Arnie hires billionaire as campaign adviser

Terminator star Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is running as a Republican candidate for governor of California, has hired billionaire Warren Buffett – a Democrat – as his senior financial and economic adviser.

“What he will be doing is assembling other prominent business leaders and economists and setting up a team to address the issues facing California,” said Schwarzenegger spokesman Sean Walsh said of Buffett, an investor renowned for his financial prowess.

Buffett said in a statement: “I have known Arnold for years and know he’ll be a great governor. It is critical to the rest of the nation that California’s economic crisis be solved, and I think Arnold will get that job done.”

The Austrian-born actor and more than 240 other candidates are running as candidates to replace the state’s governor, Gray Davis, if he loses a special recall election on October 7.

The recall effort has been fuelled by voter discontent over a massive state budget deficit and an energy crisis.

By buying at low prices into well-known, solid companies, Buffett built Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire Hathaway into a huge conglomerate. In his investments, he generally avoids high-tech companies, arguing he cannot tell which will be usurped by advances in technology.