People around the world are so fascinated with the legendary Buffett that they'll spend millions of dollars to eat lunch with him. While you may not have that much money laying around, you can still learn from his brilliant mind by reading his famous quotes.
We've rounded up 21 brilliant quotes from the so-called Oracle of Omaha, and they're presented below.
Only buy something that youd be perfectly happy to hold if the market shut down for 10 years
Dont watch the market closely
Reuters / Brendan McDermid
"Don't watch the market closely," Buffett said during a wild bout of market volatility back in 2016.
He continued: "If they're trying to buy and sell stocks, and worry when they go down a little bit and think they should maybe sell them when they go up, they're not going to have very good results."
I always knew I was going to be rich
"I always knew I was going to be rich," he said. "I dont think I ever doubted it for a minute."
Someones sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago
Barbara Alper/Getty Images
I read and think
Reuters/Shannon Stapleton
"I insist on a lot of time being spent, almost every day, to just sit and think," he said.
He continued: "That is very uncommon in American business. I read and think. So I do more reading and thinking, and make less impulse decisions than most people in business.
Risk comes from not knowing what youre doing
You only have to do a very few things right in your life so long as you dont do too many things wrong
Ill give my children enough money so that they would feel they could do anything, but not so much that they could do nothing
The perfect amount to leave to your kids, he told Fortunein 1986, is "enough money so that they would feel they could do anything, but not so much that they could do nothing."
The light can at any time go from green to red without pausing at yellow
"When major declines occur, they offer extraordinary opportunities to those who are not handicapped by debt," Buffett wrote in a letter to Berkshire Hathaway's shareholders in 2017, highlighting the argument against ever borrowing money to buy stocks.
He continued: "No one can tell you when these will happen. The light can at any time go from green to red without pausing at yellow."
Source: Letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders
It takes 20 years to build a reputation and 5 minutes to ruin it
Eric Frances/Getty Images
You cannot make a good deal with a bad person
You cannot make a good deal with a bad person, Buffett reportedly toldSuzy Welch, a bestselling management author and CNBC contributor.
She told CNBC it was Buffett who gave her the career advice that has helped her more than any other wisdom shes received.
Whether were talking about socks or stocks, I like buying quality merchandise when it is marked down
Only invest in simple businesses that you understand
In his 2014 letter to shareholders, Buffett laid out six criteria he applied to measure a company's fundamentals.One criterion is that he only invests in "simple businesses."
"If theres lots of technology, we wont understand it," he said
Source: Letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders
Stocks [have] been so much more attractive than bonds
"The one thing I'm sure of is that overtime, stocks from this level will beat bonds from this level," Buffett told CNBC's "Squawk Box" October 2017. "Stocks [have] been so much more attractive than bonds for a long time now."
Rule No. 1: Never lose money. Rule No. 2: Dont forget rule No. 1
The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything
In the business world, the rear-view mirror is always clearer than the windshield
Its better to hang out with people better than you
Cryptocurrencies will come to bad endings
"Cryptocurrencies will come to bad endings,"Buffett said in Berkshire Hathaways annual meeting in 2018. "Theres nothing being produced in the way of value from the asset."
He continued: "Its something where people who are of less-than-stellar character see an opportunity to clip people who were trying to get rich because their neighbors getting rich buying this stuff neither one of them understands."
Price is what you pay. Value is what you get
Only when the tide goes out do you discover who is swimming naked
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