My first trip to the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting in Omaha was over 20 years ago, in 2002. It was quite an initiation into the cult of Warren Buffett.
Gary - well written, as usual! I especially like "he learns from others but thinks for himself"
I do think there is another reason he, and other value investors, have not beat during this period. We won't know unless it all gets unwound, but the subsidization of markets over that 20 year period have allowed all boats to rise as the tide came in. If they ever unwind these subsidies (before a currency default or losing a war) I would expect value investors to outperform by quite a bit.
Gary Thanks for sharing.. my first meeting was in 2001... I believe that was the cover of Forbes year ... "Warren Buffett has lost it" that year I am not even sure they had 10,000 in Omaha.. but I was lucky enough to see him on the floor.. go down and shake his hand and chat for a minute or two until we were mobbed. I owe so much to those 8 years in a row of meetings I attended due to his advice and wisdom shared.. life changing! Thanks Warren.. I keep thinking I better get back for one more and this year he agreed to actually speed up the questions which had gotten so slow. Thanks for sharing your stories and I enjoy your articles!
> or if he makes it explicit that he is getting their business on the cheap?
> in private he replied something along the lines that no, he wants to buy businesses at a crazy bargain-level price
I personally wouldn’t want to be on the other side of the desk negotiating a deal with Buffett. The fact of the meeting alone would mean that bets are in his favour and I probably don’t have many options. I admire him as the best investor of our time and there is a lot to learn from him, but I don’t believe the public image of Buffett even remotely reflects him as a businessmen and investor.
BTW, I recently found it very fascinating to read a few contrasting books together. For example, a chapter of William Green’s book followed by a chapter of Robert Greene’s one or Gautam Baid’s book together with Machiavelli’s classic.
This helps me to stay a bit more rational and less (over)excited about great people.
Gary - well written, as usual! I especially like "he learns from others but thinks for himself"
I do think there is another reason he, and other value investors, have not beat during this period. We won't know unless it all gets unwound, but the subsidization of markets over that 20 year period have allowed all boats to rise as the tide came in. If they ever unwind these subsidies (before a currency default or losing a war) I would expect value investors to outperform by quite a bit.
Gary Thanks for sharing.. my first meeting was in 2001... I believe that was the cover of Forbes year ... "Warren Buffett has lost it" that year I am not even sure they had 10,000 in Omaha.. but I was lucky enough to see him on the floor.. go down and shake his hand and chat for a minute or two until we were mobbed. I owe so much to those 8 years in a row of meetings I attended due to his advice and wisdom shared.. life changing! Thanks Warren.. I keep thinking I better get back for one more and this year he agreed to actually speed up the questions which had gotten so slow. Thanks for sharing your stories and I enjoy your articles!
Good article. I'm cult averse by temperament. I greatly appreciate what I've learned by reading about Warren, Charlie and Berkshire.
Nice article, thanks for sharing your thoughts!
> or if he makes it explicit that he is getting their business on the cheap?
> in private he replied something along the lines that no, he wants to buy businesses at a crazy bargain-level price
I personally wouldn’t want to be on the other side of the desk negotiating a deal with Buffett. The fact of the meeting alone would mean that bets are in his favour and I probably don’t have many options. I admire him as the best investor of our time and there is a lot to learn from him, but I don’t believe the public image of Buffett even remotely reflects him as a businessmen and investor.
BTW, I recently found it very fascinating to read a few contrasting books together. For example, a chapter of William Green’s book followed by a chapter of Robert Greene’s one or Gautam Baid’s book together with Machiavelli’s classic.
This helps me to stay a bit more rational and less (over)excited about great people.