Warren Buffett hosts Obama fundraiser

Billionaire Warren Buffett plans to hold a Sept. 30 fundraiser in New York City to benefit President Barack Obama's re-election bid, according to two Democratic officials not authorized to speak publicly about the event.

The fundraiser, reported earlier by the New York Post, will also feature former Obama economic adviser Austan Goolsbee.

Obama, who is preparing for a post-Labor Day speech about his plans for stimulating the economy, spoke with Buffett Aug. 22 by phone from his vacation on Martha's Vineyard as he works to gather ideas on how to boost job creation and spur growth.

The chairman and chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. has been a longtime Obama supporter. He hosted an August 2007 fundraiser in Omaha, Nebraska, for Obama and has served as an informal economic adviser.

Obama has cited Buffett to counter critics of his policies, particularly on raising taxes for the nation's wealthiest individuals and families. Buffett has called for higher taxes for wealthy Americans including himself.

During his bus tour last week through rural areas of Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois, Obama quoted from a New York Times opinion article in which Buffett wrote that the nation's richest individuals have been “coddled long enough by a billionaire- friendly Congress.” Buffett argued for raising taxes for the “mega-rich” in the U.S.

Buffett has primarily supported Democratic candidates, including giving the maximum allowed by law during the 2008 campaign to both Obama and the Democratic National Committee.