But you'd have to understand how galling the idea of talking about the family money is to most people in Buffet's class to see what might have provoked his reaction. And talking about it to anyone is bad enough, but going on Oprah...
Not that it at all justifies such an extreme reaction, though.
people in Buffet's class
I saw the Oprah show with Buffett's granddaughter. She works for a family as their housekeeper. She said that Buffett paid for the kids education. When asked how she felt about not inheriting from her grandfather, she tried to be nice about it. She was asked if it bothered her, or something to that effect, she said something about an emotional level that it did, that they could also do good with the money. Ah, and when Oprah asked if she ever asked her grandfather for money she said she did for class trips, but he'd turn her down because then he felt he'd have to do it for all the kids. Sounds to me like Buffett is pretty cheap with his family. Well, at least he sees the wisdom in paying for their education.