Startups.ie

I am enjoying the autubiography of Warren Buffet at the moment (reviewed in our book review section). It tells the story of how he accumulated his fortune at a relentless pace.

Below is a profile and some choice quotes to get you thinking as you plan your business.

Can you imagine if we had offered to pay him one billion dollars to review the countrys finances for a few weeks….
As you go through the quotes think about our esteemed businessmen and bankers and their approach versus his….hmmm

Warren Edward Buffett (born August 30, 1930) is an American investor, businessman, and philanthropist. He is one of the most successful investors in the world, the primary shareholder and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.

Buffett is called the “Oracle of Omaha” or the “Sage of Omaha” and is noted for his adherence to the value investing philosophy and for his personal frugality despite his immense wealth. Buffett is also a notable philanthropist, having pledged to give away 85 percent of his fortune to the Gates Foundation. He also serves as a member of the board of trustees at Grinnell College. Warren Buffett currently sits third on the list of the world’s richest people

“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”

“In the business world, the rearview mirror is always clearer than the windshield.”

“Risk comes from not knowing what you’re doing.”

“Wide diversification is only required when investors do not understand what they are doing.”

“Only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked”

“You only have to do a very few things right in your life so long as you don’t do too many things wrong.”

“If a business does well, the stock eventually follows.”

“There seems to be some perverse human characteristic that likes to make easy things difficult.”

“Our favourite holding period is forever.”

“Should you find yourself in a chronically leaking boat, energy devoted to changing vessels is likely to be more productive than energy devoted to patching leaks”

“Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.”

“Two rules:
1. Preserve the principal
2. When in doubt see Rule #1”

“A public-opinion poll is no substitute for thought.”

“It’s far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price.”

“The business schools reward difficult complex behavior more than simple behavior, but simple behavior is more effective.”

“Look at market fluctuations as your friend rather than your enemy; profit from folly rather than participate in it.”

“The investor of today does not profit from yesterday’s growth.”

“Of the billionaires I have known, money just brings out the basic traits in them. If they were jerks before they had money, they are simply jerks with a billion dollars.”

“I never attempt to make money on the stock market. I buy on the assumption that they could close the market the next day and not reopen it for five years.”

“Risk is a part of God’s game, alike for men and nations.”

“Only buy something that you’d be perfectly happy to hold if the market shut down for 10 years.”

“We simply attempt to be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy only when others are fearful.”

“It’s better to hang out with people better than you, … Pick out associates whose behavior is better than yours and you’ll drift in that direction.”