Buffett met Hilibrand at the airport that Thursday and escorted him back to his office, a modest suite in a pale high-rise across the street from a pizzeria. Hilibrand was his usual methodical self. He was candid about Long-Term’s losses but totally controlled. He did not strike Buffett as desperate. The arbitrageur went over his battered portfolio in detail. Hilibrand stressed that he saw great potential going forward—given his personal debts, he had little choice. But Long-Term was in a hurry to raise money, Hilibrand said, and thus he offered to cut the fund’s usual fee in half.
