2. “I was wired at birth to allocate capital and lucky enough to have people around me early on– my parents and teachers and Susie [his late wife] – who helped me make the most of it.”
4. “There are all kinds of businesses that Charlie [Vice Chairman] and I don't understand, but that doesn't cause us to stay up at night.”
5. “It just means we go on to the next one…Never invest in a business you cannot understand.”
6. “I will not abandon a previous approach whose logic I understand even though it may mean foregoing large, and apparently easy, profits to embrace an approach which I don't fully understand, have not practiced successfully, and which possibly could lead to substantial permanent loss of capital.”
7. “How many legs does a dog have if you call his tail a leg? The answer: Four, because calling a tail a leg does not make it a leg.”
8. “You ought to be able to explain why you’re taking the job you’re taking, why you’re making the investment you’re making, or whatever it may be,”
9. “And if it can’t stand applying pencil to paper, you’d better think it through some more. And if you can’t write an intelligent answer to those questions, don’t do it.”
10. Buffett never lost his sense of humor. Indeed, it became one of his trademarks for which he is revered.
11. When his mathematics and investments were once challenged, Buffet shot back, saying, “There are three kinds of people in this world: Those who can count, and those who can’t.”
12. “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.”
13. “No man can form an adequate idea of the real meaning of the word, without coming here.”
14. Buffett nevertheless remained entirely serious when it came to making money. “The first rule is not to lose,” he says. “The second rule is not to forget the first rule.”
15. “It's not that I want Money, it's the fun of making money and watching it grow.”
17. “Somebody once said that in looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence, and energy.”
18. “And if they don't have the first, the other two will kill you. You think about it; it's true. If you hire somebody without the first, you really want them to be dumb and lazy.”
24. “We cannot afford to lose reputation – even a shred of reputation…It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.”
25. “Look at the business you run as if it were the only asset of your family, one that must be operated for the next 50 years and can never be sold.”
26. “Working with people who cause your stomach to churn seems much like marrying for money – probably a bad idea under any circumstances, but absolute madness if you are rich.”
27. Buffett was sending the message that he had complete confidence in his staff. In turn, his staff rewarded him with hard work and loyalty.
29. “You’re right because your facts are right and your reasoning is right – and that’s the only thing that makes you right. And if your facts and reasoning are right, you don’t have to worry about anybody else.”
31. “If I get an idea next week, I'll do something. If not, I won't do a damn thing…Much success can be attributed to inactivity.”
32. “I don’t look to jump over 7-foot bars: I look around for 1-foot bars that I can step over.”
33. “One’s objective should be to get it right, get it quick, get it out, and get it over…your problem won’t improve with age.”
34. “Should you find yourself in a chronically leaking boat, energy devoted to changing vessels is likely to be more productivethan energy devoted to patching leaks.”
35. “The important thing is to keep playing, to play against weak opponents and to play for big stakes.”
36. “I tap dance to work, and when I get there, I think I’m supposed to lie on my back and paint the ceiling. It’s tremendous fun.”
37. “All of you do a first-class job in running your operations with your own individual styles