Comments on: The Oracle of Omaha

The Oracle of Omaha

ChasFile — Thu, 31 Mar 2005 08:33:35 -0800

Warren Buffett's letters to the shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway make for some entertaining reading and are studied in B schools around the country. The 2004 letter [pdf] was recently released.

By: IndigoJones

IndigoJones — Thu, 31 Mar 2005 08:50:38 -0800

Pity about this, though. And timing is usually his strong point....

By: fleetmouse

fleetmouse — Thu, 31 Mar 2005 09:24:03 -0800

You'd think he'd have something to say about oil other than that carpets are made of it.

By: jba

jba — Thu, 31 Mar 2005 09:26:14 -0800

Allong those lines Indigo, the new york times had an interesting article about the hypersensitivity of the financial industry to ethical concerns. Sometimes bordering on the extreme.

By: petrilli

petrilli — Thu, 31 Mar 2005 09:41:06 -0800

indigo - what I heard on NPR was that what the subsidiary of B-H did was not outside accepted accounting practices, but still odd. I wouldn't rush to judgement until there's more information. One of the things the article points out, and has been a mainstay of B-H is the autonomy of the companies inside the group. This has excited for as long as I've been following the company, and Warren tends to accept blame, but not congratulations which are handed out to those running "his companies." Another thing to read is the discussion in this letter about what he considers appropriate "independence." I agree that if a board member doesn't have skin in the game, then they aren't going to care enough. The requirement that board members be substantial share-holders argues that they want the long-term stability of the stock. B-H is not a stock that one day-trades.

By: Mayor Curley

Mayor Curley — Thu, 31 Mar 2005 10:02:46 -0800

autonomy of the companies inside the group ... and Warren tends to accept blame... Then he should appear at Nuremberg for the atrocity that is Jordan's Furniture's advertising. The Teitelbaums are his lieutenants in a campaign to make people embarassed for watching TV.

By: IndigoJones

IndigoJones — Thu, 31 Mar 2005 11:26:25 -0800

jba, thank you for the link, most intesting, and petrilli, good points. I wasn't really jumping to conclusions(we are talking Breaking News and arcane accounting procedure here) - mostly I was just amused by the juxtaposition. Not the headline you want a day after the Annual Report lands in the stockholders' mailbox. Alternatively, it could make for a buying opportunity....

By: nyterrant

nyterrant — Thu, 31 Mar 2005 12:28:53 -0800

Alternatively, it could make for a buying opportunity.... Thing is, shares in Berkshire Hathaway cost about $86,000 each, because they've never split.

By: caddis

caddis — Thu, 31 Mar 2005 12:38:22 -0800

Thing is, shares in Berkshire Hathaway cost about $86,000 each, because they've never split. Bershire B tracks the main stock and currently is trading at about $2,600 per share.

By: nyterrant

nyterrant — Thu, 31 Mar 2005 12:59:57 -0800

Sweet, I could sell a kidney and totally buy like 10 Berkshire Hathaway B shares!

By: IndigoJones

IndigoJones — Thu, 31 Mar 2005 14:49:20 -0800

caddis - more like 2,856 as of today, but who's counting?

By: quiet

quiet — Sat, 02 Apr 2005 10:38:38 -0800

Always a good read, thanks. He's a smart guy and his writing style is disarmingly straight-forward. Well worth a read if you ever come into contact with money.