American businessman & investor (1930- )
Love is the greatest advantage a parent can give.
WARREN BUFFETT
Fortune, September 29, 1986
I don't have a problem with guilt about money. The way I see it is that my money represents an enormous number of claim checks on society. It is like I have these little pieces of paper that I can turn into consumption. If I wanted to, I could hire 10,000 people to do nothing but paint my picture every day for the rest of my life. And the GNP would go up. But the utility of the product would be zilch, and I would be keeping those 10,000 people from doing AIDS research, or teaching, or nursing. I don't do that though. I don't use very many of those claim checks. There's nothing material I want very much. And I'm going to give virtually all of those claim checks to charity when my wife and I die.
WARREN BUFFETT
attributed, Warren Buffett Speaks: Wit and Wisdom from the World's Greatest Investor
Speculation is most dangerous when it looks easiest.
WARREN BUFFETT
annual letter to shareholders, 2000
It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.
WARREN BUFFETT
attributed, Corporate Survival: The Critical Importance of Sustainability Risk Management
In a bull market, one must avoid the error of the preening duck that quacks boastfully after a torrential rainstorm, thinking that its paddling skills have caused it to rise in the world. A right-thinking duck would instead compare its position after the downpour to that of the other ducks on the pond.
WARREN BUFFETT
annual letter to shareholders, 1997
Long ago, Sir Isaac Newton gave us three laws of motion, which were the work of genius. But Sir Isaac's talents didn't extend to investing: He lost a bundle in the South Sea Bubble, explaining later, "I can calculate the movement of the stars, but not the madness of men." If he had not been traumatized by this loss, Sir Isaac might well have gone on to discover the Fourth Law of Motion: For investors as a whole, returns decrease as motion increases.
WARREN BUFFETT
annual letter to shareholders, 2005
Never count on making a good sale. Have the purchase price be so attractive that even a mediocre sale gives good results.
WARREN BUFFETT
attributed, Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist