The 'Oracle of Omaha' Tweets; Warren Buffett Joins Twitter

By Ben Berkowitz

Warren Buffett accumulates Twitter followers even faster than he makes money.

The 82-year-old "Oracle of Omaha" joined the service and sent his first tweet on Thursday, picking up more than 45,000 followers in just under 45 minutes.

Buffett said under the handle "@WarrenBuffett":

The handle wasn't officially verified by Twitter, but was confirmed by Fortune magazine, which hosted Buffett for a live webcast Thursday. It was billed as the first social media event for the notoriously technology-averse billionaire.

If followers were dollars, Buffett is having even more success on Twitter than he had with one of his best investments ever, his 2008 stake in Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS).

That deal gave him preferred stock that paid dividends at $900 a minute. On Twitter, he has gathered 1,000 followers a minute.

By joining Twitter, the Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.B) chief executive officer now stands in good mogul company. Other relatively recent converts to the service include News Corp. (NWS) CEO Rupert Murdoch (@RupertMurdoch) and former U.S. President Bill Clinton (@BillClinton).