Advertisement
U.S. markets closed
  • S&P 500

    5,254.35
    +5.86 (+0.11%)
     
  • Dow 30

    39,807.37
    +47.29 (+0.12%)
     
  • Nasdaq

    16,379.46
    -20.06 (-0.12%)
     
  • Russell 2000

    2,124.55
    +10.20 (+0.48%)
     
  • Crude Oil

    83.11
    +1.76 (+2.16%)
     
  • Gold

    2,254.80
    +42.10 (+1.90%)
     
  • Silver

    25.10
    +0.35 (+1.41%)
     
  • EUR/USD

    1.0792
    -0.0037 (-0.35%)
     
  • 10-Yr Bond

    4.2060
    +0.0100 (+0.24%)
     
  • GBP/USD

    1.2624
    -0.0015 (-0.11%)
     
  • USD/JPY

    151.3600
    +0.1140 (+0.08%)
     
  • Bitcoin USD

    70,915.24
    +1,741.86 (+2.52%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    885.54
    0.00 (0.00%)
     
  • FTSE 100

    7,952.62
    +20.64 (+0.26%)
     
  • Nikkei 225

    40,168.07
    -594.66 (-1.46%)
     

Spanx founder: My phone rang and he said, 'Sara? It's Warren Buffett.'

Spanx Founder Sara Blakely discusses her important relationship with her mentor, Warren Buffett.

Spanx founder: My phone rang and he said, 'Sara? It's Warren Buffett.'

Sara Blakely, the billionaire founder of shapewear company Spanx, has snagged a pretty good mentor and friend: Warren Buffett.

"He and I became friends after he saw me speak at an event,” Blakely said. “And then he reached out to me, which was quite amazing, because I was just in the middle of a meeting and my phone rang and he said ‘Sara? It's Warren. Warren Buffett.’”

Blakely cut the feet out of her pantyhose back in 1998 to “look smashing,” as she puts it, under her pants and the company was born soon-after. The body-shaping pantyhose was named as one of “Oprah’s Favorite Things” in 2000. The company has expanded to include bras, men’s compression undershirts, and denim.

Source: Spanx company website
Source: Spanx company website

Blakely said she has received much support from Buffett over the years.

"He loves supporting women in business. He's a big fan of capitalism and entrepreneurship. I think he really took to my story and what I have done with Spanx. And really has just become a great friend,” she said.

Blakely told Yahoo Finance she has learned many lessons from Buffett.  "One of the things that I've just observed with how he lives his life is the lesson of simplicity. How he simplifies not only his life — he simplifies complex situations and boils it down to the 'what it is' in such a beautiful way."

This year marked her first year at the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting, and she had rave reviews. "It's amazing. It really is the 'Super Bowl' of business," she said.

Click here to view a full replay of the 2016 Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholder meeting, which Yahoo Finance live-streamed exclusively. At this page you can also find our extensive coverage of the event.




 

 

 

Advertisement