Buffett: We Were Close to a 'Meltdown'

>> In an exclusive morning show interview with CBS News, billionaire investor Warren Buffet said the nation's economic crisis is far from over.

>> We came closer to a financial meltdown of the whole system last September than I've ever seen anything remotely approaching. And we'll get through it fine. But there were a lot of excesses, and a lot of things that have to be corrected. And that's taking place now.

>> Buffet said that's because investors are still digging their way out from a mountain of debt.

>> What the country has learned I think is that excessive leverage gets you in trouble, the bubbles do burst, in this case the real estate bubble.

>> The comments came just before Buffet sat down for a charity lunch with Chinese businessman Jao Dan Yang assumed spelling, who paid two point one million dollars for the privilege of business advice from the Oracle of Omaha.

>> If you can find that at a reasonable price, you're gonna make money.

>> Yeah, I learned a lot. Truly, I think these three hours benefited my whole life.

>> The two million dollars goes to programs for the poor, run by San Francisco's Glide Memorial Church.

>> Do you have any particular advice for Mister Dan Yang when it comes to the Asian markets?

>> We'll probably talk about that. But he's paid two million one, so I can't give a deal for nothing.

>> The auction for Buffet's next lunch of steak and pricey advice closes on Friday. Pria David assumed spelling, CBS News, New York.

==== Transcribed by Automatic Sync Technologies ====