Warren Buffett steps down as Berkshire Hathaway CEO after six decades • Hacker News Board

Re: Warren Buffett steps down as Berkshire Hathaway CEO after six decades

#81

Post by paxys » Wed, Dec 31, 2025, 11:53 PM UTC

ravenstine wrote: post #2

I wonder how this will affect BRK-B, given that so many investors (or at least the "retail " ones) buy its shares with the assumption that they provide exposure to Buffett's strategy. In any case, I hope Warren can experience not working at all in the few years he likely has left after being alive for over 1/3 of his country's existence!

BRK is now (since the last 10-20 years) large and diversified enough that it more or less tracks the S&P 500 and the overall stock market. There isn't some genius trading strategy in there. Buffett himself tells everyone who will listen to buy and hold a diversified index fund for a long period of time.

Re: Warren Buffett steps down as Berkshire Hathaway CEO after six decades

#82

Post by Yodel0914 » Wed, Dec 31, 2025, 11:53 PM UTC

antinomicus wrote: post #27

echelon wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We all die on the same order of magnitude. We all have pleasure and suffering along the same couple of orders of magnitude. In geological timespans, none of the fun you had will matter. Even a year from now, your memories are just wistful nostalgia (perhaps a psychological detriment!) And that's if your brain architecture is even set up to recall senses and events well (not everyone can). My view is that the intellec…

Hacker news moment. If you believe this, you are lost, but man. What a terrible take. Build what? The next big ad serving platform? The next mass surveillance platform? New ways to squeeze money out of people? You’re right we all die so nothing matters, why would what you build matter more than the relationships you make, the good feelings you create? Build, but build art. Build something that will change peoples min…

Not the GP but I don’t think they were talking about “building something to make some guy richer” - they was were talking about building a life and relationships that positively impact the people they care about.

Re: Warren Buffett steps down as Berkshire Hathaway CEO after six decades

#83

Post by riazrizvi » Wed, Dec 31, 2025, 11:54 PM UTC

walthamstow wrote: post #10

Driving 7 minutes to work and stopping at a drive-thru to pick up McDonalds breakfast every day. The man is a true American hero.

Yet another example to me of how he literally engineered his life for success, using principles like choosing which variables to hold fixed. What discipline.

Re: Warren Buffett steps down as Berkshire Hathaway CEO after six decades

#84

Post by paxys » Wed, Dec 31, 2025, 11:56 PM UTC

SilverElfin wrote: post #80

I always see fawning comments when it comes to Warren Buffet. I think people need to examine more closely what his portfolio companies do and how they’ve been successful. Some of them are genuinely positive stories. But in other places, the truth isn’t so pretty. Look up how rail workers are treated by BNSF, for example. Like many ultra wealthy people who are caught up in evaluating companies solely on financial grou…

Why are you assuming that people aren't explicitly celebrating those negatives? Buffett is a capitalist, and the evils are part of the package. The majority of people here would do the same in a heartbeat to earn the same wealth and status.

Re: Warren Buffett steps down as Berkshire Hathaway CEO after six decades

#85

Post by lokar » Wed, Dec 31, 2025, 11:56 PM UTC

jacquesm wrote: post #55

yndoendo wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry, a person who life is built around greed is no hero.

Actualy, he didn't. He's probably the one billionaire alive today for which you could not make that case. I know of one other (but he's dead).

Yvon Chouinard has a stronger claim

Re: Warren Buffett steps down as Berkshire Hathaway CEO after six decades

#86

Post by nine_k » Wed, Dec 31, 2025, 11:56 PM UTC

Tade0 wrote: post #19

dullcrisp wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I always salute at the McDonalds drive-thru.

The man has enviable health.

Take a Caesar salad at a McDonald's every day, and your health will likely also be enviable.

Re: Warren Buffett steps down as Berkshire Hathaway CEO after six decades

#87

Post by patmcc » Wed, Dec 31, 2025, 11:58 PM UTC

koakuma-chan wrote: post #36

I just asked ChatGPT what Warren Buffett's strategy is, and it said buying undervalued companies and holding for a long time. Is that true? I thought it's not a good idea to buy loser companies.

An undervalued company is one that everyone else thinks is a loser but actually isn't - if you can identify that (and maybe make some adjustments to it) you can make a lot of money pretty quickly.

Re: Warren Buffett steps down as Berkshire Hathaway CEO after six decades

#88

Post by nine_k » Wed, Dec 31, 2025, 11:58 PM UTC

borplk wrote: post #63

walthamstow wrote: post #10

Driving 7 minutes to work and stopping at a drive-thru to pick up McDonalds breakfast every day. The man is a true American hero.

His whole "I love fast food and coca cola" thing is a fake persona

Coca-Cola is a great energy drink. But you have to expend this energy, say, by thinking really hard.

Re: Warren Buffett steps down as Berkshire Hathaway CEO after six decades

#89

Post by ignoramous » Wed, Dec 31, 2025, 11:59 PM UTC

bdangubic wrote: post #72

borplk wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

His whole "I love fast food and coca cola" thing is a fake persona

if one is to make a fake persona, fast food and coke (the drink) probably won’t make top-100 list

Au contraire, larger-than-life people may desire to pass off as normal & common.

Re: Warren Buffett steps down as Berkshire Hathaway CEO after six decades

#90

Post by BloondAndDoom » Wed, Dec 31, 2025, 11:59 PM UTC

kwanbix wrote: post #3

I will never undertand this people that live all their life working, when they clearly have the chance to retire much sooner. I will retire right away if I had 10 millions. Maybe 50 millions if I was younger than 40.

As a retired person I’ve always been curious about this. I questioned a friend who is multiple FU money rich. He said he just love his job, and he’s in a position to work the way he wants to work.

Not my cup of tea (and Die with Zero book explains the common sense on this) but I get why though. There is tons of status attached to it, lots of people don’t know what to do with themselves, a lot of identity ( especially in US) attached to the work.