The note at the end surprised me. Is Charlie Munger really a Republican? I've always assumed he was more or less in agreement with Buffett.
His comparison with the Marshall Plan is mind-boggling. Do we really have that much time to consider and form these emergency measures for financial recovery? We are told no, but possibly we do...
His comparison with the Marshall Plan is mind-boggling. Do we really have that much time to consider and form these emergency measures for financial recovery? We are told no, but possibly we do.
Buffett would be a Republican if it wasnt for his late wife, and the Washington Post's Katherine Graham
Or, maybe, he doesn't want to be a raisin...
Honestly, I don't see him as so easily influenced as that.
Or, maybe, he doesn't want to be a raisin...
Honestly, I don't see him as so easily influenced as that.
Honestly, you need to read "The Snowball" to learn the effects those two women had on Buffett.Or, maybe, he doesn't want to be a raisin...
Honestly, I don't see him as so easily influenced as that.
none of today's reporters would ask such a question.
I'm always entertained by listening to Charlie Munger. As he once famously remarked, "you can mix raisins with turds, but you still have turds."
Did you know that in this quote he was referring to indexing and to extreme diversification in general?
Ha
I know half the money I spend on advertising is wasted, but I can never find out which half. John Wanamaker
I believe he said this right as the tech bubble was starting to pop at the BH annual meeting in 2000, as he and Buffett were discussing the irrational exuberance in the tech market.Did you know that in this quote he was referring to indexing and to extreme diversification in general?
The reason we use the phrase, "wretched excess," is because it produces wretched consequences. It's irrational. If you mix raisins with turds, they're still turds.
I believe he said this right as the tech bubble was starting to pop at the BH annual meeting in 2000, as he and Buffett were discussing the irrational exuberance in the tech market.
In other words, even if a rising tide lifts all boats, Munger still believes that some boats still need to be avoided because they may sink like a rock when the tide goes back out (and you can see who was swimming naked). And my reading is that because Buffett and Munger were not authorities in "evaluating" tech stocks (they could review the financials but they have trouble identifying "staying power" or a "moat" in their industry), they avoided the sector entirely because they'd probably end up with some of the turds with the raisins. If they bought tech without understanding long-term competitive advantages (moats), they'd end up with some turds.
It's like I mentioned before on a gas tax. If we really want to set a goal for oil consumption, have a gas tax based on a formula that self corrects. Americans using too much oil - raise the tax. Looks like we are ahead of goal - ease the tax down a bit. It could happen automatically, no voting from Congress required.
-ERD50
Schroeder's biography opens with Buffett's speech to a group of wealthy investors in 1999, a crowd that had become swelled with nouveau riche digerati. In that speech, knowing full well what kind of audience he was addressing, Buffett compared the Internet's "new economy" to the same tech boost given by the aviation, automobile, and rail industries of the last 150 years. He showed a 70-page document listing just the names of all the automobile companies of the 1920s, and mentioned that all the airline's profits since Orville & Wilbur still don't equal the money sunk into airline capital investments. He talked about the fortunes made & lost by railroad investors, let alone the fraud & waste.And my reading is that because Buffett and Munger were not authorities in "evaluating" tech stocks (they could review the financials but they have trouble identifying "staying power" or a "moat" in their industry), they avoided the sector entirely because they'd probably end up with some of the turds with the raisins. If they bought tech without understanding long-term competitive advantages (moats), they'd end up with some turds.
I'm not sure. Buffett has more or less said he doesn't really understand technology companies.I think Buffett & Munger were evaluating tech stocks just fine and understood exactly what was going to happen. I think they'd decided there weren't even any ponies in that pile, let alone raisins...
Simple businesses (if there’s lots of technology, we won’t understand it)