| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
2025 |
It’s our job to price to absorb these and unemotionally take our lumps when surprises develop.
Not checkable · 2025 |
|
| Not researched |
Factual |
2025 |
Berkshire does not use options or other one-sided forms of compensation for its executives and directors.
Factual · 2025 |
Their own work or organisation |
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
2025 |
We must never write inadequately-priced policies in order to stay in the game.
Not checkable · 2025 |
|
| Own records only |
Factual |
2025 |
Carrie, whose grandfather was Bill Kizer, Sr., refused any payment for her extensive work on the new "Charlie" edition.
Factual · 2025 |
Their own work or organisation |
| Not yet due |
Prediction |
2025 |
Greg Abel will soon replace Warren Buffett, aged 94, as Berkshire CEO and will write the annual letters.
Prediction · 2025 |
Their own work or organisation |
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
2025 |
they repurchase their shares when it is sensible to do so,
Not checkable · 2025 |
|
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
2025 |
I have had to rely on equities throughout my life.
Not checkable · 2025 |
|
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
2025 |
Each of the five companies increase dividends when appropriate,
Not checkable · 2025 |
|
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
2025 |
Berkshire can financially and psychologically handle extreme losses without blinking.
Not checkable · 2025 |
|
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
2025 |
In effect, I have depended on the success of American businesses and I will continue to do so.
Not checkable · 2025 |
|
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
2025 |
The fidelity disappointments can hurt beyond their financial impact, a pain that can approach that of a failed marriage.
Not checkable · 2025 |
|
| Unresolvable |
Promise |
2025 |
Berkshire's 2025 annual meeting will have no movie and will convene earlier, at 8 a.m.
Promise · 2025 |
Their own work or organisation |
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
2025 |
The cardinal sin is delaying the correction of mistakes or what Charlie Munger called “thumb-sucking.”
Not checkable · 2025 |
|
| Unresolvable |
Factual |
2025 |
In 2024 Berkshire made four payments to the IRS totaling $26.8 billion.
Factual · 2025 |
Their own work or organisation |
| Unresolvable |
Guidance |
2025 |
Berkshire expects 2025 dividend income from its Japanese investments of about $812 million, against interest cost on its yen-denominated debt of about $135 million.
Guidance · 2025 |
Their own work or organisation |
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
2025 |
If we change our minds, we will change the contracts we offer.
Not checkable · 2025 |
|
| Resolved true |
Factual |
2025 |
In 2024, 53% of Berkshire's 189 operating businesses reported a decline in earnings, yet Berkshire did better than Buffett expected.
Factual · 2025 |
Their own work or organisation |
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
2025 |
Our holdings of the five are for the very long term, and we are committed to supporting their boards of directors.
Not checkable · 2025 |
|
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
2025 |
I will be sleeping.
Not checkable · 2025 |
|
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
2025 |
When discussing problems at specific subsidiaries, we do, however, try to follow the advice Tom Murphy gave to me 60 years ago
Not checkable · 2025 |
|
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
2025 |
But there are plenty such as Pete who may have benefitted by attending a less prestigious institution or even by not bothering to finish…
Not checkable · 2025 |
|
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
2025 |
As a public company, we are required to periodically tell you many specific facts and figures.
Not checkable · 2025 |
|
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
2025 |
Fixed-coupon bonds provide no protection against runaway currency.
Not checkable · 2025 |
|
| Unresolvable |
Prediction |
2025 |
Berkshire's insurance float is likely to grow a bit over time and, with intelligent underwriting and some luck, has a reasonable prospect of being costless.
Prediction · 2025 |
Their own work or organisation |
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
2025 |
And our experience is that a single winning decision can make a breathtaking difference over time.
Not checkable · 2025 |
|
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
2025 |
Berkshire will never prefer ownership of cash-equivalent assets over the ownership of good businesses, whether controlled or only partially…
Not checkable · 2025 |
|
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
5 May 2024 |
And it’s such a simple approach that it’s almost deceptive.
Not checkable · 5 May 2024 |
|
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
5 May 2024 |
I would leave the capital allocation to Greg.
Not checkable · 5 May 2024 |
|
| Not researched |
Factual |
5 May 2024 |
Ted Weschler, from Buffett's office, went to a business that was getting close to the brink, and within a couple of days Buffett's side offered it a solution.
Factual · 5 May 2024 |
Economics and markets |
| Unresolvable |
Prediction |
5 May 2024 |
The donor's scholarship program may end up supporting 150 students.
Prediction · 5 May 2024 |
Philosophy, ethics and society |
| Not researched |
Factual |
5 May 2024 |
Berkshire first bought National Indemnity in 1957.
Factual · 5 May 2024 |
Economics and markets |
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
5 May 2024 |
that’s worth reading three or four times.
Not checkable · 5 May 2024 |
|
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
5 May 2024 |
I don’t believe in [a] lot of self-criticism or being unrealistic about either what you are or what you’ve accomplished or what you’d like…
Not checkable · 5 May 2024 |
|
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
5 May 2024 |
And we don’t use it now at 5.4%.
Not checkable · 5 May 2024 |
|
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
5 May 2024 |
I would not like to be running 10 billion now.
Not checkable · 5 May 2024 |
|
| Unresolvable |
Factual |
5 May 2024 |
There have been times in Buffett's investing life when he had so many opportunities he could have invested everything by nightfall.
Factual · 5 May 2024 |
Economics and markets |
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
5 May 2024 |
It gets very hard to predict who the winner will be.
Not checkable · 5 May 2024 |
|
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
5 May 2024 |
I hope you’re right
Not checkable · 5 May 2024 |
|
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
5 May 2024 |
And Ralph Nader probably has done more for the american consumer than just about anybody in history
Not checkable · 5 May 2024 |
|
| Unresolvable |
Prediction |
5 May 2024 |
Buffett said he thought that, with present US fiscal policies, something has to give and higher taxes are quite likely.
Prediction · 5 May 2024 |
Economics and markets |
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
5 May 2024 |
You’re entering the best world that’s ever existed, and you want to find the people to share it with and the activities to participate in…
Not checkable · 5 May 2024 |
|
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
5 May 2024 |
And if you get lucky, like Charlie and I did, you find things that interest you young.
Not checkable · 5 May 2024 |
|
| Unresolvable |
Factual |
5 May 2024 |
The meeting bookstore normally carries about 25 books, and Buffett said he thought about 2,400 copies of Poor Charlie's Almanack (fourth edition) were sold the day before.
Factual · 5 May 2024 |
Their own work or organisation |
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
5 May 2024 |
I would certainly not know how to pick the winners in an industry like that.
Not checkable · 5 May 2024 |
|
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
5 May 2024 |
I would say that that’s something that a more energetic management at Berkshire could pursue, because we do have the reputation.
Not checkable · 5 May 2024 |
|
| Unresolvable |
Prediction |
5 May 2024 |
Utah is very likely to treat Berkshire Hathaway Energy fairly on utility rates or compensation if it moves to public power.
Prediction · 5 May 2024 |
Economics and markets |
| Not researched |
Factual |
5 May 2024 |
Berkshire, after buying a furniture chain in Baltimore, quickly realized the purchase was a mistake.
Factual · 5 May 2024 |
Economics and markets |
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
5 May 2024 |
Well, our primary investments will always be in the United States.
Not checkable · 5 May 2024 |
|
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
5 May 2024 |
Charlie felt the same way.
Not checkable · 5 May 2024 |
|
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
5 May 2024 |
I just look at what I can do every day.
Not checkable · 5 May 2024 |
|
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
5 May 2024 |
It’s extraordinary how much progress we’ve made, but it’s unbelievable how long it took to get it made.
Not checkable · 5 May 2024 |
|
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
5 May 2024 |
A good many of them are capital allocators, and others aren’t.
Not checkable · 5 May 2024 |
|
| Not researched |
Factual |
5 May 2024 |
GEICO is now a $40 billion business, up from about $7 million when Buffett first called on it.
Factual · 5 May 2024 |
Economics and markets |
| Unresolvable |
Factual |
5 May 2024 |
Buffett said he thinks the number of Berkshire shareholders across the US who have given $100 million or more to local charities is many multiples of that of any other US public company.
Factual · 5 May 2024 |
Philosophy, ethics and society |
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
5 May 2024 |
we feel that we’re far less likely to make any truly major mistakes in the United States than in many other countries.
Not checkable · 5 May 2024 |
|
| Own records only |
Factual |
5 May 2024 |
Warren Buffett alone made the decision for Berkshire to sell its Paramount stake, with no involvement from Ted Weschler or Todd Combs.
Factual · 5 May 2024 |
Their own work or organisation |
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
5 May 2024 |
I think the system has really worked out very well.
Not checkable · 5 May 2024 |
|
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
5 May 2024 |
I don’t know what the price of oil was going to be next year, but I knew that it was something to act on.
Not checkable · 5 May 2024 |
|
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
5 May 2024 |
if you’re lucky in life, make sure a bunch of other people are lucky, too.
Not checkable · 5 May 2024 |
|
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
5 May 2024 |
And [the] best thing to do was just pay them a commission one time and own the stock.
Not checkable · 5 May 2024 |
|
| Not researched |
Factual |
5 May 2024 |
Someone who dies without a will is still subject to the state's rules on who inherits.
Factual · 5 May 2024 |
Philosophy, ethics and society |
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
5 May 2024 |
So I don’t really think of whether it’s similar to 1999 because I’m not that good on chronology anyway.
Not checkable · 5 May 2024 |
|
| Not researched |
Factual |
5 May 2024 |
GEICO's underwriting expense ratio is below 10%, and very few companies can compete with it.
Factual · 5 May 2024 |
Economics and markets |
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
5 May 2024 |
And that’s extremely hard to do in our present system.
Not checkable · 5 May 2024 |
|
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
5 May 2024 |
I’d probably say, “Read Charlie.”
Not checkable · 5 May 2024 |
|
| Not researched |
Factual |
5 May 2024 |
Berkshire Hathaway made small acquisitions during the year before the 2024 annual meeting.
Factual · 5 May 2024 |
Their own work or organisation |
| Unresolvable |
Prediction |
5 May 2024 |
Buffett said he did not know, but his best speculation was that US debt will remain acceptable for a very long time because there is not much alternative.
Prediction · 5 May 2024 |
Economics and markets |
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
5 May 2024 |
I think I know enough about consumer behavior to know that it’s one of the great products, maybe the greatest product of all time.
Not checkable · 5 May 2024 |
|
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
5 May 2024 |
American Express has a position in the credit card deal, which I think is extremely strong.
Not checkable · 5 May 2024 |
|
| Not researched |
Factual |
5 May 2024 |
Buffett made Berkshire's commitment to Japanese stocks about five years before 2024.
Factual · 5 May 2024 |
Economics and markets |
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
5 May 2024 |
The distribution business is not a wonderful business, but it is a business.
Not checkable · 5 May 2024 |
|
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
5 May 2024 |
Well, I would say we won’t find another Ajit, but fortunately, he’s a good bit younger than I am
Not checkable · 5 May 2024 |
|
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
5 May 2024 |
I don’t understand why the damn lights go on when I even turn the switch, but those, those fellas really do.
Not checkable · 5 May 2024 |
|
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
5 May 2024 |
You want to be regarded as an asset to the country because you’ll find more solutions if you are an asset.
Not checkable · 5 May 2024 |
|
| Own records only |
Factual |
5 May 2024 |
Buffett receives very few calls from Berkshire's operating managers, close to zero.
Factual · 5 May 2024 |
Their own work or organisation |
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
5 May 2024 |
He believed in understanding what others would do, but he thought it was beneath him to actually use those methods to manipulate people.
Not checkable · 5 May 2024 |
|
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
5 May 2024 |
But I also think I’m poorer because I acquired the knowledge in the manner I did.
Not checkable · 5 May 2024 |
|
| Own records only |
Factual |
5 May 2024 |
Warren Buffett said he thinks he read Ben Graham's book about five or six times.
Factual · 5 May 2024 |
Their own work or organisation |
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
5 May 2024 |
the game isn’t quite as easy as it looks.
Not checkable · 5 May 2024 |
|
| Not researched |
Factual |
5 May 2024 |
Climate change has caused far more wildfires, affecting utilities.
Factual · 5 May 2024 |
Other global risks |
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
5 May 2024 |
You really have to have your mindset properly.
Not checkable · 5 May 2024 |
|
| Not researched |
Factual |
5 May 2024 |
At the 2024 Berkshire annual meeting, the bookstore carried only one book, Poor Charlie's Almanack.
Factual · 5 May 2024 |
Their own work or organisation |
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
5 May 2024 |
It’s partway out of the bottle, and it’s enormously important, and it’s going to be [used] by somebody.
Not checkable · 5 May 2024 |
|
| Unresolvable |
Prediction |
5 May 2024 |
If anything happened to Buffett, Berkshire would be working extremely well the next day.
Prediction · 5 May 2024 |
Their own work or organisation |
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
5 May 2024 |
First of all, I’d like to thank Melissa Shapiro, who put this whole event together.
Not checkable · 5 May 2024 |
|
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
5 May 2024 |
It’s going to take a lot of good ideas and smart people like Bill and Greg, not me.
Not checkable · 5 May 2024 |
|
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
5 May 2024 |
I just like the feeling of being trusted.
Not checkable · 5 May 2024 |
|
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
5 May 2024 |
We do not have a perfect system in terms of boards or directors at all.
Not checkable · 5 May 2024 |
|
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
5 May 2024 |
Tom Murphy, who was the best, he was the best business manager I’ve ever known.
Not checkable · 5 May 2024 |
|
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
5 May 2024 |
I feel, and you’ve got to feel, better about the future for your kids than you would have felt 100 years ago, no matter what the situation…
Not checkable · 5 May 2024 |
|
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
5 May 2024 |
I hope we’re bigger in the industry ten years from now and 20 years from now than we are currently.
Not checkable · 5 May 2024 |
|
| Unresolvable |
Factual |
5 May 2024 |
In 2008 people did have money but were paralyzed and unwilling to act.
Factual · 5 May 2024 |
Economics and markets |
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
5 May 2024 |
But the fiscal deficit is what should be focused on.
Not checkable · 5 May 2024 |
|
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
5 May 2024 |
you have to be just plain lucky.
Not checkable · 5 May 2024 |
|
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
5 May 2024 |
The answer would be, in my particular case, it would be going through the 20,000 pages.
Not checkable · 5 May 2024 |
|
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
5 May 2024 |
we all have weaknesses and peculiarities and everything else.
Not checkable · 5 May 2024 |
|
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
5 May 2024 |
But I do think, as someone who doesn’t understand a damn thing about it, that it has enormous potential for good, [and] enormous potential…
Not checkable · 5 May 2024 |
|
| Not checkable |
Not checkable |
5 May 2024 |
We own Coca-Cola, which is a wonderful business, and we own Apple, which is an even better business.
Not checkable · 5 May 2024 |
|
| Not researched |
Factual |
5 May 2024 |
Jay Powell does not control fiscal policy.
Factual · 5 May 2024 |
Economics and markets |
| Unresolvable |
Factual |
5 May 2024 |
Charlie Munger understood the importance of psychology, human behavior and incentives very early.
Factual · 5 May 2024 |
Their own work or organisation |