Warren Buffett (b. 1930)

Quotes

• I violated the Noah rule: Predicting rain doesn't count; building arks does.

• If you have a harem of 40 women, you never get to know any of them very well.

• It's only when the tide goes out that you discover who's been swimming naked.

• I don't look to jump over 7-foot bars; I look around for 1-foot bars that I can step over.

• Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.

• Most people get interested in stocks when everyone else is. The time to get interested is when no one else is. You can't buy what is popular and do well.

• I won't close down a business of subnormal profitability merely to add a fraction of a point to our corporate returns. I also feel it inappropriate for even an exceptionally profitable company to fund an operation once it appears to have unending losses in prospect. Adam Smith would disagree with my first proposition and Karl Marx would disagree with my second; the middle ground is the only position that leaves me comfortable.

• In evaluating people, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence, and energy. If you don't have the first, the other two will kill you.

• The only time to buy these is on a day with no 'y' in it.

• In the business world, the rearview mirror is always clearer than the windshield.

• It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently.

• 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.