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Warren Buffett's final shareholder letter [pdf]

berkshirehathaway.com

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Re: Warren Buffett's final shareholder letter [pdf]

#61

Post by SilverElfin »

bfkwlfkjf wrote: post #10

Here's a person with integrity. They're very rare these days, especially amongst the wealthy.

Ask the railroad workers of BNSF about Buffet’s “integrity”. He’s responsible for them being rampantly abused. If you’re not familiar look up interviews with actual workers. They are asked to work insane hours and with little scheduling, and are unpaid when they’re waiting around. The (local) monopolization of the rail industry and constant lobbying against regulations by Buffet’s minions have let this continue to this day.

Let’s not forget Buffet also funded BYD significantly and is responsible for their growth, which basically is undermining his own country and European industry as well. Ultimately it’ll be responsible for putting masses of auto industry workers out of a job. I don’t see integrity as much as just basic private equity style capitalism.

Re: Warren Buffett's final shareholder letter [pdf]

#62

Post by cal_dent »

marcus_holmes wrote: post #40
neilv wrote: post #23

If only more billionaires would start sounding as aware as this 95 year-old one: > But Lady Luck is fickle and – no other term fits – wildly unfair. In many cases, our leaders and the rich have received far more than their share of luck – which, too often, the recipients prefer not to acknowledge. Dynastic inheritors have achieved lifetime financial independence the moment they emerged from the womb, while others hav…

I have found that it's incredibly hard to get successful entrepreneurs to acknowledge that a lot of their success is down to luck. I think it's got something to do with the Protestant Work Ethic - that if they were smart and worked hard then they "deserve" their wealth , but if they just got lucky they don't "deserve" it. So acknowledging that luck played an important part in their success gives them bad feelings, an…

“All progressions from a higher to a lower order are marked by ruins and mystery and a residue of nameless rage“

Re: Warren Buffett's final shareholder letter [pdf]

#64

Post by bawolff »

SilverElfin wrote: post #61
bfkwlfkjf wrote: post #10

Here's a person with integrity. They're very rare these days, especially amongst the wealthy.

Ask the railroad workers of BNSF about Buffet’s “integrity”. He’s responsible for them being rampantly abused. If you’re not familiar look up interviews with actual workers. They are asked to work insane hours and with little scheduling, and are unpaid when they’re waiting around. The (local) monopolization of the rail industry and constant lobbying against regulations by Buffet’s minions have let this continue to th…

> Let’s not forget Buffet also funded BYD significantly and is responsible for their growth,

What is this weird nationalism? Investing in a company from a foreign country does not make you a bad (or good) person. There is no moral duty to make your own country the most economically powerful one.

Re: Warren Buffett's final shareholder letter [pdf]

#65

Post by chasil »

chasil wrote: post #36
chasil wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Alas, this is not his only foible. https://www.cnbc.com/2015/05/02/warren-buffett-defends-clayt...

Still, some nostalgia and romance is called for. "Moon River" is appropriate. I've seen him a few times in Omaha at the stadium. I guess that forgiveness is best for most everything. After all, that's what I want for myself. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uirBWk-qd9A

I feel sorrow for him. I really do.

To be washed in an addiction, in his case, money, is to give up so much of life.

I hope that his end is free of regret, and that his passing is memory of the wonderful things that he was able to build for so many people that he didn't even know he touched.

I'm sure that the way will be found to do this, as it will be for us all.

Re: Warren Buffett's final shareholder letter [pdf]

#66

Post by divbzero »

adventured wrote: post #56
jpster wrote: post #39

So it will be the Greg Abel show during the next meeting in Omaha? Unenviable task. The crowd will be very supportive but those are huge shoes to fill.

They'll sell off / spin-off the smaller businesses (which were held because of sentiment), simplify the business positions, and focus more on Abel's specializations. And Berkshire will lose some of the so-called Buffett premium. Impossible shoes to fill. They'll effectively break Berkshire up. A lot of that cash will go to stock buybacks as the Buffett premium vanishes.

I highly doubt that spin-offs will be a major part of Berkshire’s foreseeable future. Offering a permanent home for good businesses is one of Berkshire’s advantages when competing for acquisitions. Breaking up Berkshire would mean giving up on that competitive advantage.

Re: Warren Buffett's final shareholder letter [pdf]

#67

Post by bawolff »

marcus_holmes wrote: post #40
neilv wrote: post #23

If only more billionaires would start sounding as aware as this 95 year-old one: > But Lady Luck is fickle and – no other term fits – wildly unfair. In many cases, our leaders and the rich have received far more than their share of luck – which, too often, the recipients prefer not to acknowledge. Dynastic inheritors have achieved lifetime financial independence the moment they emerged from the womb, while others hav…

I have found that it's incredibly hard to get successful entrepreneurs to acknowledge that a lot of their success is down to luck. I think it's got something to do with the Protestant Work Ethic - that if they were smart and worked hard then they "deserve" their wealth , but if they just got lucky they don't "deserve" it. So acknowledging that luck played an important part in their success gives them bad feelings, an…

At the same time i dont think luck is something prople really want to hear about. It makes a terrible story.

You can't emulate luck, you can't control luck, you can't explain luck.

I suspect luck has less to do with Buffet's fortune than most billionaires since he's in investments, so he gets compared to other hedge funds with similar starting resources. He seems to have made it work over the long term and not just had one lucky break.

Re: Warren Buffett's final shareholder letter [pdf]

#68

Post by divbzero »

Sl1mb0 wrote: post #63

> It's hard to beat The Golden Rule as a guide to behavior > There's class warfare, all right, but it's my class, the rich class, that's making war, and we're winning. Huh.

The second quote is not from the posted letter. It was a quote attributed to Buffett by a New York Times column in 2006.

https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/26/business/yourmoney/26ever...

Re: Warren Buffett's final shareholder letter [pdf]

#69

Post by dehrmann »

johnebgd wrote: post #20
nocoiner wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s literally just saying 6-7. No, I don’t get it either. My kids thought it was hilarious to watch me grapple with it, though.

It’s the Waaaasssssuuuupppp of the Gen Alpha.

True, true.

Re: Warren Buffett's final shareholder letter [pdf]

#70

Post by wbl »

bawolff wrote: post #67
marcus_holmes wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have found that it's incredibly hard to get successful entrepreneurs to acknowledge that a lot of their success is down to luck. I think it's got something to do with the Protestant Work Ethic - that if they were smart and worked hard then they "deserve" their wealth , but if they just got lucky they don't "deserve" it. So acknowledging that luck played an important part in their success gives them bad feelings, an…

At the same time i dont think luck is something prople really want to hear about. It makes a terrible story. You can't emulate luck, you can't control luck, you can't explain luck. I suspect luck has less to do with Buffet's fortune than most billionaires since he's in investments, so he gets compared to other hedge funds with similar starting resources. He seems to have made it work over the long term and not just h…

Chance favors the prepared mind.
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