Inspirational Quotations by Warren Buffett

  • It takes 20 years to build a reputation ...
    and five minutes to ruin it.
    From Issue 86
  • Should you find yourself in a chronically leaking boat,
    energy devoted to changing vessels is likely to be
    more productive than energy devoted to patching leaks.
    From Issue 167
  • When a management with a reputation for brilliance
    tackles a business with a reputation for bad economics,
    it is the reputation of the business that remains intact.
    From Issue 173
  • It's never a good idea to wait to do anything; given the uncertainty of life, just get going.
    From Issue 317
  • The perfect amount of money to leave children is enough money so that they would feel they could do anything, but not so much that they would do nothing.
    From Issue 380
  • Can you really explain to a fish what it's like to walk on land? One day on land is worth a thousand years of talking about it, and one day running a business has exactly the same kind of value.
    From Issue 382
  • Someone's sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.
    From Issue 383
  • You're neither right nor wrong because other people agree with you. You're right because your facts are right and your reasoning is right—and that's the only thing that makes you right. And if your facts and reasoning are right, you don't have to worry about anybody else.
    From Issue 393
  • A public-opinion poll is no substitute for thought.
    From Issue 394
  • We never want to count on the kindness of strangers in order to meet tomorrow's obligations. When forced to choose, I will not trade even a night's sleep for the chance of extra profits.
    From Issue 397

A design by Nagesh Belludi • 10-Oct-2011 • Protected under a Creative Commons License