Warren Buffett

The business schools reward difficult complex behavior more than simple behavior, but simple behavior is more effective.

It's crazy to take little in between jobs just because they look good on your resume. That's like saving sex for your old age. Do what you love and work for whom you admire the most, and you've given yourself the best chance in life you can.

I personally would increase the taxable base above the present ninety thousand. I pay very very little in the way of social security taxes because I make a lot more than ninety thousand and the people in my office pay the full tax.

We would rather look for easier things to do.

The first rule is not to lose. The second rule is not to forget the first rule.

The stick to what they understand and let their abilities not their egos determine what they attempt.

Only when you combine sound intellect with emotional discipline you get rational behavior.

Risk is a part of God's game alike for men and nations.

I've never seen a system as good as Coke has now.

This combination virtually assures both Berkshire and General Re shareholders that they will have a better future than if the two companies operated separately

Today's equity prices presage only modest returns for investors

The only time to buy these is on a day with no 'y' in it

I think you'll know what they will do and won't do ... More companies ought to do that.

If calculus or algebra were required to be a great investor I'd have to go back to delivering newspapers.

Just looks. Looks exclusively.

The 3 percent overall federal tax rate I would pay -- if a Berkshire dividend were to be tax free -- seems a bit light.

Putting $1 000 in the pockets of 310 000 families with urgent needs is going to provide far more stimulus to the economy than putting the same $310 million in my pockets.

Time is the friend of the wonderful company the enemy of the mediocre.

Warren isn't it fair to say that if we did have an opinion we wouldn't tell him?

Despite the lack of precedent a negative coupon security seemed possible in the present interest rate environment ... I asked Goldman Sachs to create such an instrument and they responded promptly with the innovative security being announced today.

I always knew I was going to be rich. I don't think I ever doubted it for a minute.

Eddie understood that how he lugged bats was unimportant. What counted instead was hooking up with the cream of those on the playing field.

This merger is going to create the greatest consumer products company in the world.

We believe that according the name "investors" to institutions that trade actively is like calling someone who repeatedly engages in one-night stands a "romantic

I'd be a bum on the street with a tin cup if the markets were always efficient.

Our ignorance means we must follow the course prescribed by Pascal in his famous wager about the existence of God. Since he didn't know the answer his personal gain/loss ratio dictated an affirmative conclusion.

After careful consideration the board decided that a change in management is in the best interest of the company's shareholders.

When a management team with a reputation for brilliance tackles a business with a reputation for bad economics it is the reputation of the business that remains intact.

Our favourite holding period is forever.

Our favorite holding period is forever.

The smarter the journalists are the better off society is. [For] to a degree people read the press to inform themselves-and the better the teacher the better the student body.

Berkshire's board has fully discussed each of the three CEO candidates and has unanimously agreed on the person who should succeed me if a replacement were needed today.

Unfortunately the hangover from [the market bubble] may prove to be proportional to the binge.

You do things when the opportunities come along. I've had periods in my life when I've had a bundle of ideas come along and I've had long dry spells. If I get an idea next week I'll do something. If not I won't do a damn thing.

This spectacular performance _ which far outstripped those of her testosterone-laden peers _ always left Kay amazed almost disbelieving.

Now it's $200 billion. If we don't change the course the rest of the world could own $15 trillion of us. That's pretty substantial. That's equal to the value of all American stock.

[The point seems to be that Buffett thinks the United States needs to take radical steps and undergo some pain in the short run to ensure the longer-term health of the economy.] Perhaps there are other solutions that make more sense than mine ... However wishful thinking -- and its usual companion thumb sucking -- is not among them.

An educational approach to money and investing struck me as a very good idea. People do form behavior habits very young on matters of money. I get calls every day from people who are in a financial hole.

During 2002 we entered the foreign currency market for the first time in my life. In 2003 we enlarged our position as I became increasingly bearish on the dollar.

The policies that we're following are likely to lead to a weaker dollar over a long period of years. It's not a forecast for next week or next month or even next year.

We have three managers at Berkshire who are reasonably young and fully capable of being CEO.

It's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price.

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

Putting $1 000 in the pockets of 310 000 families with urgent needs is going to provide far more stimulus to the economy than putting the same $310 million in my pockets

I stop [at Burger King] occasionally for a hamburger and that's as close as I've gotten.

Berkshire's board has fully discussed each of the three CEO candidates and has unanimously agreed on the person who should succeed me if a replacement were needed today. The directors know now - and will always know in the future - exactly what they will do when the need arises.

I never attempt to make money on the stock market. I buy on the assumption that they could close the market the next day and not reopen it for five years.

If you understand the business you don't need to own very many of them. If you have a harem of 40 women you never get to know any of them very well.

I want to give my kids enough so that they could feel that they could do anything but not so much that they could do nothing.

Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.

Should you find yourself in a chronically leaking boat energy devoted to changing vessels is likely to be more productive than energy devoted to patching leaks

We have three managers at Berkshire who are reasonably young and fully capably of being CEO.

Rule No.1: Never lose money. Rule No.2: Never forget rule No.1.

Over the years our current businesses in aggregate should deliver modest growth in operating earnings. But they will not in themselves produce truly satisfactory gains. We will need major acquisitions to get that job done.

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.

That industry is in a state of flux right now. It's historically earned very good returns on invested capital but it could well be that the world will unfold differently in the future than in the past. I'm not sure I can give you a good answer on that.

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.

Risk comes from not knowing what you're doing.

Some managers remain effective well into their 80s others noticeably fade in their 60s. When their abilities ebb so usually do their powers of self-assessment.

I personally think it would be better if the NYSE remained as a neutral not-for-big-profit institution. The exchange has done a very good job over the centuries. It's one of the most important institutions in the world. The enemy of investment is activity.... I know the American investor will not be better off if volume doubles on the NYSE and I know the NYSE will be trying to figure out how to do that if it is trying to maximize its own earnings per share. GM or IBM will not earn more money if their stock turns over more actively but a for-profit NYSE will.

It's a dream deal

Look at market fluctuations as your friend rather than your enemy, profit from folly rather than participate in it.

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.

I'll tell you why I like the cigarette business. It costs a penny to make. Sell it for a dollar. It's addictive. And there's fantastic brand loyalty.

I am a bull on sterling versus the U.S. dollar.

You have to learn to understand your partner to be tolerant sympathetic encouraging. Those are skills that are not bad to have in life.

Only buy something that you'd be perfectly happy to hold if the market shut down for 10 years.

We simply attempt to be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy only when others are fearful.

If you have a new son or grandson in 2006 name him Tony.

need to recognize that it may often take an extended period for the value of even an outstanding company to catch up with the price they paid.

Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.

We'd go down and play the best team. It would be fun for me and Bill to play the champions. And it might spur them on some.

way out of sync with the economy.

I don't look to jump over 7-foot bars: I look around for 1-foot bars that I can step over.

If California has troubles the country has troubles

questions about our silver position that we had received from regulatory authorities led us to believe that they wished us to publicly acknowledge this investment.

Getting fired can produce a particularly bountiful payday for a CEO. Indeed he can 'earn' more in that single day while cleaning out his desk than an American worker earns in a lifetime of cleaning toilets. Forget the old maxim about nothing succeeding like success: Today in the executive suite the all-too-prevalent rule is that nothing succeeds like failure.

[In purchasing] zeros ... a macro-based commitment such as this never has anything close to a 100 percent chance of being successful.

If past history was all there was to the game the richest people would be librarians

It seems to me she varied from the standard approach of securities analysts.

The Snowball: How Warren Buffett Collected Friends Wisdom and Wealth.

I buy expensive suits. They just look cheap on me.

I was hoping you'd tell me.

Only when the tide goes out do you discover who's been swimming naked

We have three managers at Berkshire who are reasonably young and fully capably of being chief executive.

Over that time we've been happy with that investment but I've got to tell you I'm happier today. It's a dream deal.

There's a lot of people who try to ride my coattails but Wally isn't one of them.

A public-opinion poll is no substitute for thought.

Two rules: 1. Preserve the principal 2. When in doubt see Rule #1

The EURO is EASY to trade.

You need an outstanding manager - you can define that in many ways... but you are looking for the best player out there. We are looking for the best player in this kind of business in the world.

We enjoy the process far more than the proceeds.

Eddie understood that how he lugged bats was unimportant ... What counted instead was hooking up with the cream of those on the playing field.

No matter how much talent or effort some things just take time into complete: you can never be a baby in one month by nine women pregnant.

I think it is a marvelous way to keep directors' interests and shareholders interests as closely aligned as possible with both an upside and a downside component. Too often people talk about interests being aligned when the directors get the upside and shareholders get the downside.

The ideal business is one that earns very high returns on capital and that keeps using lots of capital at those high returns. That becomes a compounding machine.

It was the ability to use the stock of Berkshire in a way that benefited the General Re shareholders without hurting the Berkshire shareholders

Berkshire Hathaway will sell you insurance carpeting or any of our other products in exchange for options identical to those you grant yourselves.

I have no idea on timing. It's far easier to tell what will happen than when it will happen. I would say that what is going on in terms of trade policy is going to have very important consequences.

Rule number one of investing: Never lose money. Rule number two: Never forget rule number one.

Cash never makes us happy but it's better to have the money burning a hole in Berkshire's pocket than resting comfortably in someone else's

Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.

You only have to do a very few things right in your life so long as you don't do too many things wrong.

The typical large company has a compensation committee ... They don't look for Dobermans on that committee they look for chihuahuas.

We felt that the risk profile had changed.

I hope he runs for president someday. I'm 75. He's got to hurry if I'm going to be able to vote for him.

The directors know now -- and will always know in the future -- exactly what they will do when the need arises. And while we are on the subject I feel terrific.

I need all the help I can get -- and Ken has certainly provided it

Let us do or die.

Your premium brand had better be delivering something special or it's not going to get the business.

Right now the rest of the world owns $3 trillion US more of us than we own of them.

During 2002 we entered the foreign currency market for the first time in my life ... In 2003 we enlarged our position as I became increasingly bearish on the dollar.

Let blockheads read what blockheads wrote.

You've been drafted into a war you didn't start ... Focus on your customers and lead your people as though their lives depended on your success.

The investor of today does not profit from yesterday's growth.

In making this acquisition of Business Wire we have followed our blueprint of buying profitable companies that are industry leaders yet have significant growth potential.

It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that you'll do things differently.

Of the billionaires I have known money just brings out the basic traits in them. If they were jerks before they had money they are simply jerks with a billion dollars.

[If] Corporate America is serious about reforming itself CEO pay remains the acid test ... The results aren't encouraging.

The burden of paying Helpers may cause American equity investors overall to earn only 80 percent or so of what they would earn if they just sat still and listened to no one.

Did Bill put you up to this?

If you have a great manager you want to pay him very well.

The chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too hard to be broken.

Don't borrow money to make investments.

Wide diversification is only required when investors do not understand what they are doing.

Right now the rest of the world owns $3 trillion more of us than we own of them. In my view it will create political turmoil at some point. ... Pretty soon I think there will be a big adjustment.

Mr. Buffett was not briefed on how the transactions were to be structured or on any improper use or purpose of the transactions.

I don't try to jump over 7foot bars I look around for 1foot bars that I can step over.

These costs are now being incurred in amounts that will cause shareholders to earn far less than they historically have.

The market outperformed business for a very long time and that phenomenon had to end

I recently sold a house in Laguna for $3.5 million. It was on about 2 000 square feet of land maybe a twentieth of an acre and the house might cost about $500 000 if you wanted to replace it. So the land sold for something like $60 million an acre.

The war on terrorism can never be won.

It's better to hang out with people better than you ... Pick out associates whose behavior is better than yours and you'll drift in that direction.

If a business does well the stock eventually follows.

Liquid resources and strong financial backing are scarce and valuable assets in today's telecommunications world. Level 3 has both.

There seems to be some perverse human characteristic that likes to make easy things difficult.

Eddie is a very smart guy but putting Kmart and Sears together is a tough hand.

Berkshire's board has fully discussed each of the three CEO candidates and has unanimously agreed on the person who should succeed me if a replacement were needed today. The directors know now and will always know in the future exactly what they will do when the need arises.

Value is what you get.

Bill Gates and I kind of cooked it up together. We hope we could get a school program someplace where the kids were taught the game and... develop a lot of competition between schools.

In the business world the rearview mirror is always clearer than the windshield.

There's no question in my mind the number one problem of mankind is the spread of nuclear knowledge ... It should be at the top of the list for our government.

We quickly realized that Business Wire was a gem of a company.

[In most boardrooms ] collegiality trumped independence... would be like belching at the dinner table.