Buffett: Immigrants help ‘miraculous’ story of US

OMAHA, Neb. — Billionaire investor Warren Buffett, wading into the national debate over immigration, said the “miraculous” achievements of the U.S. economy since its founding can be attributed in part to people who had the courage to leave their home countries for the United States.

“From a standing start 240 years ago — a span of time less than triple my days on Earth — Americans have combined human ingenuity, a market system, a tide of talented and ambitious immigrants, and the rule of law to deliver abundance beyond any dreams of our forefathers,” Buffett, chairman and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., wrote in his annual letter to shareholders posted online Saturday.

Buffett didn’t mention President Donald Trump in the letter, which offered a full-throated defense of the American market system.