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Buffett to step down following six-decade run atop Berkshire

bloomberg.com

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Re: Buffett to step down following six-decade run atop Berkshire

#251

Post by pazimzadeh »

arrosenberg wrote: post #234
karaterobot wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not clear how this represents him not being pragmatic, could you say more?

Deteriorating conditions for the working class are the main driver of our push toward authoritarian government. A pragmatist would have been more sympathetic for reasons beyond pure capitalist economics.

Replying to @linotype, below your comment:

> I just don’t buy this argument. By global standards, even the poorest Americans (with obvious exceptions like the homeless) are relatively wealthy. Comparison is the theft of joy.

Define wealth. The cheapest option for many foods in other countries is often not only much cheaper, but also of much higher quality than the cheapest option for the same type of item in the US (bread, rice, etc..) in fact their cheap version could easily be pass for the US premium grocery version.

Re: Buffett to step down following six-decade run atop Berkshire

#252

Post by physicles »

8f2ab37a-ed6c wrote: post #16

I always run across great quotes from Warren Buffett, but I never spent any time actually reading any of his writings or anything written about him. What's the best place to start to absorb some of his wisdom? Anything that's applicable to startups, tech, and life in general, beyond being the CEO of a holding company?

For his personal background, the history of his companies, and insight into his overall investment philosophy, the Aquired podcast did a three part series on Berkshire Hathaway back in 2021. They also interviewed Charlie Munger just before he passed away. They’re good overviews and enjoyable listens.

Re: Buffett to step down following six-decade run atop Berkshire

#253

Post by Aeolun »

FiniteField wrote: post #167
kinnth wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Buffet reminded me a lot of Angela Merkel. They stood clearly and simply for good moral judgment, fair systems and looked at the bigger picture to carry most people forward. They also based all their decision in facts, truth and science. They learn't their trades (economics & politics) over time and weren't afraid to adapt as times changed. Their slow and steady presence did more for equality and fairness than many o…

"The current times" are a direct result of decisions like that of Merkel to throw open the borders of Germany to a million unchecked foreign men. If there's one reason that the AfD is the largest party in Germany today, it's because of that decision Merkel made a whole decade ago. How was that "based in facts, truth and science", or "slow and steady"?

The million unchecked foreign men (and women) are presumably propping up the German economy as we speak.

There will always be people that dislike change, but it may ultimately be better to start integrating them earlier rather than later. If you make it through the bad times (e.g. now), at the other end is the outcome you desire.

Re: Buffett to step down following six-decade run atop Berkshire

#254

Post by TeaBrain »

WalterBright wrote: post #193
yodsanklai wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The only unique thing about America is free markets Is that unique to America? I'm in EU, I thought we had free markets too. > The more free market a country is, the more it prospers. Some countries, including the US, reached prosperity by protecting their markets.

> I'm in EU, I thought we had free markets too Significantly less free than in the US, and correspondingly less prosperity. > Some countries, including the US, reached prosperity by protecting their markets. Not true. If it was true, N Korea would be massively prosperous.

>Significantly less free than in the US, and correspondingly less prosperity.

Which measures of freedom became restricted in the EU following the GFC that led to the prosperity of the EU diverging from the US?

Re: Buffett to step down following six-decade run atop Berkshire

#255

Post by Aeolun »

Ekaros wrote: post #123
KajMagnus wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doctors aren't that useful, unfortunately

Yeah, quality years at end of life are not solved problem even for the rich. Being this active must be genetic.

Strong sense of purpose?

Re: Buffett to step down following six-decade run atop Berkshire

#256

Post by pests »

dehugger wrote: post #236
WalterBright wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Sovied Union and Communist China all had vast natural resources. But a third world economy. Japan, S Korea and Hong Kong have next to no natural resources. Great prosperity. Germany turned to free markets after WW2 and enjoyed the "German Miracle". (Germany has since turned to socialism, with predictable results.) Germany received far, far less Marshall Plan money than Britain and France, who had no miracle. > bu…

Consider, for a moment, the state that China was in at the conclusion of WW2. It hadn't even industrialized yet. The British and the Japanese absolutely trashed China for over a hundred years! Russia was also not industrialized until after their revolution in ~1920, and suffered horrific losses in the homeland during WW2. The US emerged from WW2 fully industrialized and nearly unscathed. The US mainland remained unto…

> The US mainland remained untouched throughout both world wars.

Minus some balloons from the Japanese I believe?

Re: Buffett to step down following six-decade run atop Berkshire

#257

Post by TeaBrain »

WalterBright wrote: post #194
terribleperson wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would say that the dollar being the global reserve currency is a unique privilege, yes.

It's a result of American prosperity, not the cause.

You are getting two things confused here. The original question was what privileges the US had that others do not. The USD being the reserve currency is unquestionably a privilege. That it is not the original cause of American prosperity is completely besides the point.

Re: Buffett to step down following six-decade run atop Berkshire

#258

Post by ralph84 »

epolanski wrote: post #169
khazhoux wrote: post #128

For all I've heard about WB the last few decades, I couldn't tell you a single thing he's done that's impacted my life, the country, or the world. AFAIK he's a guy who makes a ton of money, plays bridge with Bill Gates, gives advice, and has a fund that made money for other people. Am I missing something?

He's not a politician, he doesn't have to. Still, he's given dozens of billions in charity, given important counsel to the government during the 80s and 2008 financial crisis. During 2008 financial crisis he essentially saved Goldman and General Electric both preventing further escape of capital and an even worse situation for the US and potentially world economy. In any case, he's a capitalist who likes making money…

Lol, his important counsel was “bail out my portfolio plz.” Saving businesses that deserved to fail using free money printed by the fed isn’t a virtue. He was also a big cheerleader for the frauds at Wells Fargo.

Re: Buffett to step down following six-decade run atop Berkshire

#259

Post by btilly »

thi2 wrote: post #54
kinnth wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Buffet reminded me a lot of Angela Merkel. They stood clearly and simply for good moral judgment, fair systems and looked at the bigger picture to carry most people forward. They also based all their decision in facts, truth and science. They learn't their trades (economics & politics) over time and weren't afraid to adapt as times changed. Their slow and steady presence did more for equality and fairness than many o…

That has to be about a different Angela Merkel, the one I know had one priority: preserving status quo.

She also was for making Germany economically dependent on gas pipelines to Russia, even though she knew that she was funding Russia's war in Ukraine.

I am not inclined to give her a free pass on that.

Re: Buffett to step down following six-decade run atop Berkshire

#260

Post by emtel »

TeaBrain wrote: post #254
WalterBright wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'm in EU, I thought we had free markets too Significantly less free than in the US, and correspondingly less prosperity. > Some countries, including the US, reached prosperity by protecting their markets. Not true. If it was true, N Korea would be massively prosperous.

>Significantly less free than in the US, and correspondingly less prosperity. Which measures of freedom became restricted in the EU following the GFC that led to the prosperity of the EU diverging from the US?

US per capita gdp has been higher than Europe since 1960, and the gap has steadily widened: https://m.statisticstimes.com/economy/united-states-vs-eu-ec...
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