Warren Buffett says he agrees with Bernie Sanders that capitalism is leaving people behind - but doesn't think it should be completely tossed out
- Warren Buffett agrees with Bernie Sanders that capitalism has left behind working Americans and needs further regulation to curb its excesses.
- "We ought to do better by the people that get left behind by our capitalist system," the billionaire investor said in a CNBC interview. "I don't think we should kill the capitalist system in the process."
- A self-described "card-carrying capitalist," Buffett has long objected to socialism, which has become a focal point for political attacks by Republicans and some moderate Democrats alike in the 2020 election.
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Berkshire Hathaway chief Warren Buffett has a point of agreement with Sen. Bernie Sanders, the progressive Democratic presidential frontrunner who's racked up early primary wins as a "democratic socialist."
"We ought to do better by the people that get left behind by our capitalist system," the billionaire investor said in a CNBC interview. "I don't think we should kill the capitalist system in the process."
The longtime Democrat went on: "We should make sure the golden goose keeps laying more eggs and it's worked wonderfully since 1776."
While he declined to weigh in on the Democratic primary, Buffett said he backed the idea of better regulating a system that has failed to spread its riches to many average Americans.
"I'm very much in sympathy with the fact that Senator Sanders believes that a lot of people are getting left behind and through no fault of their own," he said. "And there's all kinds of aspects of capitalism that need, in some ways, to be regulated."
Buffett later said: "I do believe that anybody who's willing to work 40 hours a week and has a couple kids should not have to have a second job."
Still, he disagreed with Sanders' plan to give workers a larger ownership stake rivaling those of investors on corporate boards. Buffett also said he would vote for Mike Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor who's amassed a sizable fortune of his own, over Sanders.
Buffett, a self-described "card-carrying capitalist," has long objected to socialism, a system that has become a focal point for political attacks by Republicans and some moderate Democrats alike in the 2020 election.
At last year's annual Berkshire Hathaway meeting, Buffett said he didn't think "the country will go into socialism in 2020, or 2040, or 2060."
Berkshire Hathaway released its annual letter to shareholders on Saturday, which didn't discuss politics but focused on the company's performance and laid out a succession plan.