Warren Buffett, one
of the world’s greatest investor, built his fortune and reputation through his
penchant for long term investment and investment strategies.
Warren
Buffett’s quotes have been an inspirational provision to many.
Here, we share some
of his valuable insights.
Further down, is an
infographic featuring some of the best quotes along with personal stories
from Buffett’s life.
“Someone is sitting
in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”
"I always knew
I was going to be rich. I don’t think I ever doubted it for a minute.”
“No matter how
great the talent or efforts, some things just take time. You can’t produce a
baby in one month by getting nine women pregnant."
“I knew a lot about
what I did when I was 20. I had read a lot, and I aspired to learn everything I
could about the subject.”
Warren
Buffett on Investing
"Rule No.1: Never
lose money. Rule No.2: Never forget rule No.1.”
“Price is what you
pay. Value is what you get.”
“Wall Street is the
only place that people ride to in a Rolls Royce to get advice from those who
take the subway.”
“Risk comes from
not knowing what you’re doing.”
“Only when the tide
goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked.”
“You only have to
do a very few things right in your life so long as you don’t do too many things
wrong.”
“I never attempt to
make money on the stock market. I buy on the assumption that they could close
the market the next day and not reopen it for five years.”
“Be fearful when
others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful.”
“Look at market
fluctuations as your friend rather than your enemy; profit from folly rather
than participate in it.”
“Beware of geeks
bearing formulas.”
“The investor of
today does not profit from yesterday’s growth.”
“Why not invest
your assets in the companies you really like? As Mae West said, ‘Too much of a
good thing can be wonderful.”
“If a business does
well, the stock eventually follows.”
“Wide
diversification is only required when investors do not understand what they are
doing.
“Never invest in a
business you cannot understand.”
“Buy a business,
don’t rent stocks.”
“You don’t need to
be a rocket scientist. Investing is not a game where the guy with the 160 IQ
beats the guy with 130 IQ.”
“We have long felt
that the only value of stock forecasters is to make fortune-tellers look good.”
“I am a better
investor because I am a businessman and a better businessman because I am an
investor.”
“The Stock Market
is designed to transfer money from the Active to the Patient.”
“By periodically
investing in an index fund, the know-nothing investors can actually outperform
most investment professionals.”
“The stock market
is a no-called-strike game. You don’t have to swing at everything – you can
wait for your pitch.”
“For some reason,
people take their cues from price action rather than from values. What doesn’t
work is when you start doing things that you don’t understand or because they
worked last week for somebody else. The dumbest reason in the world to buy a stock
is because it’s going up.”
“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.”
“When asked how he
became so successful in investing, Buffett answered: ‘we read hundreds and
hundreds of annual reports every year.”
“The critical
investment factor is determining the intrinsic value of a business and paying a
fair or bargain price.”
“Diversification
may preserve wealth, but concentration builds wealth.”
“I never buy
anything unless I can fill out on a piece of paper my reasons. I may be wrong,
but I would know the answer to that …I’m paying $32 billion today for
the Coca Cola Company because… If you can’t answer that question, you
shouldn’t buy it. If you can answer that question, and you do it a few times,
you’ll make a lot of money.“
“Anything can
happen in stock markets and you ought to conduct your affairs so that if the
most extraordinary events happen, that you’re still around to play the next
day.“
“Never test the
depth of river with both the feet.”
“Do a lot of
reading.” – on how to determine the value of a business
Warren
Buffett on Life
“It takes 20 years
to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that,
you’ll do things differently.”
“It’s better to
hang out with people better than you. Pick out associates whose behavior is
better than yours and you’ll drift in that direction.”
“If anything, taxes
for the lower and middle class and maybe even the upper middle class should
even probably be cut further. But I think that people at the high end – people
like myself – should be paying a lot more in taxes. We have it better than
we’ve ever had it.”
“Of the
billionaires I have known, money just brings out the basic traits in them. If
they were jerks before they had money, they are simply jerks with a billion
dollars.”
“We enjoy the
process far more than the proceeds.”
“I really like my
life. I’ve arranged my life so that I can do what I want.”
“Never give up
searching for the job that you’re passionate about. Try to find the job you’d
have if you were independently rich. Forget about the pay. When you’re
associating with the people that you love, doing what you love, it doesn’t get
any better than that.”
“You won’t keep
control of your time, unless you can say ‘no.’ You can’t let other people set
your agenda in life.”
“You ought to be
able to explain why you’re taking the job you’re taking, why you’re making the
investment you’re making, or whatever it may be. And if it can’t stand applying
pencil to paper, you’d better think it through some more. And if you can’t
write an intelligent answer to those questions, don’t do it.“
“When you get to my
age, you’ll measure your success in life by how many of the people you want to
have love you actually do love you. That’s the ultimate test of how you’ve
lived your life.”
“Money to some
extent sometimes let you be in more interesting environments. But it can’t
change how many people love you or how healthy you are.“
“Honesty is very
expensive gift. Do not expect it from cheap people.”
“If you’re in the
luckiest 1 per cent of humanity, you owe it to the rest of humanity to think
about the other 99 per cent.”
Warren
Buffett on Investing in Quality Companies
“I do not like debt
and do not like to invest in companies that have too much debt, particularly
long-term debt. With long-term debt, increases in interest rates can
drastically affect company profits and make future cash flows less
predictable.“
“A great investment
opportunity occurs when a marvelous business encounters a one-time huge, but
solvable problem.“
“It’s far better to
buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful
price.”
“Our favorite
holding period is forever.”
“Only buy something
that you’d be perfectly happy to hold if the market shut down for 10 years.”
“Time is the friend
of the wonderful company, the enemy of the mediocre.”
“Whether we’re
talking about socks or stocks, I like buying quality merchandise when it is
marked down.”
“Buy companies with
strong histories of profitability and with a dominant business franchise.”
“Our approach is
very much profiting from lack of change rather than from change. With Wrigley
chewing gum, it’s the lack of change that appeals to me. I don’t think it is
going to be hurt by the Internet. That’s the kind of business I like.”
“I try to buy stock
in businesses that are so wonderful that an idiot can run them. Because sooner
or later, one will.”
“An investor should
ordinarily hold a small piece of an outstanding business with the same tenacity
that an owner would exhibit if he owned all of that business.”
Warren
Buffett on Business
“In the business
world, the rearview mirror is always clearer than the windshield.”
“Cash never makes
us happy, but it’s better to have the money burning a hole in Berkshire’s
pocket than resting comfortably in someone else’s.”
“I have pledged… to
always run Berkshire with more than ample cash… I will not trade even a night’s
sleep for the chance of extra profits.”
Warren
Buffett on Being Frugal
“If you buy things
you do not need, soon you will have to sell things you need.”
“Do not save what
is left after spending, but spend what is left after saving.”
Credit: InvestingTips360
