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18 Sep 2026 |
Greg runs the company; Howard will guard its culture and values – both worth more than anything on our balance sheet.
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18 Sep 2026 |
From the beginning, Charlie and I looked for owners who thought in decades rather than quarters, and we were fortunate to find a great many…
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18 Sep 2026 |
He has, however, been generous with me.
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18 Sep 2026 |
So the timing is right to complete the transition.
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18 Sep 2026 |
Serving as your Chairman has been the privilege of a lifetime, and I have never taken your trust for granted.
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18 Sep 2026 |
My expectations for him were sky high from the start, and he has exceeded them.
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18 Sep 2026 |
Father Time always wins.
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18 Sep 2026 |
Part of the reason is Greg.
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18 Sep 2026 |
Howard cares deeply about Berkshire, as do all of our Directors.
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18 Sep 2026 |
He has taken hold of the Chief Executive Officer job in every respect.
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18 Sep 2026 |
The company is in excellent hands, and I look forward to remaining a shareholder alongside you.
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18 Sep 2026 |
Sixty-plus years in, I still have the best job in the world.
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18 Sep 2026 |
That is not something many people my age can say, and I have never felt better about what comes next.
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18 Sep 2026 |
Think of Howard as a policy the shareholders own and hope never to claim against.
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18 Sep 2026 |
He has been making the decisions that matter for some time now, and I have not had to think twice about any of them.
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18 Sep 2026 |
Berkshire has an extraordinary group of shareholders.
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18 Sep 2026 |
No company has been or will be more shareholder-minded than Berkshire.
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18 Sep 2026 |
He has given me the opportunity to see Berkshire reach a point where I am more confident than ever about what lies ahead.
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10 Nov 2025 |
Like Charlie Munger, Don forever remained a Midwestern boy, enthusiastic, friendly and American to the core.
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10 Nov 2025 |
To improve the probability that they will dispose of what will essentially be my entire estate before alternate trustees replace them, I…
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10 Nov 2025 |
He is a great manager, a tireless worker and an honest communicator.
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10 Nov 2025 |
Keep in mind that the cleaning lady is as much a human being as the Chairman.
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10 Nov 2025 |
Ruling from the grave does not have a great record, and I have never had an urge to do so.
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10 Nov 2025 |
I enjoy the chance to keep in touch with you.
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10 Nov 2025 |
Through dumb luck, I drew a ridiculously long straw at birth.
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10 Nov 2025 |
I can’t think of a CEO, a management consultant, an academic, a member of government – you name it – that I would select over Greg to…
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10 Nov 2025 |
Get the right heroes and copy them.
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10 Nov 2025 |
I’m happy to say I feel better about the second half of my life than the first.
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10 Nov 2025 |
I will no longer be writing Berkshire’s annual report or talking endlessly at the annual meeting.
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10 Nov 2025 |
Looking back I feel that both Berkshire and I did better because of our base in Omaha than if I had resided anywhere else.
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10 Nov 2025 |
Choose your heroes very carefully and then emulate them.
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10 Nov 2025 |
But Lady Luck is fickle and – no other term fits – wildly unfair.
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10 Nov 2025 |
The new rules produced envy, not moderation.
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10 Nov 2025 |
Those who reach old age need a huge dose of good luck, daily escaping banana peels, natural disasters, drunk or distracted drivers…
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10 Nov 2025 |
In aggregate, Berkshire’s businesses have moderately better-than-average prospects, led by a few non-correlated and sizable gems.
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10 Nov 2025 |
Berkshire has less chance of a devastating disaster than any business I know.
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10 Nov 2025 |
I would like to keep a significant amount of “A” shares until Berkshire shareholders develop the comfort with Greg that Charlie and I long…
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2025 |
And he also understands that if you start fooling your shareholders, you will soon believe your own baloney and be fooling yourself as well.
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This system is called capitalism.
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We are not deterred by the dramatic and growing loss payments sustained by our activities.
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Berkshire shareholders can rest assured that we will forever deploy a substantial majority of their money in equities
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Berkshire would not have achieved its results in any locale except America whereas America would have been every bit the success it has…
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their top managers are far less aggressive in their compensation programs than their U.S. counterparts.
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With marketable equities, it is easier to change course when I make a mistake.
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Under Ajit, our insurance operation has blossomed from an obscure Omaha-based company into a world leader, renowned for both its taste for…
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Paper money can see its value evaporate if fiscal folly prevails.
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We own nothing that is a major drag, but we have a number that I should not have purchased.
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Our goal is that you get many of your questions answered, that you connect with friends, and that you leave with a good impression of Omaha.
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That taboo, implying managerial perfection, always made me nervous
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Though the price I paid for Berkshire looked cheap, its business – a large northern textile operation – was headed for extinction.
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P/C insurance growth is dependent on increased economic risk.
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Greg and I have no view on future foreign exchange rates and therefore seek a position approximating currency-neutrality.
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Mistakes fade away; winners can forever blossom.
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A decent batting average in personnel decisions is all that can be hoped for.
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During the next 19 years, Pete shot the lights out.
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Sometimes I’ve made mistakes in assessing the future economics of a business I’ve purchased for Berkshire – each a case of capital…
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In five years, Todd Combs has reshaped GEICO in a major way, increasing efficiency and bringing underwriting practices up to date.
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The Berkshire directors and I immensely enjoy having you come to Omaha, and I predict that you will have a good time and likely make some…
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I hope you will join us in Omaha on May 3rd.
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Our goal is to communicate with you in a manner that we would wish you to use if our positions were reversed
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EBITDA, a flawed favorite of Wall Street, is not for us.
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I’ve observed, however, that a very large portion of business talent is innate with nature swamping nurture.
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Our measure excludes capital gains or losses on the stocks and bonds we own, whether realized or unrealized.
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I suggested she and I co-sign 20 copies to be given to any shareholder contributing $5,000 to the Stephen Center that serves homeless…
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Both of us like their capital deployment, their managements and their attitude in respect to their investors.
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That move was a mistake – my mistake – and one that plagued us for two decades.
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That policy is corporate suicide.
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We simply looked at their financial records and were amazed at the low prices of their stocks.
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We like the current math of our yen-balanced strategy as well.
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It has its faults and abuses – in certain respects more egregious now than ever – but it also can work wonders unmatched by other economic…
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It would be foolish – make that madness – to write ten-year policies for these coverages, but we believe one-year assumption of such risks…
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It’s our job to price to absorb these and unemotionally take our lumps when surprises develop.
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We must never write inadequately-priced policies in order to stay in the game.
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they repurchase their shares when it is sensible to do so,
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I have had to rely on equities throughout my life.
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Each of the five companies increase dividends when appropriate,
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Berkshire can financially and psychologically handle extreme losses without blinking.
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In effect, I have depended on the success of American businesses and I will continue to do so.
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The fidelity disappointments can hurt beyond their financial impact, a pain that can approach that of a failed marriage.
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The cardinal sin is delaying the correction of mistakes or what Charlie Munger called “thumb-sucking.”
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If we change our minds, we will change the contracts we offer.
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Our holdings of the five are for the very long term, and we are committed to supporting their boards of directors.
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I will be sleeping.
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When discussing problems at specific subsidiaries, we do, however, try to follow the advice Tom Murphy gave to me 60 years ago
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But there are plenty such as Pete who may have benefitted by attending a less prestigious institution or even by not bothering to finish…
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As a public company, we are required to periodically tell you many specific facts and figures.
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Fixed-coupon bonds provide no protection against runaway currency.
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And our experience is that a single winning decision can make a breathtaking difference over time.
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Berkshire will never prefer ownership of cash-equivalent assets over the ownership of good businesses, whether controlled or only partially…
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5 May 2024 |
And it’s such a simple approach that it’s almost deceptive.
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5 May 2024 |
I would leave the capital allocation to Greg.
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5 May 2024 |
that’s worth reading three or four times.
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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…
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5 May 2024 |
And we don’t use it now at 5.4%.
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5 May 2024 |
I would not like to be running 10 billion now.
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5 May 2024 |
It gets very hard to predict who the winner will be.
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5 May 2024 |
I hope you’re right
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5 May 2024 |
And Ralph Nader probably has done more for the american consumer than just about anybody in history
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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…
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5 May 2024 |
And if you get lucky, like Charlie and I did, you find things that interest you young.
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