Bill Ackman Says Warren Buffett Told Him ‘I Haven’t Had Water in 48 Years’ — His Cherry Coke Habit Now Pays Berkshire $848 Million a Year

Still or sparkling? At one billionaire's dinner table, the right answer turned out to be neither. Years ago, Pershing Square Inc.(NYSE:PS) CEO Bill Ackman hosted then-Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK) (NYSE:BRK) chief Warren Buffett at his home. Ackman made sure Cherry Coke was on hand before his guest arrived, then offered water anyway. Buffett passed and asked for a Coke. "But I said, you know, 'Don't you drink water?'" Ackman recalled on the "Equity Mates Investing" podcast released on Oct. 28. "And he said, 'Bill, I haven't had water in 48 years.'" Forty-Eight Years Keeps Showing Up The number has a history. Buffett used it once before, in his 1985 letter to Berkshire shareholders, when he gave up Pepsi, the flagship soda of PepsiCo Inc.