Warren Buffett
Age: 91
Residence: Omaha, Nebraska
CEO: Berkshire Hathaway
Net Worth: $96 billion
Berkshire Hathaway Ownership Stake: 38.001% ($105 billion)
Other Assets: $1.13 billion in cash
The most famous living value investor, Warren Buffett filed his first tax return in 1944 at age 14, declaring his earnings from his boyhood paper route.
He first bought shares in a textile company called Berkshire Hathaway in 1962, becoming the majority shareholder by 1965. He expanded the company to insurance and other investments in 1967. Now, Berkshire Hathaway is a half-trillion-dollar company, with a single share of stock trading at more than $410,000 per share in mid-2021.
Widely known as the 'Oracle of Omaha,' Buffett made the majority of his fortune through purchasing shares in companies with easy-to-understand business operations. While many investors have been piling into tech companies, Buffett has opted for a more cautious approach, only buying from well-established companies that are easier to understand, such as IBM and Apple. He is also a noted Bitcoin skeptic. Additionally, Buffett has also outright purchased a lengthy list of companies over the years, including Dairy Queen, Duracell, GEICO, and Kraft Heinz.
Outside of investing, Buffett has directed much of his wealth toward philanthropic endeavors. Between 2006 and 2020, Buffett gave away $41 billion—the majority of which went to either the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation or his children's charities. Buffett launched the Giving Pledge alongside Bill Gates in 2010.
Some of Buffett's best quips, tips, and adages from meeting transcripts, shareholder letters, and interviews.
1. Trust in American ingenuity.
"American magic has always prevailed, and it will do so again."
— Shareholder meeting, 2020
2. Don't be a fearmonger.
"Fear is the most contagious disease you can imagine. It makes the virus look like a piker." (A piker is one who gambles with small amounts of money.)
— Shareholder meeting, 2020
3. Learn the language.
"You've got to understand accounting. You've got to. That's got to be like a language to you,"
— Interview with Yahoo Finance's editor-in-chief, Andy Sewer, 2020
4. Go long.
Favorite holding period is forever. We are just the opposite of those who hurry to sell and book profits when companies perform well, but who tenaciously hang on to businesses that disappoint.
— Letter to shareholders for the year 1988
5. Invest in companies you believe in.
“It's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price.”
— Letter to shareholders for the year 1989
6. Price and value aren’t always the same: Don’t pay too much.
“Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.”
— Letter to shareholders for the year 2008
7. Reputation is everything.
"Lose money for the firm, and I will be understanding; lose a shred of reputation for the firm, and I will be ruthless."
— Buffett's Congressional testimony in 1991 regarding Salomon Brothers
8. Be skeptical. If something looks too good to be true.
“A simple rule dictates my buying: Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful.”
— The New York Times, Oct. 16, 2008
9. Don’t invest in something you don’t understand.
“The important thing is to know what you know and know what you don’t know.”
— March 23, 2011
10. Don’t do a deal with someone you don’t trust.
“You cannot make a good deal with a bad person.”
— CNBC, 2019
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