Always insightful to read essays / transcripts from Warren or Charlie. A good reminder to develop clear principles and then keep it simple. Developing and employing an investment thesis doesn't need to be overly complicated.

It’s no wonder why he’s called the Oracle. Not only does Buffet have a strong understanding of finance and economics, he also has a very deep understanding of human nature/behavior & psychology, manufacturing & trade, management, leadership, corporate culture, corporate governance, influence, government / politics & law (particularly when it comes to regulations and anti-trust), philosophy, education, history, and many others. This makes him a three dimensional investor who has a vested interest / partnership in the companies to which he invests in, and quite opposite of the one dimensional day traders, who are essentially playing the lottery for the short term.

The one thing he doesn’t have a great understanding of is the high-tech & innovation sector, which he’s quite okay with. This makes him more of a conservative investor who doesn’t effect necessary improvement or change in society, but he’s a very a successful capital allocator nonetheless.

Phenomenal insights.

Really not sure how I missed reading this book for so long. But they say better late than ever.

My expectation before I started reading this book (as with books of this nature) was to understand how Buffett pins down a purchase.
- How does he think company A is better than company B, even if both are in similar business
- How does he arrive at a measure of intrinsic value
- How does he estimate the 'margin of safety'
('How does he exit' is probably not such a great question because Berkshire Hathway's fav holding period is 'Forever')

What I would say is rather than give exact answers, Buffett leads us through his thought process. He is miles ahead than many because he has the ability to question the standard approach. The book shares his view on a wide variety of issues that come about when you consider a "business" and it is here that you realise how important the approach of looking at an investment as "part-owner" is.

This is a collection of essays penned by Warren Buffett over the decades of his running of Berkshire Hathaway. They are collected and organized by theme.

To me there is a relatively small group of people that this book is very good for. One group would certainly be a Berkshire Hathaway shareholder or prospective shareholder. Buffett certainly does a great job making you want to own their stock. But much of the book is very specific to CEOs or CFOs of public companies. Certainly not all of it, and I did glean some insight particularly along the M&A front, but a lot of the accounting particulars are good as advice if you're in a position to make those decisions at your public company. I found just small sections to be useful to me, though it is a thoughtful book to look back on for specific circumstances as they may arise in your business life.

there's too much of Charlie and I in this book. I couldn't read until the end, really boring reading.

3.5

learned a lot! a bit dry though

While somewhat dry, this is a must read for those who seek to understand investing. What makes this particular book interesting is that the author has done a great favor in dividing the chapters by asset class/type. It is not just Buffetism's and the how-to's of choosing stock. Instead, you get a sense for how Buffett looks at each asset class in assessing validity and potential investor value.

There is also a fair amount of humility written throughout the book; particularly heart-warming as it does come from the very best in the business. They say you learn more from your mistakes than your successes. In this regard, having Buffett discuss what went wrong, why, and what he then did to correct it was valuable.

Close to a 5 but was kind of tedious in spots.

All in all, a wonderful read.

Personally, I would've preferred a chronological order, rather than a topic-arranged one. Also, it would've been helpful, for those of us that like a sense of timeline, if it were denoted which year that each paragraph/part was from.

In the audiobook version (doesn't seem to be in the printed version), I particularly liked Munger's take on Buffett and Berkshire towards the end.

I wish I read this book earlier

It is a collection of Bershire’s Essays in orderly manner. Rather than diving through the annual reports of the past, reading this book is much more enjoyable. (Sure it won’t be incorporating the whole thing.. but as a starter... I think..) The book is really insightful on almost all aspect of investing, but also life. I really entertained and laugh a lot troughout the reading. I recommended this book.

Slightly difficult to read through but with a little extra determination, I was able to finish this timeless collection of essays that helped me gain essential insights with real-life and straight forward examples. Great insight into Buffet's view on business valuation, capital structuring and importance and role of management in corporations. It's a book i'll most likely return to again from time to time!

Было очень интересно прочесть книгу одного из самых богатых людей мира и признанного как самого успешного мирового инвестора Уоррена Баффета. Точнее это не совсем книга в привычном смысле этого значения. Она состоит из писем-посланий к акционерам компании Баффета Berkshire Hathaway в последние несколько десятилетий. И тем самым это делает книгу ещё более интересней и ценной для читателей, так как каждое письмо носит личностный характер в обращении к акционерам его компании.

Уорен Баффет в письмах делится с акционерами своими мыслями о руководстве активами принадлежащими Berkshire Hathaway, принципам и методами увеличения капитала, предупреждения и минимизации потерь, и немало пишет о подходах к управлению, корпоративных ценностях, репутации, о высоких стандартах финансового и бухгалтерского менеджмента, о взглядах на налогообложения и современных стандартах аудиторских компаний и о других не менее важных темах и вопросах.

Не смотря на то, что большинство того, о чем говорится в книге, давно известно и те нормы, способы, методы и стандарты в управлении своей компании и её инвестиционного портфеля далеко не новые. Я сказал бы, что они даже избитые и постоянно и везде звучат из уст практически каждого топ менеджера, предпринимателей и владельцев компаний развитых стран мира. Это своего рода корпоративный популизм.

Но фактом того какое место и какую роль занимает в жизни "оракул из Омахи" становится понятно, что в отличии от последних, он не только заявляет о подобных высоких стандартах работы, Баффет и его компания ревностно придерживается их и как никто другой работают на высокие результаты и безупречную репутации не только на словах, но и на деле.

Ведь капитализация свыше $350 млрд и личное состояние свыше 72 млрд доказывают, что так умело "работать со страхом и жадностью" умеет только Баффет, в отличии от остальных популистов тех же постулатов. Он знает, когда не стоит боятся, в отличии от остальных, и действовать и когда наоборот, стоит умерить свой аппетит, когда риски слишком высокие.

Замечу, что книга немного сложная для восприятия людям без достаточного финансового и бухгалтерского образования. Она будет легкая скорее для инвесторов, финансовых экспертов, студентов экономических факультетов и другим специалистам финансового менеджмента.