Investment guru and mega-billionaire Warren Buffett took a new plunge Thursday: He sent his first message on Twitter -- and within a short time had more more than 100,000 followers.

"Warren is in the house," Buffett said on the microblog service, sparking a fury of re-tweets of the debut words of the savvy investor dubbed the "Oracle of Omaha."

There was no news, no sage advice on how to manage a stocks portfolio, or announcements of the latest big-money moves of his investment house Berkshire Hathaway.

But perhaps in anticipation, followers to the new account multiplied at a pace faster than 1,000 a minute.

Buffett, the world's fourth richest person with $53.5 billion, according to Forbes, got a quick reply from a fellow super-tycoon -- and cardplayer -- long present on Twitter: Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.

"Welcome to Twitter @WarrenBuffett. First ever Twitter bridge tourney starts now. I bid 3 Hearts," said Gates.

Buffett made his first tweet during an interview with Fortune at the University of Nebraska Omaha.

"Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?" he joked.

Source: AFP