Warren Buffet seems to be one of the most quoted individuals around.
This is probably because he’s the world’s most successful investor but also he has some very interesting things to say.
Motley Fool recently published a heap of new quotes the Oracle of Omaha gave at the recent Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting.
Here’s a selection:
“When people get fearful, they get fearful en masse. Confidence comes back one at a time. When they get greedy, they get greedy en masse.”
On economic forecasts: “Why spend time talking about something you don’t know anything about? People do it all the time, but why do it?”
“Four or five times during their lifetimes, [investors will] see incredible opportunities probably in equity markets … [they] have to have the mental fortitude to jump in when most are jumping out.”
Responding to a shareholder who thanked him for letting attendees in early from the cold and rain: “If we had a company that sold coats, we would have left you out there.”
On big investments: “Our competitive advantage is that we had no competitors.”
On Harley-Davidson and its customers’ loyalty: “Any company that gets its customers to tattoo ads on their chests can’t be all bad.”
On challenges to the U.S.: “Our system works, but if you ask me the No. 1 problem, it’s that health care cost.”
On advice he’d give to himself 50 years ago: “Find what turns you on.” (He’s referring to work. Get your mind out of the gutter!)
“We will have another bubble, but usually you don’t get it the same way you got it before.”
“There are some parts of the game that we don’t understand, so we don’t play with them.”
“If [investors] try to time their purchases, they will do very well for their broker and not very well for themselves.”
“I find it totally unproductive to discuss politics with people.”
“Our job when we hire people to manage money is to figure out if they’re lucky coin flippers.”
“When we see falling prices, we think it’s an opportunity to buy.”
“It would be a terrible mistake to put me in charge of social media at Berkshire Hathaway. And Charlie wouldn’t be a good choice, either.”
Bonus quote:
