Great Quote from Warren Buffett (in 2018)

[Recyclersteve]

This is from an 18 minute video titled "Warren Buffett on the 2008 Crisis" where he is interviewed by Andrew Ross Sorkin of CNBC about the 2008 financial crisis when home prices collapsed on a widespread basis. If someone could post the link below, I'd appreciate it.

Sorkin asks Buffett to look forward and what he is concerned about in the future. This is Buffett's classic response (at the 15:42 mark):

"Asset appreciation draws in people who don't really know anything about the asset. And people start being interested in something because it's going up, not because they understand or anything else. The guy next door who they know is dumber than they are is getting rich and they aren't and their spouse is saying 'Can't you figure it out too?' It is so contagious."

What asset is going up right now that this quote could refer to? What about bitcoin...

[pmbug]

Is this the video you refenced?

[Recyclersteve]

That is indeed the video. Thanks for posting the link!

[Lemon Thrower]

Is this the guy who had 3,500 tonnes of silver and sold in 2006 before the big run up in prices?

The guy whose stock has underperformed gold?

https://sdbullion.com/blog/warren-buffe ... 7K9fL4Kdpg

[Recyclersteve]

Interesting that you’d criticize someone worth $146 billion as if he was an underperforming slacker. The guy has obviously gotten a lot more right than wrong.

[shinnosuke]

Interesting that you’d criticize someone worth $146 billion as if he was an underperforming slacker. The guy has obviously gotten a lot more right than wrong.

That’s the thing about financial laurels which should never be rested upon. Past performance is not a guarantee of successful future results. I thought a stock guy would know that. Here’s a fun exercise: see how much cash Berkshire Hathaway is sitting on now.

[pmbug]

Interesting that you’d criticize someone ...

Buffet is a human same as you or I with consequent biases and agendas. He is no more immune to talking his book or trying to influence markets than anyone else. His best friend Charlie Munger had an incredible blind spot / bias with respect to crypto. No one is infallible or deserving of a pedestal of zero critical examination. $.02

[Lemon Thrower]

Interesting that you’d criticize someone worth $146 billion as if he was an underperforming slacker. The guy has obviously gotten a lot more right than wrong.

No, I criticize him as a hypocrite. Everything negative he says about crypto applies equally to his mega purchase of silver.

You should also research his thoughts on gold as well:

“[Gold] gets dug out of the ground in Africa, or someplace. Then we melt it down, dig another hole, bury it again and pay people to stand around guarding it. It has no utility. Anyone watching from Mars would be scratching their head.”

People in the know know that his image is a facade. He talks out of both sides of his mouth often. His father was a Congressman and gold bug. He made all of his money on float - basically using other people's money to get rich. Nothing wrong with that its the hypocrisy that bothers me. If you are going to do it, own it, don't sell us a fake persona and bull[excrement] talking points.

[Recyclersteve]

Interesting that you’d criticize someone worth $146 billion as if he was an underperforming slacker. The guy has obviously gotten a lot more right than wrong.

That’s the thing about financial laurels which should never be rested upon. Past performance is not a guarantee of successful future results. I thought a stock guy would know that. Here’s a fun exercise: see how much cash Berkshire Hathaway is sitting on now.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results. HOWEVER, at age 93 his net worth is a virtual guarantee that he will live comfortably the rest of his life.

I do realize Buffett is sitting on a massive amount of cash.

[shinnosuke]

Interesting that you’d criticize someone worth $146 billion as if he was an underperforming slacker. The guy has obviously gotten a lot more right than wrong.

That’s the thing about financial laurels which should never be rested upon. Past performance is not a guarantee of successful future results. I thought a stock guy would know that. Here’s a fun exercise: see how much cash Berkshire Hathaway is sitting on now.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results. HOWEVER, at age 93 his net worth is a virtual guarantee that he will live comfortably the rest of his life.

I do realize Buffett is sitting on a massive amount of cash.

Buffett living comfortably for the rest of his life has nothing to do with the fiduciary duties he has to shareholders. Sitting on a mountain of cash that earns zero means shareholders are seeing the value of their shares reduced by whatever the actual inflation rate is. Not to smart. Maybe it’s time for a change in leadership. He has obviously missed the opportunity to make multiple mountains of cash by avoiding Bitcoin.

[tdtwedt]

Warren Buffett Says He Wouldn't Pay $25 For All The Bitcoin In The World – He Considers Crypto 'Rat Poison' And Warns: 'I Can Say With Almost Certainty That They Will Come To A Bad Ending'

Buffett has been vocal about his caution toward Bitcoin and the broader cryptocurrency market, predicting a grim outcome. “In terms of cryptocurrencies, generally, I can say with almost certainty that they will come to a bad ending,” Buffett said.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/warren-b ... 17403.html

[silverflake]

Buffet's returns with Berkshire Hathaway are undeniable. Long term holding of shares over almost any time frame could have/would have produced generational wealth. I don't think any of us have an argument with that.

Here's my issue with Buffet. He's insincere. He preaches a simple and easy approach (and I am paraphrasing) "Buy quality, cash gushing companies at the right price and then hold forever". That's the general mantra he puts forth telling mom and pop America to buy stocks for themselves. However, Buffet doesn't just buy and hold stocks, he has sold put options on Coke in 1993 then sold put options on various indexes between 2004 and 2008 and then the big one, in 2008 he BOUGHT put options on the major indexes (thus hedging against the huge downturns taking place) and profited something like half a billion dollars? Now, I am not saying these were bad ideas nor am I saying he shouldn't do these types of trades. But these are not everyday strategies for "mom and pop" and they don't fit in the "just buy good companies and hold forever" mantra. I am sure these trades show up in his annual statements and letters to investors but I dare say, most people do not understand options. For this mix of information I feel he is a bit insincere.

Next, his views on gold. His famous description mentioned above about gold being a rock being dug up then buried is funny in his grandfatherly way but comes across to me as insincere again. He's looking at gold as an investment and not a dollar hedge. He always laments that gold pays no dividend. It's not supposed to! An ounce of gold today is supposed to remain the same ounce of gold 20 years from now while the $2700 you pay today for that gold will decay (or inflate in terms of gold price). By kind of misleading his mom and pop public on gold he has done Americans a disservice. In reading some of his father's deeply informative written pieces on the value of gold, I sometimes wonder if Warren Buffetts sarcastic views on gold are one of those deep seated psychological digs at his father? Who knows. But overall he's insincere on gold.

Ok, that's my two cents. One last nugget, imagine if Buffet had put 5% of his holdings into gold when he bought that silver in the 90s and then held on long term like he preaches with stocks. Not including dividends, gold has outperformed the S&P 500 since 2000. Would have been a better place to park some of his cash than treasuries during a 25 year span where interest rates were mostly miniscule.

Stack on, my friends.

[pmbug]

100% silverflake - nice post