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9 hilarious Warren Buffett quotes from past Berkshire Hathaway annual meetings

Warren Buffett on life, sex, and Harley Davidson

Warren Buffett hasn’t always been the outspoken Oracle of Omaha. The billionaire CEO and chairman of Berkshire Hathaway was once so shy that he’d get physically ill if he had to speak in public. To overcome his fear, he enrolled in a Dale Carnegie course but chickened out. He eventually signed up for another Carnegie course and … the rest is history.

Now some 40,000 people descend upon Omaha, Nebraska, each year to hear Buffett’s words of wisdom at the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholder meeting, which Yahoo Finance will live stream this year.

Some of Buffett’s most memorable sayings come from the meeting’s question-and-answer session. Buffett and vice chairman Charlie Munger field questions from the audience about investing and whatever else comes to mind. The session is totally unscripted and unrehearsed. Anything goes—and often does.

As we wait for this Saturday's meeting, here’s a look at some of Buffett’s most memorable comments from past meetings via BuffettFAQ.com.

1. On Harley stock and Harley riders:
I don’t know if Harley Davidson stock is worth $20 or $30. I like a business where customers tattoo their name on their chest - I’m not sure you can go around questioning those guys!
Source: BRK Annual Meeting 2010

2. On what qualities they look for in the leadership of companies they acquire:
We also look for three things: intelligence, energy, and integrity. If you don’t have the latter, then you should hope they don’t have the first two either. If someone doesn’t have integrity, then you want them to be dumb and lazy.
Source: BRK Annual Meeting 2005

3. On sleepwalking, Playboy, and what he’d do differently—or not:
You have to find your passion in life. I would choose the same job. I enjoy it. It is a terrible mistake to sleepwalk through your life. Unless Shirley MacLaine is right, you won’t have another one. My dad had a business with [investment] books on his shelves, and they turned me on. This was before Playboy. If he was a minister, I’m not sure I would have been as enthused. If you have obligations, you have to deal with realities.
Source: BRK Annual Meeting 2008

4. On advice for recent grads (and MBAs):
I tell students to go work for an organization you admire or an individual you admire, which usually means that most MBAs I meet become self-employed.
Source: BRK Annual Meeting 2008

5. On knowing what you don’t know:
All investing is laying out cash now to get some more back in the future. The concept of “a bird in the hand” came from Aesop in about 600 BC. He knew a lot, but not that [he lived in] 600 BC. He couldn’t know everything. ... If you need to use a computer or calculator to figure it out, you shouldn’t [buy the investment]. Those types of [situations] fall into the “too-hard” bucket. It should be obvious. It should shout at you, without all the spreadsheets. We see something better.
Source: BRK Annual Meeting 2009

6. On the value of first-hand experience (and romance):
Investing on paper is like reading a romance novel vs. doing something else. You’ll soon find out whether you like it. The earlier you start, the better.
Source: BRK Annual Meeting 2007

7. On envy—and lust
Our experience is that envy is what really drives people. You can give someone a $2 million bonus and they’re happy until they see the next guy got $2.1 million and then they’re miserable. Charlie has pointed out that of the seven deadly sins, envy is the most useless, because you just make yourself miserable and can’t sleep. There’s real upside to gluttony – I’ve had some great times with gluttony. And we won’t get into lust.
Source: BRK Annual Meeting 2006

8. On heroes and marriage:
Choosing your heroes is very important. Associate well, marry up and hope you find someone who doesn’t mind marrying down. It was a huge help to me – I can tell you that.  (To which the very witty Munger chimed in: You’re not restricted to living people when choosing your mentors. Some of the best people are dead.)
Source: BRK Annual Meeting 2007

9. And, some solid advice on life in general:
Avoiding the dumb things is the most important. Learn more, know limitations, avoid the dumb things.
Source: BRK Annual Meeting 2010

On April 30th, Yahoo Finance will have an exclusive live stream of the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting. Click here for more information.

 

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