September 19, 2008 10:54AM

Warren Buffett and David Sokol: Smartest Guys in the Room

By Liz Claman

Hey Gang,

Amidst all this financial drama, two guys kept their heads while everyone on Wall Street was losing theirs: David Sokol, Chairman of MidAmerican Energy Holdings and Warren Buffett, Chairman and CEO of MidAmerican’s parent company Berkshire Hathaway (BRK). While the Wall Street gang was desperately following each ‘tick’ of the government’s moving-target plan that seemed to change hour by hour, these two guys made a few phone calls to each other in Omaha and worked up a quickie plan to scoop up Constellation Energy (CEG), which had fallen dramatically in the previous days.  They bought CEG for $4.7 billion dollars, or $26.50 a share. David Sokol gave us the details in person exclusively yesterday (see clip below).

Constellation was a $60-dollar stock last year. It fell to the mid-$20s and trading of the shares actually had to be halted once in the past few days on worries it had too much exposure to Lehman’s (LEH) problems.  The Sokol-Buffett team had been following CEG for years, watching their competitor like a hawk. Clearly they’ve admired it from afar, were perfectly aware of what problems might (or might not be!) be there and were waiting for just this moment which Treasury, Wall Street and the Fed handed to them on a platinum (forget silver!) platter at a severely discounted price.

David Sokol kindly rushed uptown to Fox Business’ studios from meetings downtown to give us the moment-by-moment drama of how it all came down.  I want you to hear the story because it sends a great message that you’ve no doubt heard before: It’s important that when everyone else around you is losing their heads, be sure to KEEP YOURS.

Warren Buffett once told me when I asked him why he doesn’t live in New York City, the so-called “Financial Capital of the World,” “Liz, I chose to stay in Omaha rather than New York because by the time the clock struck noon on any given day, I’d had 19 ‘great tips’ whispered in my ear and none of them were really great.” By staying away, he’s gotten closer than anyone else on the planet to what all those guys on Wall Street really want: Money and Success.  But he’s the first to say it doesn’t come without guys like Sokol at your side.  Listen in on our interview. I think you’ll find it awfully interesting.