Reddit just filed to go public. The online forum's cofounder is a big fan of Warren Buffett — and once baffled him with a classic Reddit conundrum
- Reddit confidentially filed to go public after reportedly eyeing a $15 billion valuation.
- Alexis Ohanian, the website's cofounder, is a big fan of Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger.
- Ohanian baffled Buffett with a famous Reddit question about ducks and horses.
Reddit, the online forum that helped fuel the meme-stock and cryptocurrency booms this year, has confidentially filed to go public following reports it was seeking a $15 billion valuation.
The social-media company's cofounder and former chairman, Alexis Ohanian, is a longtime fan of Warren Buffett who once baffled the Berkshire Hathaway CEO with a classic Reddit conundrum.
A Buffett disciple
Ohanian's creation may be home to irreverent subreddits such as Wall Street Bets, but he's been praising Buffett and the investor's business partner for more than a decade.
"This guy is such a boss," he tweeted about Buffett in 2013. "Charlie Munger is a beast," he exclaimed in 2010.
Ohanian has also drawn parallels between Berkshire and Initialized Capital, the venture-capital firm he cofounded in 2011 that counts Coinbase, Instacart, and Opendoor among its investments.
"What we heard Warren and Charlie talking about here in Omaha are the exact same values that we look for in founders," he told CNBC after attending Berkshire's annual shareholder meeting in 2019. "The same way they look for managers that they really believe in, we look for entrepreneurs."
"We would love for our firm to one day have the kind of reach and impact and legacy that Berkshire Hathaway has had," he added.
Ducks and horses
During Berkshire's annual meeting in 2018, Ohanian roped in CNBC to ask Buffett one of the most popular questions on Reddit.
"Would you want to battle one horse-sized duck or 100 duck-sized horses?" a presenter inquired on Ohanian's behalf.
"Well, you've gone to the wrong place to find the answer," replied the clearly bemused investor.
"I would go out and buy a bunch of ducks and horses that meet the test, and we would have a real-life illustration," Buffett joked. "I do not bring any insight to that one."
Ohanian probably didn't get the straight answer he wanted. Regardless, he'll undoubtedly be hoping that some of the other lessons he's taken from Buffett and Munger have rubbed off on Reddit as it prepares to go public.