Warren Buffett, arguably the most famous investor of the world, will step down as the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway after six decades at the helm, with his protégé Greg Abel taking the reins from Thursday.
But for generations of investors, the lessons learnt from the illustrious career of the Oracle of Omaha, as Buffett is known for his farsightedness in stock picking, are unlikely to fade away in a hurry.
Through his advice-packed investor letters, his hours-long annual meetings littered with quotes, his choices at work or in his personal life, Buffett has taught CEOs and executives around the world how to run their businesses and, in many cases, their lives.
“What I’ve always admired about Warren Buffett, and (his late business partner) Charlie Munger for that matter, is their use of plain English and plain language to explain difficult concepts,” Steve Hafner, the CEO of Kayak, was quoted as saying by CNN. “It takes a lot of skill to take a complex issue and just split it to the bare minimum.”
One of the lessons many investors highlighted is Buffet’s legendary patience. He is known to sit on enormous piles of cash at Berkshire, waiting for the right opportunity to invest. And when he did invest, he was in it for the long haul: “Our favourite holding period is forever,” he wrote to shareholders in 1989.
While Buffett was savvy with money, he refused to cut corners to earn it, emphasising honesty and integrity. And he expected the same from people who worked with him: “Lose money for the firm and I will be understanding. Lose a shred of reputation for the firm, and I will be ruthless,” he once testified before Congress.
Not to be defined by the money he made, Buffett, who was counted among the top 10 richest persons in the world for years, gave away some of his wealth to charity. Along with Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates, he created the Giving Pledge in 2010 for the world’s richest people to promise “to give the majority of their wealth to charitable causes in their lifetime or wills”.
In a letter explaining his commitment, Buffett later wrote: “Too often, a vast collection of possessions ends up possessing its owner.”
