Thoughts of Chairman Buffett: Thirty Years of Unconventional Wisdom from the Sage of Omaha

by Siimon Reynolds

"There's something about smart people explaining ideas to an orangutan that makes their decision making better."- Warren Buffett

He's an American icon, the world's most famous and most successful investor every financial move is widely reported and copied, his every utterance scanned for meaning. The secret of his success? Let Buffett tell you. He has a few thoughts on the matter.

Thoughts of Chairman Buffett is pure, unadulterated Buffett: a collection of his wittiest, wisest, and most quotable quotes. Compiled by Siimon Reynolds from decades of Buffetts speeches, writings, and interviews, they include gems on such subjects as . . .



Hiring"Somebody once said that in looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence, and energy. And if they don't have the first, the other two will kill you.

How to Get Wealthy

"I will tell you the secret of getting rich on Wall Street. You try to be greedy when others are fearful, and you try to be very fearful when others are greedy."

This is Buffett at his best: pithy, funny, unforgettable. These pearls of wisdom will make you laugh-and think. They'll give you sound advice and teach you truths about business and life.

Thoughts of Chairman Buffett offers a lifetime of wisdom at your fingertips. Once you enter the world according to Buffett, you'll never see things in quite the same way again. Siimon Reynolds is a writer and advertising executive living in Australia. A longtime fan of Warren Buffett, Reynolds collected these quotations from a variety of sources, added the headings, and arranged their order of presentation for this volume. At the end of the book you will find Mr. Reynolds's interpretation of Buffett's basic rules of investing.

Genres: Finance

160 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1998

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first picked up this book over 20 years ago. I still remember staying up into the morning thinking from different angles what most quotes suggests and implies.

The majority of the book is quotes from Warren Buffett. Sliced between are short excerpts to describe the man and his background. Back in the late 90's, Buffett rose to the national scene when he took over Solomon Brothers during their scandal. His clarity in reasoning and straight-shooting brought a breath of fresh air to the handling of Solomon's murky bond trading. He (and the people he hired) saved the firm from bankruptcy and somewhat set the bar for what integrity should be in financial institutions. This book provides a quick glance at Buffett's views on a wide range of topics.

The quotes itself have limited value if the reader just glance through them. They are best to be read with context, and I benefitted from reasoning them forward and backward, trying to poke holes in them. I hope future readers can benefit by taking a similar approach.

[Joel Gray · Rating 3 out of 5]

IT IS THE WEAK LINK THAT SNAPS YOU.

Try to be greedy when others are fearful and try to be very fearful when others are greedy.

The best thing I did was to choose the right hero's.

People are creatures of habit.

Uncertainty is the friend of the buyer of long-term values.

We have done better by avoiding dragons, rather than slaying them.

There is periodically times when you couldn't find good values, and its a good idea to go to the beach.

Take your time, a long, long time, before you invest in a company. Investigate every nook and cranny of its operation.

Stick to investing in industries you know something about.

[Monty Law · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a devotee of the GOAT, there were a few quotes in here that were rare and thought provoking. I’ve read a lot of Buffett, so I appreciated the book!

The two quotes are:
My ego is wrapped up with Berkshire. No question about that.

Many decades ago, JP Morgan stated the objective of his firm: “First class business run in a first class way”. I have yet to hear of a better goal.

[Dorai Thodla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved every bit of it. These are a collection of insights most of them very small. But each one of them makes you think a lot. I think I will reread it once in a few years.

[Eduardo · Rating 5 out of 5]

It delivers what it promises: a great fast-to-read book to get a good understanding of Buffett's ideas.

[Juli · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great collection of Buffett quotes on various subjects. Easy to read in one sitting, but very little exposition about the context of the quotes or his philosophies on a whole.

Personally, I got a better overall sense of Buffett and his philosophies from Warren Buffett Speaks: Wit and Wisdom from the World's Greatest Investor, but I enjoyed the simplicity of this little book as well.

Some of my favorite quotes:

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

"...lose money for the firm and I will be understanding; lose a shred of reputation for the firm, and I will be ruthless."

"...If you're smart, you don't need debt. If you're dumb, it's poisonous."

"Mentally we're always buying businesses. It's just that sometimes we can buy all of them and sometimes we can only buy little pieces of them."

"I wouldn't buy any stocks I would not be happy owning if they stopped trading it for three years."

"The most important quality for an investor is temperament, not intellect... You need a temperament that derives great pleasure neither from being with the crowd or agains the crowd. You know you're right, not because of the positions of others but because your facts and your reasoning are right."

"Graham's premise was that there would periodically be times when you couldn't find good values, and it's a good idea to go to the beach."

(On giving your kids a big inheritance:) "The idea that you get a lifetime supply of food stamps based on coming out of the right womb strikes at my idea of fairness."

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

These are just a small handful of the insightful quotes this book contains. Definitely worth the (short) time it takes to read. :)