Buffett Bets on Baby Boomers Drinking Wine

Berkshire subsidiary pays top dollar for distributor
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 10, 2010 10:19 AM CST
Buffett Bets on Baby Boomers Drinking Wine
Businessman Warren Buffett speaks at the 2008 Women's Conference at the Long Beach Convention Center on October 22, 2008 in Long Beach, California.   (Getty Images)

Warren Buffett, who watchers had expected to buy a beer distributor, made a recent bet on wine instead, reports Business Insider, in a move that reflects the drinking habits of aging baby boomers. A subsidiary of Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has a deal in place to buy Empire Distributing, a niche wine distributor based in Atlanta and operating in Georgia and North Carolina—and he probably paid top dollar, reports Wine & Spirits Daily.

Why? Well, the same Wine & Spirits post notes that, according to a recent Nielsen study, wine is one of the biggest spending categories for seniors, who shell out $124 on it per year. Boomers spend even more—$125, compared to $78 for gen x'ers and $61 for millennials. The deal isn't expected to be Buffett's last in the wine industry.
(More Warren Buffett stories.)

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