Warren Buffett helps raise $80 million in Israel Bonds

Warren Buffett helped raise $80 million in Israel Bonds investments last week when the billionaire businessman and philanthropist hosted a dinner reception in his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska — his third such event for Israel Bonds in 18 months.

Over 70 Israel Bonds investors from the United States and Canada made a minimum purchase of $1 million in bonds to attend the event at the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Fred and Pamela Buffett Cancer Center.

Israeli dignitaries and members of the diplomatic corps on hand included Shai Babad, director general of Israel’s Finance Ministry; Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations; and Dani Dayan, the consul general of Israel in New York.

“I’ve lived through Israel’s entire 70-year history and I believe it is one of the most remarkable countries in the world,” Buffett said at the event. “I’m delighted to own Israel Bonds.”

He also said: “I have nothing but good feelings about what I am doing. The United States and Israel will always be linked. It is a good thing for Israel that there is an America, and it is a good thing for America that there is an Israel.”

The three Israel Bonds events hosted by Buffett in the past 18 months have raised investments totaling $290 million, according to Israel Bonds.

The Israeli tool company ISCAR Metalworks was Buffet’s first major overseas acquisition in 2006; he purchased the remaining 20 percent of the company in 2013. Buffett holds several million dollars in Israel Bonds, as does his company Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies.

Buffett was third on the Forbes World Billionaires list with a worth $84 billion.