Once asked for help to pay for a tooth extraction, Doris Buffett advised tying a string around it, attaching the other end of the string to a door, and then slamming the door shut. She perhaps didn’t expect the solicitant to follow her advice; the tooth came out.
Buffett, elder sister of Warren Buffett, the famously parsimonious investor who became one of the world’s wealthiest individuals, gave millions of dollars of his and her money to good causes, but she was ruthlessly logical about analysing every gift.
“I do consider them as investments rather than giveaways,” she said. “I’m looking for a good return on them. The best return is when lives change for the better in some way. That’s the commanding thought behind all