Select Quotes from Warren Buffett

The PowerTrend Profits investing newsletter identifies some favorite quotes by Warren Buffett:


"The stock market is a no-called-strike game. You don't have to swing at everything -- you can wait for your pitch."

"'Price is what you pay; value is what you get.' Whether we're talking about socks or stocks, I like buying quality merchandise when it is marked down."

"The best thing that happens to us is when a great company gets into temporary trouble... We want to buy them when they're on the operating table."

"When we own portions of outstanding businesses with outstanding managements, our favorite holding period is forever."

"It's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price."

Socialist Billionaire Warren Buffett Mouths Off at Georgetown

Speaking at Georgetown University's Business School alongside with crony capitalist CEO Brian Moynihan, Warren Buffett has some rules millionaires and billionaires.

First: The "rich must learn to live on $500 million" and donate the rest.

Got that? The new Buffett rules. They apply to everyone else expect old Warren himself. See you at the country club Warren.

Buffett and his Becky

Warren Buffet still calls gold: "a barbarous relic"

Gross: Report claims Germany moving gold from NY/Paris back to Frankfurt. Central banks don’t trust each other?
— PIMCO (@PIMCO) January 15, 2013

Central bank wars appear to be heating up as Germany announces plans that it will move a sizable amount of gold held at the NY Federal Reserve Bank back to the home country.

Berkshire Hathaway chairman Warren Buffett remains unimpressed and continues to call gold "a barbarous relic".

David Sokol, ex-Buffett aide, gets a free pass from the SEC

That's the hard charging Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Not, the football conference.

David Sokol, who resigned in disgrace from Berkshire Hathaway in 2011, gets a completely free pass from the SEC.

Does it pay to know the right people, or what?

The Wall Street Journal said: "A spokesman for the SEC declined to comment."

Makes perfect sense.

Who is David Sokol and why should we care?

He's the guy the allegedly got a free pass for front running Berkshire shares (see article).

How did the alleged conversation possibly go down with Warren Buffett? See here.

Warren Buffett: Tax the rich to bring joy and glad tidings to the middle class

TODAY Show:

MATT LAUER, TODAY: So bottom line, would raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans have a chilling effect on hiring in this country?

WARREN BUFFETT: No, and I think would have a great effect in terms of the morale of the middle class, who have seen themselves paying high payroll taxes, income taxes. And then they watch guys like me end up paying a rate that’s below that, you know, paid by the people in my office.

Warren Buffett Continues to Snow the World

What Warren Buffett values the most? 
[VERY easy answer] 

Snow, the internet, BS, Bill Gates, Becky Quick, Dairy Queen, CNBC, .....

"The amount of time that it's freed up for other things is just incredible. I would gladly pay half my net worth just to have that kind of information available to me. They haven't figured out how to charge me what it's worth. That's one of the problems they've got." - Warren Buffett, on the internet

Is Warren Buffett now a short-term speculator?

Warren Buffett has told the investment world that he is "a long-term investor."

Based upon recent Berkshire Hathaway disclosures, we find Buffett dumping long-term blue chip stocks such as Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT) and Procter and Gamble Co. (PG).

Warren Buffett has told the investment world that he doesn't invest in technology because "he doesn't understanding it" and that it runs counter to Graham-Dodd Value Investing.

Based upon recent Berkshire Hathaway disclosures, we now find Buffett dumping  his investment in semiconductor firm Intel (INTC).

Warren Buffett has told the investment world that he strongly dislikes derivatives.

Based upon recent Berkshire Hathaway disclosures, we now find Berkshire reporting huge losses in its derivatives portfolio.

The financial staff at The Think Billions blog look forward to more Berkshire Hathaway disclosures to the SEC.

Sun Valley hosts billionaires

Warren Buffett flips and flops, again

Warren Buffett's Jiu-Jitsu 

Jiu-jitsu "is a martial art, martial art, combat sport, and a self defense system that focuses on grappling and especially ground fighting." (Wikipedia)

Warren Buffett dazzles the MSNBC crowd 

As we all know, on a weekly basis, and for years, Warren Buffett has been able to dazzle, out talk and persuade a very gullible (and economically challenged) audience at MSNBC (and elsewhere) on a number of very crazy notions over the years.

This has been, and he has been very successful for the most part.

Warren Buffett attempts to dazzle Washington D.C.'s Economic Club

This week, Warren attempted to sell his usual propaganda to a wider (more sophisticated?) audience.

He attempted to set the record straight, Warren-style.

He attempted to dazzle them with facts.

He attempted a retreat to the middle ground.

Listen to this stuff!

"I support certain Republicans. Actually this year I gave money to a Republican congressman." 

[Federal Election Commission data shows that Virginia Republican Scott Rigell a donation of $2,500 from Warren Himself; although that is somewhat less than the $70,000 he has given to help re-elect President Obama].

Warren Buffett drinks his own home-brewed Kool-Aid 

 "We're not smarter than the people in 1930, we don't worker harder than the people in 1930, we just have a system that works and has been working since 1776 and will keep working."

Eddie Lampert and Sears: Is This Move More Than a Dead Cat Bouncing?

Eddie Lampert, formerly known as The Next Warren Buffett, is Chairman of Sears Holding Corp.

Eddie, throughout 2012, has been desperately trying to prove to Wall Street that Sears is not a "dead cat bouncing." But, rather, a sustained growth move to the upside.

Amazingly, so far in 2012, Chairman Eddie is seeing some success contrary to critics (including Think Billions). Sears stock is up an amazing 60% YTD this year.

The Wall Street Journal, always up for jumping on a stock bandwagon, is sending Chairman Eddie and Sears much financial love these days.

In a recent 'Behind the Tape' article ("Lampert Skeptics Could Get Seared" May 16, 2012), the WSJ brazenly lays out the undervalued case for Sears that even a Motley Fool subscriber could read and understand.

Calling Chairman Lampert "a master of financial engineering" our WSJ reporter applies some quick-and-dirty advanced math and accounting skills he picked up somewhere to arrive at a $8 billion value for Sears. Undervalued and under-appreciated. Bank it.

Again, our brazen WSJ reporter: the "good news at Sears can be particularly potent. Look out above."

It is just The Wall Street Journal doing a public service to short-sellers of SHLD recommending they immediately close out positions.

Eduardo Saverin of Facebook kisses the U. S. Goodbye

Eduardo Saverin on Forbes - #634 Forbes Billionaires, #212 Forbes 400

Eduardo Saverin,  Brazilian-born American internet entrepreneur and co-founder of Facebook, has just renounced his US citizenship.

An obvious preview and bet on US tax policy in 2013.

Warren Buffett, please answer your Macroeconomic Tax Policy phone line.

Warren Buffett Mouths Off About Augusta National

Warren Buffett, a member of Augusta National Golf Club, and also a member of the elite Ask My Opinion Please group, says women belong at the golf club.

Following the Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/A) annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska this weekend, Professor Buffett said: “I’m not telling the group at Augusta what to do, but if I were running the club I’d have plenty of women.”

Protesters Hit Berkshire Hathaway

Two boisterous protest groups have invaded Omaha Nebraska and specifically Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting this weekend.

One group of protesters is from Southern California (of course) and desires above all hope to persuade (Berkshire's unit) Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad to relocate a container-handling facility it plans to build near their neighborhood.

The other protesters are allegedly associated with the local Occupy Omaha (OO is a splinter division of the OWS) group. OO spokesperson D'Shawn Cunningham says the group plans to address concerns about wealth inequality and corporate governance policy practices in the U.S. Basically, OO had a free weekend free on their busy calendar.

Warren Buffett, chairman of  Berkshire Hathaway, could not be reached for comment. Mr. Buffett was working on a new tax policy for the federal government to soak the rich even more. "I'm not messing around this time. They deserve to get hit and hit hard," said the bridge playing very close friend of fellow billionaire, Bill Gates.

Warren Buffett: NOT great with personal philanthropy

".....it turns out that Gates and Buffett have pledged to give most of their money to the Gates Foundation. But they haven’t actually done so, yet."


 article: Haven’t Gates and Buffett given away their billions?

Chris Christie: fed up with Warren Buffett

"He (Warren Buffett) should just write a check and shut up!" 

Christie: "I'm tired of hearing about it. If he wants to give the government more money, he's got the ability to write a check -- go ahead and write it!!!"

Warren Buffett: Eat the Rich

Warren Buffett sends pennies to Washington

Warren Buffett, trapped in a half-baked, crazy tax matching program challenge with Congress reported here at Think Billions; apparently will pay up after all.

Acting like a pensioner who thinks a 25-cent tip is sufficient for the kid to park his car at the country club, Warren Buffett has promised a check to the United States Treasury for just over $49,000.

Who says billionaires are not generous human beings?

Warren Buffett continues to show how a founding member of the 1% Club tips like the 1% giving less than 1%. A true role model for citizens everywhere.

And yes, old Warren was spotted by our reporters recently in downtown Omaha laughing his way to his local bank. A public relations embarrassment turns out all right after all for the family balance sheet.

And Happy Valentine's Day to you Warren Buffett, well in advance, from Think Billions!

Eddie Lampert of Sears is forced into his own share buy back program

Hey, stock investors! what happens to one of your positions when you fully realize that you are "long and wrong?" Well, there are multiple strategies, of course. Sell, admit a mistake, and exit your position. Hold and hope for price recovery. Enter into some sophisticated options positions.

Eddie Lampert, formerly known as The Next Warren Buffett, has experienced the "long and wrong" feeling with his beloved basket-case of a retail turnaround project better known as Sears (NASDAQ:SHLD). Currently selling for a cool $34 a share (52 week lo/hi 28.89 - 94.79) this dog of a stock has most certainly seen better days. Plus, from an operational standpoint, the news gets worse and worse month after month.

What is happening now to Eddie is that he is not just "long and wrong" with his personal holdings in Sears, but with his managed hedge fund as well. To placate his restless hedge fund investors, he has personally bought more Sears stock directly from the hedge fund to emphasize that he is "long and wrong" with conviction! Go, Eddie,go Eddie!

File this move under averaging down, doubling down or forced to eat his own shares under duress.

NY TIMES: Sears article


Eddie is receiving alot of quality strategic advice these days on this investment matter. Such as: dump Kmart, stop watching the movie Groundhog Day and take a part-time job at Walmart to learning retailing from the ground up. The Sears turnaround attempt will make for a great movie some day and/or a compelling Harvard Business School case study.

But, best of all, most think Eddie is still a high quality investor and that Sears is one of his few serious mistakes along the way.

So, we at Think Billions, wish Eddie Lampert well and hopes he enjoys a profitable 2012.

Warren Buffett Mouths Off (again) About Taxes

Warren Buffett, trapped in a controversy about tax policy, is again mouthing off like an 81 year old off trying to find his medication container.

With Senators telling the geriatric investor that if he [Buffett] authentically felt "guilty" about paying too low a tax rate, he should "send in a check," old Warren has responded with some sort of half-baked, half-crazy matching program deal (which will never take place) with the Senators.

This is what amounts to an economic debate on tax policy in the United States of America these days.

This is also a demonstration of the Warren Buffett Public Relations Machine deflecting how he isn't doing his fair share as a long-time Card Carrying Member of the 1%.


Our Think Billions blog recommendation to the long time billionaire is: stick to investing in China, Warren (search for recent stories).