Warren Buffett Said 'I Love Your Business, I Love You, I'll Give You $4 Billion'—But Refused to Cross an Ocean to See A Business Before Buying It

Warren Buffett might sip five cans of Coca-Cola a day and treat himself to ice cream sundaes from Dairy Queen, but he doesn't always need a taste test before sealing a deal. Sometimes, he doesn't even need to see the business. Case in point: his $4 billion acquisition of Iscar, an Israeli metalworking company he bought sight unseen.

Speaking at the 25th anniversary of The Economic Club of Washington, D.C. back in 2012, Buffett recalled the moment he closed the deal—without ever setting foot in the factory.

"I love your business, I love you, I'll give you $4 billion," he told the owner. "But I'm not going to start crossing oceans or anything crazy like that."

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The seller, eager to show off what he'd built, asked Buffett to visit. Buffett made him a deal: If he sold him the business, he'd come. The sale went through. Buffett eventually visited. And he was floored.

"If I'd seen this thing, I'd have paid you more money," he admitted. "That's why I don't visit businesses."

To be clear, this wasn't some spur-of-the-moment wire transfer. Buffett doesn't throw darts at a board—he reads. He pores over annual reports like most people scroll social media. At a 1996 Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting, he said, "What I'm trying to do as I read reports is understand what's going on in all kinds of businesses." He wants to know who's running it, how they think, and whether they're the real deal.

He's not interested in reports that read like a PowerPoint pitch deck. "If it's a sales document, I'm less interested," he said. He prefers the kind of transparency you'd get if you owned half the company and your partner was filling you in after a year away.

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That's how Buffett ended up owning a company in Israel, sight unseen. Iscar, by the way, turned out to be a sharp move—literally. The company specializes in precision metal cutting tools. Berkshire bought the remaining 20% in 2013 for another $2 billion, doubling the company's value in seven years.

Buffett's approach isn't about intuition or gut feelings. It's not about charisma or sales pitches. It's about numbers, consistency, and being able to tell if a business actually works—without ever getting on a plane.

And yes, it helps that he's a creature of habit. Buffett still lives in the same Omaha house he bought back in 1958. He's famously loyal to routine—reading nonstop, grabbing McDonald's for breakfast, and rarely straying from home. He doesn't just avoid long-haul flights. As he put it in the interview, "I don't go to Iowa."

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