Of Permanent Value: The Story of Warren Buffett

by Andrew Kilpatrick

First Edition.

Genres: Business, Biography, Finance, Nonfiction, Economics

636 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Andrew Kilpatrick is a 1965 graduate of Washington & Lee University. He served in the Peace Corps in India for two years, earned a master's degree in English from the University of Vermont & was a U.S. Navy officer for three years. His 20-year career with newspapers in Birmingham included eight years as a business reporter. He is a stockbroker with Prudential Securities in Birmingham.

Reviews

[Joselito Honestly and Brilliantly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this many years ago.In fact my notes at its inside front cover says I bought my copy way back 1 December 2004. The book marker I used was a souvenir from the ordination to priesthood of one Ricci Pajarillo on 10 June 2000 and the tip which stuck out from the book is brown and brittle with age. It is thick and heavy, more than a thousand pages. It seems to reaffirm the pointlessness of reading considering the limitations of human memory. I must have spent weeks reading this and now what do I remember of it? Only these:

1. Warren Buffett was at some time the richest man in the world;

2. He started young. I'm no longer sure, but I think when he was a small boy he started by collecting and selling bottles;

3. He's humble and not ostentatious. He still lives in the same old house he grew up in. He still uses his old car;

4. He is considered a genius in investing (he seems to buy stocks and never sell--as far as I recall);

5. He is from Omaha, and he is called the Oracle of Omaha because he has the rare knack of predicting which stocks will rise in the future; and

6. His favorite are steaks and hamburgers and cherry Coke ( I remember thirsting for cherry Coke but it is not sold here in our country and I wondered how he had grown old, healthy, with such an unhealthy diet).


Finally I've reviewed it. Now I can give this copy away.

[Lester Garver · Rating 5 out of 5]

WHAT A GREAT IDEA AND CONCEPT, TO OWN YET NOT CONTROL, ONLY REAPING PROFITS!

[Joel Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE BEST INCOME STOCK I KNOW IS A GROWTH STOCK.

If you let yourself be undisciplined on the small things, you will probably be indisciplined on the large things too.

Buffett says he has time to think in Omaha, rather than listen to stories.

Size is an anchor on growth.

Due to BH's financial strength it can have 85% of insurance capital in equities whereas the industry has 79% of capital in high grade corporate and government bonds.

WB owned 41% of BH in 1994.

WB has never owned GM because the company is too capital and labour intensive and has too many competitors.

WB almost always buys at distressed times and bargains prices, then holds for the LT.

WB has always lived beneath his means.

WB and Susan lived apart from 1977.

Buffett lives in same house he bought in 1958.

When Buffett bought Coke in 1989 it was on 12x. It was on 24x when he bought more in 1994.

Everyone must be their own compliance officer.

Buffett often goes his initial stake in companies via preferred shares, when the company needed capital. eg Salomon, Gillette, US Air, Champion, Amex, RJR Nabisco.

We tend to concentrated on what should happen, not when it will happen.

Common sense is genius wrapped up in its working clothes.

Bought Wells Fargo in 1990 at 3.7x PE.

[Fit4Life · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great anecdotes by the author about Warren Buffett. A great way to know the greatest investor of all time in person.

[Thomas Poore · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a huge Warren Buffet and this book goes into his thought process about buying some of his most famous stocks American Express, Disney, Coca-Cola etc

[Saju · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book to start, at times tedious but very thorough book on the character and business behavior of Warren Buffett.