New Year.
Buffett and Wang’s acts were part of
China
Central Television’s annual New Year’s gala, one of the world’s
most- watched programs, that aired yesterday. Buffett sang “I’ve
Been Working on the Railroad” in a
video clip on CCTV’s website.
American-born Wang’s guitar paid tribute to the Year of the Dragon,
which began at midnight to thunderous ad hoc firework displays in
Beijing that echoed off the high-rise buildings.
“I’ve been working on the railroad, all the livelong day,” Buffett,
81, sang in a raspy voice. “I’ve been working on the railroad, just
to pass the time away.”
Chinese New Year is the most important holiday in
China, with tens of
millions of people crisscrossing the country in the world’s biggest
annual human migration. The nation’s leaders by tradition visit
workers and farmers during the holiday to share in the celebration.
This year Wen visited oil workers in northwestern China’s
Gansu Province.
President
Hu
Jintao set off fireworks with farmers near the Great Wall of
China and visited a shopping street just south of Tiananmen
Square.
Room-Sized Railroad
People in China will make a total of 3.16 billion passenger trips
during the Lunar New Year holiday rush period, which began Jan. 8
and will end in the middle of February, a 9.1 percent increase from
2011, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. This year’s travel
has been stymied by snow and freezing rain stretching across the
country.
Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and an investor in
Chinese carmaker BYD Co., was seen playing the American folk song
in front of a room-sized model railroad. Omaha, Nebraska-based
Berkshire acquired the railroad operator Burlington Northern Santa
Fe LLC in 2010. “Xie xie,” he said, using the Chinese word for
“thank you,” after he finished strumming.
China’s official Xinhua News Agency reported on Jan. 5 that Buffett
would sing in a video celebrating the Lunar New Year holiday.
Buffett and his friend
Bill Gates, founder
of Microsoft Corp., are well-known figures in China because of
their business success. Berkshire Hathaway is part-owner of BYD, a
Shenzhen- based company that makes the E6 electric vehicle, whose
shares have
risen 33 percent this year.
Warren Buffett Sings and Plays Ukulele for Chinese New
Year
Published:
Sunday, 22 Jan 2012 | 7:19 PM ET
Text
Size 
By: Alex
Crippen
Executive Producer
http://www.cnbc.com/id/46093704
 |
CNTV.cn
Warren Buffett plays ukulele and sings in a video clip posted on
the website of Chinese state broadcaster CCTV for the lunar new
year.
|
A short video clip of Warren Buffett playing the ukulele and
singing 'I've Been Working on the Railroad' is part of Chinese
television's New Year celebration. It appears on the
2012 Spring Gala website of state
broadcaster CCTV.
The Gala is a massive television program
marking the start of the lunar new year that's watched by millions
of Chinese.
A spokeswoman for the broadcast tells the
WSJ's China Realtime Report that
along with its inclusion in the online version of the Gala the
Buffett video also aired on TV.
Almost two weeks ago that
same blog had knocked down
earlier
reports that Buffett would sing in the
Chinese new year, leading us to post that
Millions of Chinese
Won't Have to Hear Warren Buffett
Sing.
No such luck, but Buffett is very popular in China where he's seen
as something of a 'rock star' investor, and the clip is prominently
placed on the
CCTV
site.
According to the WSJ blog, the video was actually recorded for a
charity event a year ago associated with media executive Wu Zheng,
described as a friend of Buffett's:
'Originally — as Mr. Wu told China Real Time
earlier this month — Mr. Buffett objected to repurposing the
video for the new year’s audience. Mr. Buffett appears to
have changed his mind: Mr. Wu said Sunday that Mr. Buffett later
gave his assent to use the video in the gala.'
Berkshire Hathaway is now the
proud owner of the Burlington
Northern Santa Fe, a purchase Buffett has described as a
long-term bet on America's
economic future.
Buffett is also a lifelong railroad buff, and we assume the video
was shot in his Omaha home, where,
according to USA
Today, 'He has an elaborate
model railroad layout on the third floor ... for his children and
grandchildren, though 'it gets little action,' he says, because
they don't share his fascination and he has little time for
it.'
Buffett serenades Chinese in New Year’s tribute
China celebrated its new year with a little help from American
billionaire Warren Buffett. Buffett appeared on Chinese television
playing a ukulele, singing 'I've Been Working on the
Railroad.'
By Eric Baculinao
http://behindthewall.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/23/10216476-buffett-serenades-chinese-in-new-years-tribute?chromedomain=worldblog
BEIJING – American billionaire Warren Buffett has staged yet
another surprise performance, this time winning the hearts and
minds of millions of Chinese with an American folk song. He sang
and played ukulele for a hugely watched television program to
celebrate the Year of the Dragon Monday.
'We know of Mr. Buffett's investing genius, but we did not know
that he can sing as well,' remarked one smiling local television
host as she introduced the 45-second video clip of the 81-year-old
philanthropist and chairman of investment giant Berkshire Hathaway.
The video was posted on the web site of China's state-run
television CCTV, which broadcasts a glitzy TV extravaganza annually
on the eve of the Chinese New Year.
advertisement
“I am Warren Buffett, and I'd like to wish all the people of China
a Happy New Year in this Year of the Dragon. Your country has
accomplished amazing things, and the best is yet to come,' Buffett
said before crooning the American classic “I've Been Working On The
Railroad.'
At the end, he raised his hand and said 'Xiexie,” the Chinese word
for “thank you.”
His greeting got a favorable response from many Chinese viewers
online.
“Grandpa Buffett deserves respect, not because he is good at making
money, but because of his selfless contributions and his charitable
and kind-hearted activities,” said one commentator on Youku.com, a
popular video site.
'A role model for all the rich people,' remarked another.
'Grandpa Buffett is so cute, he is not just a god of wealth, but a
sage who understands human nature and the way the world works,'
added another.
'We invited Warren Buffett to participate in the gala this year not
because of the great business success he has achieved, but mainly
because of his famous contribution to the public welfare,'
television producer Luo Yan told local media.
Buffett cuts a legendary figure in China. Chinese tycoons have
paid up to $2 million dollars for the privilege of dining with
the American financial guru in a charity auction.
Guo Guanchang, one of China's richest entrepreneurs and founder
of Fosun, China's biggest private investment conglomerate, often
extols Buffett's value investment philosophy.
Of course, Buffett is also a major investor in China. His company
owns 10 percent of the Chinese battery and car maker BYD, with a
quarter of a billion dollar investment that has doubled in value.
He also invested about half a billion dollars in PetroChina, a gas
and oil giant, that yielded over $3 billion in profits when he
cashed out after five years.
NBC News' Gu Bo contributed to this report.
Warren Buffett croons for Chinese New Year
Investment guru plays ukulele in video on China's state-run
TV
The Associated Press
Posted: Jan 22, 2012 12:18 PM ET
Last Updated: Jan 22, 2012 12:16 PM ET
http://www.cbc.ca/news/offbeat/story/2012/01/22/warren-buffett-chinese-new-year.html
Related Links
-
VIDEO | Chinese New Year
U.S. billionaire and philanthropist Warren Buffett sang and played
the ukulele as he appeared in a video broadcast on China's
state-run television Sunday to mark the Chinese Lunar New
Year.
U.S. billionaire Warren Buffett
wished the people of China a happy new year Sunday when he appeared
in a video during state-run TV's gala marking the Year of the
Dragon. (CCTV) The 81-year-old investment
wonder popped up on CCTV and wished the people of China 'a happy
new year.'
The Lunar New Year of the Dragon begins at midnight on
Sunday.
'Your country has accomplished amazing things, and the best is yet
to come,' Buffett told the broadcaster.
It was unknown when and where the video was filmed, but Buffett
appeared in casual clothes and sat in front of a model railway
set.He crooned the American folk song
I've Been Working on the
Railroad.
The investor is well respected in China for his financial
success.
He holds a 10 per cent stake in the Chinese auto group BYD.
Buffet is a keen ukulele enthusiast and several video clips have
been posted online of him playing.
A woman with a red packet, which
is used for holding money, poses for a souvenir photo with an
employee dressed as a god of fortune outside a shopping mall in
Beijing in the week leading up to the Lunar New Year.
(Andy Wong/Associated Press) Meanwhile, people in
Beijing were preparing to mark the start of the new year on
Sunday.
Ice sculptors were busy carving creations in a park ahead of the
celebrations.
Lanterns are traditionally hung and later on Sunday people will
start setting off fireworks to ward off evil spirits.
Legend has it that Chinese people descended from the dragon and
many believe the powerful creature is auspicious, despite years of
authoritarian rule and government discouragement of
superstition.
In a tradition that has continued for thousands of years, the
Chinese have named each year after an animal in a 12-year
cycle.
© The Associated Press, 2012
Warren Buffett plays ukulele in Chinese New Year
gala
(AFP) –
5 days ago
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ibAxJnUaZU5GWO0FJ9
2AIvs33raQ?docId=CNG.31202813e09e1c9f3bc8463c
a3fde2be.d01
BEIJING — The online version of a glitzy television gala marking
the Chinese Lunar New Year on Sunday featured a video of US
billionaire philanthropist Warren Buffett singing and playing the
ukulele.
The 81-year-old investment guru appeared in a room in an unknown
location, sitting in front of a huge train set, wearing a black
jumper and singing the American folk song 'I've been working on the
Railroad'.
China is preparing to say goodbye to the New Year of the Rabbit and
welcome the New Year of the Dragon -- which starts on Monday --
with fireworks and dumplings, in the nation's most important
annual, family holiday.
The country's state-run television CCTV broadcasts a glitzy gala
every year on Chinese New Year's Eve, but it was unclear whether
Buffett's segment would be featured on television as well as on the
earlier web version of the show.
The 45-second video, available on CCTV's website, is titled
'Buffett sings and plays (the ukulele), offering his vocals for
CCTV's online Spring Festival (show).'
Buffett, who holds a stake of nearly 10 percent in Chinese auto
group BYD, is no stranger to China.
In September 2010, he and fellow billionaire Bill Gates triggered
huge media hype when they hosted a banquet in Beijing for China's
super-rich to discuss charitable giving.
The philanthropist has long been seen as a model investor by
China's growing legions of rich, many of whom hope to emulate the
investment guru's feats as the nation's economy grows.
Copyright © 2012 AFP. All rights reserved.
