(very) Early Warren Buffet

[RonBoyd]

Warren Buffett was interviewed by KMTV, Omaha in early June of 1962. A University of Nebraska at Omaha School of Communication documentary team discovered the film clip in the Nebraska State Historical Society archives in March of 2013.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REhg_bv7srM

[Sunset]

Wow, I'm always amazed at how different folks look when younger vs older. A lot like those apple head dolls.
The recently departed Mr. Kahn had the same change by the time he died at 109.

Interestingly, Buffet still sounds about the same, the same speech pattern is easily noticed.

[tmm99]

Yeah all I can say is WOW. When I see my photos from when I was young, I still see myself in them. In fact, most of the time I am thinking I still look like that, and then I catch my reflection in something and I get amazed to see this old looking woman in it. Quite shocking.


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[M Paquette]

Inside every one of us is an 18 year old wondering what the hell happened!

[gcgang]

And he STILL hasn't paid any tax on his BRK billions.


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[columbus]

Thanks for sharing

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[ERD50]

Very interesting. I like how he was a no BS guy even back then. What did he say, 'sometimes the market is a leading indicator of the business cycle, and sometimes it's not' (something like that)? Most other people I bet would try to tell the interviewer they knew what was going to happen.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gcgang And he STILL hasn't paid any tax on his BRK billions.

And your point is ... what? That he hasn't sold any and therefore has no capital gains to be taxed (I don't know if that's the case or not, but how else would you not pay taxes on BRK)?

-ERD50

[Sunset]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gcgang And he STILL hasn't paid any tax on his BRK billions.

Same here for most of it, although its not Billions......

That is the LAW. if you don't sell it.

[clifp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ERD50 Very interesting. I like how he was a no BS guy even back then. What did he say, 'sometimes the market is a leading indicator of the business cycle, and sometimes it's not' (something like that)? Most other people I bet would try to tell the interviewer they knew what was going to happen. -ERD50

I've seen this clip and other early ones of Warren he sounds intelligent, and knows better to forecast the short term moves of the market even back then.

On the subject this weekend, he and Charlie released their 50th annual letter this weekend. They talk about they early history of Berkshire in the letter and also spend a lot of time talking about the next 50 years for the company. Including the possibility of paying a dividend sometime in the 20 years or so .

The WSJ did a stellar job in getting some of the noted Buffettologist to annotate the 42 page letter, right here. I think this is available to non subscribers.

I find it fascinating reading, and I'm very comfortable having Berkshire Hathaway as my largest holding. I don't think it necessarily going to do much better than market in the next 20 years if we have a bull market, but I feel certain it will outperform in bad times. Which for me provides an important diversification function.

[RonBoyd]

And this in today's New York Times (also may be behind pay wall):

Why Warren Buffett Is Worth $72 Billion and You’re Not

Quote:

Consider these two truthful sentences: Academics who study corporate finance overwhelmingly believe that conglomerates — giant companies that operate in a wide range of industries, often built through acquisitions — are an awfully inefficient way to organize businesses. And one of the most successful American companies of the last 50 years is a conglomerate called Berkshire Hathaway, run by the renowned investor Warren Buffett, which is the fourth-most valuable firm in the United States, behind Apple, Google and Exxon Mobil. It employs 340,000 people, roughly the population of Honolulu. Mr. Buffett gave his best go at explaining this seeming contradiction in his latest letter to shareholders released this past weekend, in effect a guide to why he has been able to build such a vast corporate empire and a $72 billion personal net worth.

[Jay_Gatsby]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RonBoyd And this in today's New York Times (also may be behind pay wall): Why Warren Buffett Is Worth $72 Billion and You’re Not

Not much substance, but still interesting. The key takeaway seems to me that being an unemotional/dispassionate investor is the heart of Berkshire Hathaway's success. More specifically, Buffet appears to focus on business fundamentals, leaves intact the employee institutional knowledge, and drives a hard bargain when buying companies. None of this is new, but every reporter who tries to write an article revealing "Buffet's Billionaire Secrets" seems to think so.

[clifp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jay_Gatsby Not much substance, but still interesting. The key takeaway seems to me that being an unemotional/dispassionate investor is the heart of Berkshire Hathaway's success. More specifically, Buffet appears to focus on business fundamentals, leaves intact the employee institutional knowledge, and drives a hard bargain when buying companies. None of this is new, but every reporter who tries to write an article revealing "Buffet's Billionaire Secrets" seems to think so.

I found the discussion in the annual letter not so much in the NYT piece to be pretty interesting. The benefits of conglomeration were preached in the 60 or 70s, but almost nobody other than Buffett figured out how to realize them.

[Meadbh]

An interesting article from The Telegraph today.

Is Warren Buffett's crown as the king of investors beginning to slip? - Telegraph

The consumer staple world is changing. Buffet's core businesses may not be the growth engines of the future.

[Totoro]

He does give away 5% of his wealth a year, so that makes a difference.

He's also handing over more and more. Not surprising since statistically speaking he has less than 10 years to go.

[eta2020]

Listening to him tells back then in 1962 it was same as now in 2015

It is always same and one should expect pretty much same. Stay 100% in equities my friend.