Howard Buffett | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNebraska's2nd district | |
| In office January 3, 1951 – January 3, 1953 | |
| Preceded by | Eugene D. O'Sullivan |
| Succeeded by | Roman L. Hruska |
| In office January 3, 1943 – January 3, 1949 | |
| Preceded by | Charles F. McLaughlin |
| Succeeded by | Eugene D. O'Sullivan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Howard Horman Buffett (1903-08-13)August 13, 1903 Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. |
| Died | April 30, 1964(1964-04-30) (aged 60) Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. |
| Resting place | Forest Lawn Memorial Park |
| Party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3, includingDoris,Warren |
| Education | University of Nebraska(BA) |
Howard Homan Buffett (August 13, 1903 – April 30, 1964) was an American businessman, investor, and politician. He was a four-termRepublicanUnited States Representative for the state ofNebraska. He was the father ofWarren Buffett, the businessman and investor.
Howard Buffett was born inOmaha, Nebraska, to Henrietta Duvall Buffett andErnest P. Buffett, owners of a grocery business. Ernest P. Buffett's parents weresecond cousins, both having mainly English descent. The Buffet surname (renamed to Buffett) originates inFrance with aHuguenot weaver, named John Buffett, who became Buffett's first American Buffett ancestor when he immigrated toNew York in the late-1600s.[1]
Howard Buffett attendedpublic schools and graduated from theUniversity of Nebraska inLincoln, Nebraska, in 1925. While a student, Buffett was a brother of theAlpha Sigma Phi fraternity. He married Leila Stahl on December 27, 1925. The Buffetts were active members of the DundeePresbyterian Church.[2] After failing to secure a job in the familygrocery business, he started a small stock brokerage firm.[3]
Entering theinvestment business, Buffett also served on the Omahaboard of education from 1939 to 1942. In 1942 he ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in the Nebraska district in which Omaha was located. In that election, Buffett was seen as "a Republicansacrificial lamb inNebraska's second district whenFDR was a popular wartime leader."[4] Nevertheless, he went on to win the Republican nomination in theprimary and then the subsequentgeneral election.
He was reelected twice. In 1948 he again was the Republican nominee for another term, but was defeated for reelection; however, he was the Republican nominee for the office again in 1950 and won the office back. In 1952 Buffett decided against seeking another term and returned to his investment business in Omaha,Buffett-Falk & Co., in which he worked until shortly before his death.[5] He also served as the campaign manager for conservative SenatorRobert A. Taft in Taft's1952 presidential campaign.[6]
According toWarren Buffett biographerRoger Lowenstein:
'Unshakably ethical, Howard refused offers of junkets and even turned down a part of his pay. During his first term, when congressional salary was raised from $10,000 to $12,500, Howard left the extra money in the Capitol disbursement office, insisting that he had been elected at the lower salary.' His wife said he considered only one issue when deciding whether or not to vote for a bill: 'Will this add to, or subtract from, human liberty?'[4]
Howard Buffett is remembered for his highlylibertarianOld Right stance, having maintained a friendship withMurray Rothbard for a number of years.[7] He "would invariably draw 'zero' ratings from theAmericans for Democratic Action and otherleftist groups."[8]
Buffett was a vocal critic of theTruman Doctrine and theMarshall Plan.[4] Of the Truman Doctrine, he said: "Our Christian ideals cannot be exported to other lands by dollars and guns."[9] Buffett was also "one of the major voices in Congress opposed to theKorean adventure,"[8] and "was convinced that the United States was largely responsible for the eruption ofconflict in Korea; for the rest of his life he tried unsuccessfully to get theSenate Armed Services Committee to declassify the testimony ofCIA head AdmiralRoscoe H. Hillenkoetter, which Buffett told [Rothbard] established American responsibility for the Korean outbreak."[10] The CIA failed to predict the Marxist invasion of the Republic of Korea in 1950, just as it had failed to predict the Soviet Atomic Bomb the previous year, it was these intelligence failures that Rear Admiral Hillenkoetter testified about.
Speaking on the floor of Congress, he opposedmilitary interventionism:
Even if it were desirable, America is not strong enough to police the world by military force. If that attempt is made, the blessings of liberty will be replaced by coercion and tyranny at home. Our Christian ideals cannot be exported to other lands by dollars and guns. Persuasion and example are the methods taught by the Carpenter of Nazareth, and if we believe in Christianity we should try to advance our ideals by his methods. We cannot practice might and force abroad and retain freedom at home. We cannot talk world cooperation and practice power politics.[10][11]
In the summer of 1962, he wrote "an impassioned plea... for the abolition of thedraft" in theNew Individualist Review.[6] Buffett wrote:
When the American government conscripts a boy to go 10,000 miles to the jungles of Asia without a declaration of war by Congress (as required by the Constitution) what freedom is safe at home? Surely, profits ofU.S. Steel or your private property are not more sacred than a young man's right to life.[6]
In addition to non-interventionism overseas,[12] Howard Buffett strongly supported thegold standard because he believed it would limit the ability of government to inflate the money supply and spend beyond its means.[13] His sonWarren Buffett is not an advocate of the gold standard.[14][15]
Buffett married Leila Stahl Buffett (March 18, 1904 – August 30, 1996). Together, they had three children, one son and two daughters:
He died on May 30, 1964 at the age of 60, from cancer.[18][19]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNebraska's 2nd congressional district 1943–1949 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNebraska's 2nd congressional district 1951–1953 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
