Deep

“Investing is an activity in which consumption today is foregone in an attempt to allow greater consumption at a later date. “Risk” is the possibility that this objective won’t be attained. By that standard, purportedly “risk-free” long-term bonds in 2012 were a far riskier investment than a long- term investment in common stocks. At that time, even a 1% annual rate of inflation between 2012 and 2017 would have decreased the purchasing-power of the government bond”
― Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway Letters to Shareholders: 1965-2024

“At Berkshire, we will continue to look for business-savvy directors who are owner-oriented and arrive with a strong specific interest in our company. Thought and principles, not robot-like “process,” will guide their actions. In representing your interests, they will, of course, seek managers whose goals include delighting their customers, cherishing their associates and acting as good citizens of both their communities and our country. Those objectives are not new. They were the goals of able CEOs sixty years ago and remain so. Who would have it otherwise?”
― Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway Letters to Shareholders: 1965-2024

“Productive assets such as farms, real estate and, yes, business ownership produce wealth — lots of it. Most owners of such properties will be rewarded. All that’s required is the passage of time, an inner calm, ample diversification and a minimization of transactions and fees.”
― Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway Letters to Shareholders: 1965-2024

“My direct experience (limited, thankfully) with CEOs who have played with a company’s numbers indicates that they were more often prompted by ego than by a desire for financial gain.”
― Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway Letters to Shareholders: 1965-2024