Quotes About Warren Buffett

I am quite serious when I say that I do not believe there are, on the whole earth besides, so many intensified bores as in these United States. No man can form an adequate idea of the real meaning of the word, without coming here.

Trying to pick individual stocks is a trap. I can't do it. Warren Buffett can, but hardly anyone else can beat the indexes over a long period of time.

Texaco's unusual situation can be summarized in one sentence, often repeated by Graham and Dodd disciple Warren Buffett: A great investment opportunity occurs when a marvelous business encounters a onetime huge, but solvable, problem.

The astute investor Warren Buffett is fond of saying that any player unaware of the fool in the market probably is the fool in the market.

This wasn't Fitch or even S&P. This was Moody's. The aristocrats of the rating business, 20 percent owned by Warren Buffett. And its CEO was being told he was either a fool or a crook, by Vincent Daniel, from Queens. By

Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and investor of legendary repute: Most investors, both institutional and individual, will find that the best way to own common stocks is through an index fund that charges minimal fees. Those following this path are sure to beat the net results (after fees and expenses) delivered by the great majority of investment professionals.

Warren Buffett, one of the richest men in the world, was once asked his secret of success. He replied, "Simple. I just say no to everything that is not absolutely vital to me at the moment.

We don't read other people's opinions. We want to get the facts, and then think.

Great investment opportunities come around when excellent companies are surrounded by unusual circumstances that cause the stock to be misappraised.

I am not saying that Warren Buffett is not skilled; only that a large population of random investors will almost necessarily produce someone with his track records just by luck.

Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and investor of legendary repute: "Most investors, both institutional and individual, will find that the best way to own common stocks is through an index fund that charges minimal fees. Those following this path are sure to beat the net results (after fees and expenses) delivered by the great majority of investment professionals.

And if you don't believe me or even Charley, remember that Warren Buffett, perhaps the greatest investor of our time, has opined that all investors would be better off if their portfolio contained a diversified group of index funds.

Most institutional and individual investors will find the best way to own common stock is through an index fund that charges minimal fees. Those following this path are sure to beat the net results [after fees and expenses] delivered by the great majority of investment professionals."1 —Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway

The requisites for board membership should be business savvy, interest in the job, and owner-orientation.

Our capital is underutilized now, but that will happen periodically. It's a painful condition to be in — but not as painful as doing something stupid. (I speak from experience.)

deal. Mrs. B belongs in the Guinness Book of World Records on many counts. Signing a non-compete at 99 merely adds one more.

volume—as long as you anticipated, as we did in 1972, a world of continuous inflation.

Over-all, we probably would have retained better prospects for the next five years if profits had not risen so dramatically this year.

In insurance, as elsewhere, the reaction of weak managements to weak operations is often weak accounting. ("It's difficult for an empty sack to stand upright.")

We set no volume goals in our insurance business generally—and certainly not in reinsurance—as virtually any volume can be achieved if profitability standards are ignored.

My direct experience (limited, thankfully) with CEOs who have played with a company's numbers indicates that they were more often prompted by ego than by a desire for financial gain.

Loss of focus is what most worries Charlie and me when we contemplate investing in businesses that in general look outstanding.

The most common cause of low prices is pessimism—some times pervasive, some times specific to a company or industry. We want to do business in such an environment, not because we like pessimism but because we like the prices it produces. It's optimism that is the enemy of the rational buyer.

We both (Charlie Munger and Warren Buffett) insist on a lot of time being available almost every day to just sit and think. That is very uncommon in American business. We read and think.