“No matter how great the talent or effort, some things just take time: you can’t produce a baby in one month by getting nine women pregnant.”
-1985 letter
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“Lester Maddox, when Governor of Georgia, was criticized regarding the state’s abysmal prison system. ‘The solution’, he said, ‘is simple. All we need is a better class of prisoners.’ ”
-1985 letter
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“For you chocaholics who like to fantasize, one statistic: we (at subsidiary See’s Candy)sell over 12,000 tons annually.”
-1986 letter
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“While the Kirby (vacuum cleaner) product is more expensive than most cleaners, it performs in a manner that leaves cheaper units far behind (‘in the dust,’ so to speak).”
-1986 letter
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“The most important thing to do when you find yourself in a hole is to stop digging.”
-1990 letter
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“The fat lady has yet to gargle, let alone sing, and we won't know our true 1967 - 1990 cost of funds (from insurance premiums that the company has received, but hasn’t yet had to pay all losses from) until all losses from this period have been settled many decades from now.”
-1990 letter
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“Ultimately, even the most optimistic manager must face reality.”
-1992 letter
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“It's only when the tide goes out that you learn who's been swimming naked.”
-1992 letter
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“There's no use running if you're on the wrong road.”
-1993 letter
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“Why must bands play as if they will be paid by the decibel?”
-1996 letter
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“Inverting really works: Try singing country western songs backwards and you will quickly regain your house, your car and your wife.”
-1996 letter
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“I was recently studying the 1896 report of Coke (and you think that you are behind in your reading!).”
-1996 letter
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On whether or not to continue printing and mailing quarterly shareholder reports:
“...a small number (of Berkshire shareholders) who want the quarterly information have no interest in getting it off the Internet. Being a life-long sufferer from technophobia, I can empathize with this group.”
-1997 letter
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“W. C. Fields once said, ‘It was a woman who drove me to drink, but unfortunately I never had the chance to thank her.’ ”
-1999 letter
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“In apparel, Fruit of the Loom increased unit sales by 10 million dozen, or 14%, with shipments of intimate apparel for women and girls growing by 31%. Charlie, who is far more knowledgeable than I am on this subject, assures me that women are not wearing more underwear. With this expert input, I can only conclude that our market share in the women’s category must be growing rapidly.”
-2004 letter
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“Patrick Wolff, twice US chess champion, will again be in the mall playing blindfolded against all comers. He tells me that he has never tried to play more than four games simultaneously while handicapped this way but might try to bump that limit to five or six this year. If you're a chess fan, take Patrick on -- but be sure to check his blindfold before your first move.”
-1999 letter
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“After two hours of give-and-take, (a group of finance students from the University of Tennessee who meet with Buffett), traditionally presents me with a thank-you gift. (The doors stay locked until they do.)”
-2003 letter
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“Long ago, Mark Twain said: ‘A man who tries to carry a cat home by its tail will learn a lesson that can be learned in no other way.’ ”
-2005 letter
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“Over the years, a number of very smart people have learned the hard way that a long string of impressive numbers multiplied by a single zero always equals zero.”
-2005 letter
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“As we view GEICO’s current opportunities, Tony and I feel like two hungry mosquitoes in a nudist camp. Juicy targets are everywhere.”
-2008 letter
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“A promise is no better than the person or institution making it.”
-2008 letter
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“It’s often useful in testing a theory to push it to extremes.”
-2008 letter
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“Money will always flow toward opportunity, and there is an abundance of that in America. Commentators today often talk of ‘great uncertainty.’ But think back, for example, to December 6, 1941, October 18, 1987 and September 10, 2001. No matter how serene today may be, tomorrow is always uncertain.
Don’t let that reality spook you. Throughout my lifetime, politicians and pundits have constantly moaned about terrifying problems facing America. Yet our citizens now live an astonishing six times better than when I was born. The prophets of doom have overlooked the all-important factor that is certain: Human potential is far from exhausted, and the American system for unleashing that potential – a system that has worked wonders for over two centuries despite frequent interruptions for recessions and even a Civil War – remains alive and effective.
We are not natively smarter than we were when our country was founded nor do we work harder. But look around you and see a world beyond the dreams of any colonial citizen. Now, as in 1776, 1861, 1932 and 1941, America’s best days lie ahead.”
-2010 letter
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“Nevertheless, our views regarding long-term inflationary trends are as negative as ever. Like virginity, a stable price level seems capable of maintenance, but not of restoration.”
-1981 letter
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“...the most elusive of human goals - keeping things simple and remembering what you set out to do.”
-1982 letter
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“The rear-view mirror is always clearer than the windshield.”
-1991 letter
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“(Burlesque dancer) Gypsy Rose Lee announced on one of her later birthdays: ‘I have everything I had last year; it's just that it's all two inches lower.’ ”
-1987 letter
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“Most people, no matter how sophisticated they are in other matters, feel like babes in the woods when purchasing jewelry. They can judge neither quality nor price. For them only one rule makes sense: If you don’t know jewelry, know the jeweler.”
-1988 letter
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“Marrying for money - a mistake under most circumstances, (is) insanity if one is already rich.”
-1989 letter
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“I tell the newcomers the story of the Tennessee group (of business students who were well-rewarded for their suggestion of Clayton Homes as an acquisition target, which Berkshire was very pleased to quickly act upon). I do this in the spirit of the farmer who enters his hen house with an ostrich egg and admonishes the flock: ‘I don’t like to complain, girls, but this is just a small sample of what the competition is doing.’ To date, our new scouts have not brought us deals. But their mission in life has been made clear to them.”
-2004 letter
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“Kelly Muchemore, the Flo Ziegfeld of Berkshire, put on a magnificent shopping extravaganza last year, and she says that was just a warm-up for this year. (Kelly, I am delighted to report, is getting married in October. I’m giving her away and suggested that she make a little history by holding the wedding at the annual meeting. She balked, however, when Charlie insisted that he be the ringbearer.)”
-2004 letter
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“Kelly Broz (neé Muchemore), the Flo Ziegfeld of Berkshire, ... got married in October, and I gave her away. She asked me how I wanted to be listed in the wedding program. I replied ‘envious of the groom,’ and that’s the way it went to press.”
-2005 letter
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On the Chinese language edition of Poor Charlie’s Almanack, the ever-popular book about Mr. Buffett’s partner, Charlie Munger:
“So what if you can’t read Chinese? Just buy a copy and carry it around; it will make you look urbane and erudite.“
-2010 letter
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“As one investor said in 2009 (regarding the effects of the Financial Crisis): ‘This is worse than divorce. I’ve lost half my net worth – and I still have my wife.’ ”
-2010 letter
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