How Hedge Funder Doug Kass Got The Dream Opportunity To Go Head To Head With Warren Buffett

WikimediaDuring his appearance on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street"this morning, Warren Buffett told famed hedge-fund manager Doug Kass he had won the contest to be the official market "bear" at Berkshire Hathaway's annual Omaha shareholder meeting in May.

Buffett had put out a call for "credentialed bears" in his annual letter to shareholders Friday to help "spice things up" at the confab.

It's quite a distinction.

It's also somewhat surprising, because Kass earned the invite by letting Buffett know he has been short Berkshire stock for awhile.

In a post on Real Money, Kass explained how a humble email to CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin and Becky Quick in advance of Buffett's interview won him the position.

I included in the email to Mr. Buffet my curriculum vitae and a column wrote in March 2008 that explained the rationale behind why I was short Berkshire's shares back then almost five years ago. (It turned out to be a successful short and, surprisingly, for the right reasons.)

As well, I included references for Mr. Buffett of four hedge-hoggers and investment managers who were acquaintances of his, whom I knew he respected and were familiar with my body of work.

Kass goes on to compare himself to the biblical Daniel trapped in the lion's den. But we're sure he'll do fine.

This story was originally published by CNBC.