Zitate von Warren Buffett
Warren Buffett
Geburtstag: 30. August 1930
Andere Namen: Уоррен Баффет
Warren Edward Buffett ist ein US-amerikanischer Großinvestor, Unternehmer und Mäzen. Nahezu sein gesamtes Vermögen ist in dem von ihm aufgebauten und geleiteten Investment-Unternehmen Berkshire Hathaway angelegt, dessen größter Aktionär er selbst ist. Aktuell hält er immer noch knapp 19 % der Gesellschaftsanteile, obwohl er seit 2006 kontinuierlich Aktien für Spenden verkauft. Ohne diese Spenden hielte er knapp 31 % und wäre mit 108,8 Milliarden US-Dollar mit Abstand der reichste Mensch der Welt. Die Aktie seines Unternehmens ist die teuerste an der Börse zu kaufende Aktie der Welt.
Zitate Warren Buffett
„Es herrscht Klassenkrieg, richtig, aber es ist meine Klasse, die Klasse der Reichen, die Krieg führt, und wir gewinnen“
zitiert bei Jutta Ditfurth. Zeit des Zorns. nrhz.de/flyer 29. Juli 2011 http://www.nrhz.de/flyer/beitrag.php?id=13886
Original engl.: ”There’s class warfare, all right, but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning.” - im Interview mit Ben Stein in New York Times, 26. November 2006 http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/26/business/yourmoney/26every.html?_r=0

„Meine Freunde und ich sind lange genug von einem milliardärfreundlichen Kongress verhätschelt worden. Es ist Zeit, dass unsere Regierung Ernst damit macht, allen gemeinsame Opfer abzuverlangen.“
DER SPIEGEL 34/2011 http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-80075340.html 22. August 2011]
"My friends and I have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress. It’s time for our government to get serious about shared sacrifice." - Stop Coddling the Super-Rich, by Warren E. Buffett, New York Times 14. August 2011 http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/15/opinion/stop-coddling-the-super-rich.html
„Wenn in Amerika ein Klassenkampf tobt, ist meine Klasse dabei, ihn zu gewinnen.“
Zitiert bei Mika Hoffmann, Ferdinand Bertram und Oliver Janich. Warren Buffett - Milliarden-Macher. Focus-Money online 25.03.2004 http://www.focus.de/finanzen/boerse/warren-buffett-milliarden-macher_aid_252047.html
Original engl.: "If class warfare is being waged in America, my class is clearly winning." - Jahresbrief an die Investoren seines Fonds "Berkshire Hathaway", 2003, S. 7 berkshirehathaway.com http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/2003ar/2003ar.pdf
„„Meine Freunde und ich sind lange genug von einem Milliardär-freundlichen Kongress verhätschelt worden“
zitiert bei Frankfurter Allgemeine faz. net 15. August 2011

„You can’t make a good deal with a bad person.“
http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikaandersen/2013/12/02/23-quotes-from-warren-buffett-on-life-and-generosity/ "23 Quotes from Warren Buffett on Life and Generosity" forbes.com (02 December 2013)
Quotes from the press
„The asset I most value, aside from health, is interesting, diverse, and long-standing friends.“
" My Philanthropic Pledge http://givingpledge.org/pdf/letters/Buffett_Letter.pdf" at the The Giving Pledge (2010)
Kontext: Some material things make my life more enjoyable; many, however, would not. I like having an expensive private plane, but owning a half-dozen homes would be a burden. Too often, a vast collection of possessions ends up possessing its owner. The asset I most value, aside from health, is interesting, diverse, and long-standing friends.
My wealth has come from a combination of living in America, some lucky genes, and compound interest. Both my children and I won what I call the ovarian lottery. (For starters, the odds against my 1930 birth taking place in the U. S. were at least 30 to 1. My being male and white also removed huge obstacles that a majority of Americans then faced.) My luck was accentuated by my living in a market system that sometimes produces distorted results, though overall it serves our country well. I’ve worked in an economy that rewards someone who saves the lives of others on a battlefield with a medal, rewards a great teacher with thank-you notes from parents, but rewards those who can detect the mispricing of securities with sums reaching into the billions. In short, fate’s distribution of long straws is wildly capricious.
The reaction of my family and me to our extraordinary good fortune is not guilt, but rather gratitude. Were we to use more than 1% of my claim checks on ourselves, neither our happiness nor our well-being would be enhanced. In contrast, that remaining 99% can have a huge effect on the health and welfare of others. That reality sets an obvious course for me and my family: Keep all we can conceivably need and distribute the rest to society, for its needs. My pledge starts us down that course.
„I don't use very many of those claim checks. There's nothing material I want very much. And I'm going to give virtually all of those claim checks to charity when my wife and I die.“
As quoted in Warren Buffett Speaks: Wit and Wisdom from the World's Greatest Investor (1997) by Janet C. Lowe, pp. 165-166
Kontext: I don't have a problem with guilt about money. The way I see it is that my money represents an enormous number of claim checks on society. It is like I have these little pieces of paper that I can turn into consumption. If I wanted to, I could hire 10,000 people to do nothing but paint my picture every day for the rest of my life. And the GNP would go up. But the utility of the product would be zilch, and I would be keeping those 10,000 people from doing AIDS research, or teaching, or nursing. I don't do that though. I don't use very many of those claim checks. There's nothing material I want very much. And I'm going to give virtually all of those claim checks to charity when my wife and I die.
„Some material things make my life more enjoyable; many, however, would not.“
" My Philanthropic Pledge http://givingpledge.org/pdf/letters/Buffett_Letter.pdf" at the The Giving Pledge (2010)
Kontext: Some material things make my life more enjoyable; many, however, would not. I like having an expensive private plane, but owning a half-dozen homes would be a burden. Too often, a vast collection of possessions ends up possessing its owner. The asset I most value, aside from health, is interesting, diverse, and long-standing friends.
My wealth has come from a combination of living in America, some lucky genes, and compound interest. Both my children and I won what I call the ovarian lottery. (For starters, the odds against my 1930 birth taking place in the U. S. were at least 30 to 1. My being male and white also removed huge obstacles that a majority of Americans then faced.) My luck was accentuated by my living in a market system that sometimes produces distorted results, though overall it serves our country well. I’ve worked in an economy that rewards someone who saves the lives of others on a battlefield with a medal, rewards a great teacher with thank-you notes from parents, but rewards those who can detect the mispricing of securities with sums reaching into the billions. In short, fate’s distribution of long straws is wildly capricious.
The reaction of my family and me to our extraordinary good fortune is not guilt, but rather gratitude. Were we to use more than 1% of my claim checks on ourselves, neither our happiness nor our well-being would be enhanced. In contrast, that remaining 99% can have a huge effect on the health and welfare of others. That reality sets an obvious course for me and my family: Keep all we can conceivably need and distribute the rest to society, for its needs. My pledge starts us down that course.
„We never want to count on the kindness of strangers in order to meet tomorrow’s obligations.“
2008 Chairman's Letter
Letters to Shareholders (1957 - 2012)
Kontext: 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.