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ENTITY
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Warren Buffett

Warren E. Buffett is the founder and primary manager of the Buffett partnerships (later Berkshire Hathaway).

🧠 Philosophy (Early Years)

In the early partnership letters (starting in 1957 Letter), Buffett defines his role as finding Undervalued Securities and Work-outs.

Key Principles

  • Benchmarking: He compares his performance against the Dow Jones Industrial Average, aiming to beat it by 10% per year over the long term.
  • Market Timing: He explicitly states he does not attempt to forecast the market, focusing instead on individual business valuations.
  • Patience: He is willing to allow a "fair proportion" of the portfolio to remain in a "sterile stage" (cash/unduly performing assets) while waiting for the right entry price.

🏢 Organizational Growth

  • 810 Kiewit Plaza (1961): Buffett moved the partnership operation from his home to a dedicated office at 810 Kiewit Plaza, Omaha.
  • Consolidation (1961): Merged various smaller partnerships into a single entity, Buffett Partnership, Ltd.
  • Team: Hired Bill Scott as an associate and Beth Henley as secretary in 1961.

Literature Insights

  • Philanthropic Reorientation (2026): In his 2026 CNBC interviews, Buffett detailed plans to place his remaining $100+ billion posthumous fortune into a trust managed by his three children (Susie, Howard, Peter), with instructions to distribute the entirety within 10 years of his death ([CNBC Squawk Box Interview 07-15-2026](/wiki/CNBC%20Squawk%20Box%20Interview%2007-15-2026), [CNBC Special Presentation 01-13-2026](/wiki/CNBC%20Special%20Presentation%2001-13-2026)).
  • The Ovarian Lottery: Buffett reflected extensively on his career, noting that his success was primarily a result of "winning the ovarian lottery"—having been born in the U.S. in 1930 with a natural aptitude for capital allocation ([CNBC Special Presentation 01-13-2026](/wiki/CNBC%20Special%20Presentation%2001-13-2026)).
  • Transition of Authority: Buffett confirmed that while they operate in a co-approval paradigm, Greg Abel has final CEO authority: "He is the decider." ([CNBC Squawk Box Interview 07-15-2026](/wiki/CNBC%20Squawk%20Box%20Interview%2007-15-2026)).
  • Speculative Markets & AI: Buffett warned that daily options trading has turned the stock market into a casino, and cautioned that AI deepfakes present immense fraud risks to businesses ([CNBC Annual Meeting Interview 05-02-2026](/wiki/CNBC%20Annual%20Meeting%20Interview%2005-02-2026)).

🔗 Connections

📚 Historical Mentions & Citations (10)

Click a reference document below to expand and read the exact paragraph(s) containing this concept in the archive.

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1957 LetterReference Only
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Mentioned in this document.

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1958 LetterReference Only
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Mentioned in this document.

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1994 LetterReference Only
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Mentioned in this document.

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1994 MeetingExcerpt Available
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WARREN BUFFETT: Put this over here. WARREN BUFFETT: Am I live yet? Yeah. Morning.
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1999 MeetingExcerpt Available
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WARREN BUFFETT: Good morning. Really delighted we can have this many people come out for a meeting. It says something, I think, about the way you regard yourself as owners. We’re going to hustle through the business meeting. And then Charlie and I will be here for six hours or until our candy runs out — (laughter) — to answer any questions you have. We have people in a number of remote locations. And we have ways of bringing them into the questions as well. Incidentally, if you hadn’t figured it out already, this hyperkinetic bundle of energy here on my left is Charlie Munger — (laughter) — our vice-chairman. (Applause) And we will now run through the business of the meeting. The meeting will now come to order. I’m Warren Buffett, chairman of the board of directors of the company. I welcome you to this 1999 annual meeting of shareholders. I will first introduce the Berkshire Hathaway directors that are present, in addition to myself. And if you’ll stand up. It’s a little hard for me to see — there, right down here in the front row. We have Susan T. Buffett. WARREN BUFFETT: Oh, thank you Forrest. The one item of business of this meeting is to elect directors. If a shareholder is present who wishes to withdraw a proxy previously sent in and vote in person on the election of directors, he or she may do so. Also, if any shareholder that is present has not turned in a proxy and desires a ballot in order to vote in person, you may do so. If you wish to do this, please identify yourself to meeting officials in the aisles who will furnish a ballot to you. Would those persons desiring ballots please identify themselves, so that we may distribute them.
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2000 MeetingExcerpt Available
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WARREN BUFFETT: Good morning. Well, first thing I’d like to do is to thank everybody that’s helped us put this on. As you saw in the movie, I think, at the time, we may have had 45,000 or so people working with Berkshire, with 12.8 at headquarters. We’re probably up to about 60,000 now, and we still have 12.8, and they take care of putting on this whole meeting. We get help from people in internal audit, and we get terrific help from the people at all of our companies who work very hard to put on the exhibits. And we hope that you not only visit them, but patronize them, and we’ll give you ample time to do that. As you can see, I enlisted my family for the movie, and I want to thank them. I want to particularly thank Kelly Muchemore and Marc Hamburg for their work in putting this on. WARREN BUFFETT: I’d like to introduce, first, our directors, and then we’ll proceed into the formal business of the meeting. On my left here is the ever-animated Charlie Munger, our vice chairman. (Applause) And if the other directors will stand up as I announce their names. We have the better voice in the movie, my wife, Susan Buffett. Susie? (Applause) We have Howard Buffett. (Applause) You can see we find these names in the phone book, I mean — And Kim Chace. Kim? (Applause) Walter Scott, the star of “How to be a Gillionaire.” (Applause) And Ron Olson. Ron? (Applause) OK, we’ll now take on the formal part of the meeting. We’re going to try to set a new record, I think, 5:38.4, but the four-minute mile has always been our ambition on this. So I will go through this and then we’ll get to the questions. The meeting will now come to order.
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2001 MeetingExcerpt Available
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WARREN BUFFETT: And — (laughter) — Andy [Heyward], if you’re here, you could stand up, I think the crowd would like to say thanks. (Applause) We have one other guest, too. After doing an incredible job for all Berkshire shareholders and particularly for Charlie and me, Ralph Schey retired this year. But Ralph and Luci, I believe, are here. And [if] Ralph and Luci would stand up, the shareholders and I would like to say thanks. (Applause) Scott Fetzer was one of the best acquisitions we ever made, but the reason it was among the very best was Ralph. And a great many of the other companies that we own now, our ownership was made possible because of the profit that Ralph delivered over the years. So, thanks very much, Ralph. Now we will come to order. I will go through this fast. I’m Warren Buffett, chairman of the board of directors of the company, and I welcome you to this 2001 annual meeting of shareholders. I will first introduce the Berkshire Hathaway directors that are present in addition to myself. First of all, of course, is Charlie, on my left. WARREN BUFFETT: Thank you. That number represents a quorum, and we will therefore directly proceed with the meeting. First of order of business will be a reading of the minutes of the last meeting of shareholders. I recognize Mr. Walter Scott Jr. who will place a motion before the meeting. WALTER SCOTT JR.: I move that the reading of the minutes of the last meeting of the shareholders be dispensed with.
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2002 MeetingExcerpt Available
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WARREN BUFFETT: (Video recording begins after meeting has started) … second or anybody would like to speak to that motion, might now work their way over to the microphone in zone 1. Could we have a spotlight on where that is? In that way, when we get to that point of the program — If anybody that would like to speak to the motion that was in the proxy statement, if you’ll work your way over to the microphone there then we’ll be ready at the time — you can be ready at the time when it will be appropriate to talk about it. And so we’ll get there in just a minute and if you’ll all wander over there that are interested. Also with us today are partners in the firm of Deloitte & Touche, our auditors. They’re available to respond to appropriate questions you might have concerning their firm’s audit of the accounts of Berkshire. Mr. Forrest Krutter, the secretary of Berkshire. He will make a written record of the proceedings. Miss Becki Amick has been appointed inspector of elections at this meeting. She will certify to the count of votes cast in the election for directors. WARREN BUFFETT: Does the secretary have a report of the number of Berkshire shares outstanding entitled to vote and represented at the meeting?
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2024 LetterReference Only
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Mentioned in this document.

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2024 MeetingExcerpt Available
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WARREN BUFFETT: (Applause) Yeah, don’t wear out all your clapping on Charlie, I mean, we got(Laughs) WARREN BUFFETT: There are two people I would like to thank, and then we’ll get on to the brief description of the results of the first quarter.
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