Ace investor and Berkshire Hathaway founder-chairman Warren Buffett has offered a series of investment advice over the years. He is particularly famous among investors and traders for his long-term approach to stocks, sticking to fundamentals, and taking calculated but thoughtful risks.
Famously known as the ‘Oracle of Omaha's', Buffet's wisdom often makes the rounds online. On top of that, the billionaire's uncanny prediction on stocks gained him fame and respect in the world of finance.
In the investment circles, Buffett and his long-time business partner and friend, the late Charlie Munger, are known for their no-nonsense approach to doing business and relatively frugal lifestyles when compared to their immense wealth.
The quote “You only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out” is widely attributed to Warren Buffett.
He used this line in his 2001 Chairman’s Letter to shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway, reflecting on how market downturns expose weak business practices that were hidden during boom periods.
Buffett later repeated the quote several times, especially during and after the Global Financial Crisis, which made the line one of his most famous warnings about excessive risk-taking in good times. According to Motley Fool, he has written some variation of this quote in four separate shareholder letters spanning the years 1992 to 2007.
Many companies tend to perform well when economic conditions are favourable and growth is strong, often riding the wave of broader market momentum. In such periods, it can be difficult to distinguish truly resilient businesses from those simply benefiting from an expanding economy.
However, as Buffet has often stressed, the real test of a company comes during times of crisis. He has told investors that challenging periods expose whether businesses are making sound, disciplined decisions or merely thriving due to favourable external conditions.
Buffett and his business partner and friend Munger were the architects who over nearly 60 years transformed Berkshire Hathaway Inc. from a failing textile maker into an empire, worth billions. Decades of compounded returns made the pair billionaires and folk heroes to adoring investors.
In January this year, Buffett handed over the company and CEO position to his successor Greg Abel. But his “bull run” with Berkshire has been legendary — gaining more than 55,00,000% returns over 60 years (1964-2024), to building the group to $1.2 trillion, and expanding Class A shares to worth $167 billion.
Greg Abel, who was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, has been a close aide to Warren Buffett, working with an active role managing the companies within the conglomerate. After succeeding Warren Buffett is still expected to live in Des Moines, Iowa, two hours away from the value investor.
Buffett gained fame and investor confidence for handpicking companies (Apple, Bank of America, Coca-Cola, etc.) that exploded and now account for 70% of Berkshire's $263 billion stock portfolio. He termed this as “one wonderful business can offset the many mediocre decisions that are inevitable”.
Buffett's net worth is estimated at $152 billion, making him the 10th richest person in the world, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index.
Buffet was born in Omaha, Nebraska, on 30 August, 1930, the second of three children of Leila and Howard Buffett. His paternal grandparents had a grocery business. His father was in the investment business and served on the Omaha school board before being elected to Congress in 1942 as a Republican.
As a teenager, Buffett used to deliver newspapers in Washington, earning enough to invest in a Nebraska farm.
He later enrolled in the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School at age 17, and after transferring, he graduated two years later from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, with a bachelor’s in business administration.
He also attended the Columbia University for graduate school, where he was mentored by Benjamin Graham. Aside from his parents, Buffett considered Graham his greatest teacher, according to CNBC.
In 1962, Buffett started investing in Berkshire Hathaway, a troubled textile manufacturing company in New Bedford, Massachusetts. He later called it his “dumbest” stock purchase ever. Buffet finally took control of Berkshire in 1965 and “fought” the failing textile business for 20 years, according to the media report.
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