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And now one of the mostrespected investors in America
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is going to tell youabout his secrets.
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"Warren Buffett."It's the sound of money.
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$9.2 billion...Billionaire investor Warren Buffett,
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the second richest manin America.
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He's estimatedto be worth about $62 billion.
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That makes himthe richest man in the world.
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♪ ♪
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You know,Buffett is not exactly what you might expect.
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Even thoughhe's in the money business,
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he doesn't even owna calculator or a computer.
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He takes the long view,
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and it's made him billions,many billions.
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Maybe you can beat the house,
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but I don't think you can beatWarren Buffett.
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Buffett filed his firsttax return at 13 years old.
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But he's no averagebillionaire, Tom.
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No, he certainly isn't, Matt.
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He's a $44 billionaverage Joe.
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Warren Buffetthas an approach
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that doesn't make him verypopular with his fellow billionaires.
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Warren Buffett,the boy from Nebraska
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who grew up to becomethe Wizard of Omaha.
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What was it about himthat allowed him to become
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the richest man in the world?How did he do it?
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♪ ♪
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70 years ago,
I was in high school.
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Almost a third as long
as the country has been around.
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And when I was
in high school,
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I really only had
two things on my mind...
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girls and cars.
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And-- and I wasn't doing very well with girls,
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so we'll talk
about cars.
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But lets just imagine
that when we finish,
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I'm going to let each one of you
pick out the car of your choice.
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Sounds good, doesn't it?
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Pick it out,
any color, you name it,
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it'll be tied up with a bow,
and it'll be at your house tomorrow.
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And you say,"Well, what's the catch?"
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And the catch is...
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that it's the only car you're going to get in your lifetime.
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Now what are you going to do,
knowing that that's the only car
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you're ever going to have
and you love that car?
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You're going to take care of it like you cannot believe.
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Now what I'd like to suggest
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is that you're not going to getonly one car in your lifetime,
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but you're gonna get
one body and one mind,
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and that's all
you're going to get.
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And that body and mind
feels terrific now,
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but it hasto last you a lifetime.
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I'm on the wayto the office.
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It's allof a five-minute drive.
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Been doing it...
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for 54 years.
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One of the good things
about this five-minute drive
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is that on the way there's a McDonald's,
so I'll pick up something.
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Good morning, thank you
for choosing McDonald's.
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Go ahead and order
whenever you're ready.
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I'll have a Sausage McMuffin
with egg and cheese.
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Anything else?
That's it, thank you.
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Yeah, and I tell my wifeas I shave in the morning,
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I say either $2.61,
$2.95, or $3.17,
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and she puts that amount
in a little cup by me here
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and that determines
which of three breakfasts I get.
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Hi. 2.95.
Okay, 2.95.
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There's the two.
How you doing, sir!
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Hey, great!
You're on "Candid Camera"!
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I see. Hello, everybody!
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When I'm not feelingquite so prosperous,
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I might go with a 2.61,which is two sausage patties,
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and then I put 'em together
and pour myself a Coke.
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Hi, how are you?
Hi. I've been good.
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3.17 is a bacon, egg,and cheese biscuit,
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but the market's
down this morning,
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so I think I'll pass up the 3.17 and go with the 2.95.
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♪ ♪
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I like numbers.
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It started beforeI could remember.
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It just felt good,working with numbers.
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I was always playing around withnumbers in one-way or another.
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And it was fun to have
a bunch of guys over
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and have them betting on which
marble would reach the drain first.
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I had a lotof energy as a kid.
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I-- I was inquisitive,and I was the youngest one
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always in the class,'cause I'd skip.
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I've always been competitive.
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I liked to readmore than most kids.
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I really liketo read a lot.
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My Aunt Edie gave me
a copy of "The World Almanac"
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and that was heaven to me.
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And I can still tell you that Omaha'spopulation was 214,006 in 1930.
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Some numbers
just kind of stick with you.
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And very early,probably when I was seven or so,
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I took this book outof the Benson Library
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called "A Thousand Waysto Make a $1,000."
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And one of the waysin this book
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was havingpenny weighing machines.
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And I sat and calculatedhow much it would cost
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to buy the firstweighing machine,
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and then how longit would take for the profit
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from that one to buy another one,and I would sit there
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and create thesecompound interest tables
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to figure out how long
it would take me to have
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a weighing machine
for every person in the world.
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I had everybody in the countryweighing themselves ten times a day,
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and me just sitting there like John D.Rockefeller of weighing machines.
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The allowance when I was alittle boy was a nickel a week,
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but I liked the idea of having a little
more than a nickel a week to work with,
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and I wentinto business very early.
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I started selling Coca-Coladoor to door.
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I sold gum door to door.
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I sold"Saturday Evening Post,"
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"Liberty" magazine,"Ladies Home Journal," you name it.
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I think I enjoyed the gamealmost right from the start.
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But I like being my own boss.
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That's one thing I likedabout delivering papers.
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I could arrangethe route I wanted.
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Nobody was bothering meat 5:00 or 6:00 in the morning.
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I was delivering500 papers a day,
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and I made a penny a paper,
but in terms of compounding,
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that penny's turned
into something else.
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♪ ♪
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Einstein is reputed to have said
that "Compound interest
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is the eighth wonder of the
world" or something like that,
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and it goes back to that story you probably
learned when you were in grade school
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where somebody didsomething for the king,
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and the king said,"What can I do for you?"
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And he said,"Well, lets take a chessboard
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"and put one kernel of wheaton the first square
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"and then double iton the second
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and double it on the third."
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And the king readily agreed to it,and by the time he figured out
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what two to the 64th
amounted to,
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he was giving away
the entire kingdom.
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So it's a pretty simple concept,but over time,
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it accomplishesextraordinary things.
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Berkshire is an amazing company.
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Fourth largest company
in the "Fortune" 500.
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He is the only personwho has ever, from scratch,
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built a company that is in the top 10 of the Fortune 500.
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Berkshire Hathaway.
Fine, thank you.
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Well, Berkshire isa holding company of sorts.
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It owns a large numberof separate businesses
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that operateindependently of each other
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and, to a great extent,from the parent company, Berkshire Hathaway.
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All right, well,
we're going to get more from you in a second.
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So we have maybe 70,maybe 80 businesses,
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and we ask themto behave in a way
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that doesn't hurtour reputation
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at Berkshire Hathaway,
but they run their own lives.
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Other people do most of the decorating in the office,
so various things come in.
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Originally,
when I moved in in 1962...
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you can see this--
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I went down
to the South Omaha Library,
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and I think for a dollar,
I got seven copies
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of old "New York Times"
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from big times like
the Panic of 1907.
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This is one--
1929 obviously.
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But I wanted
to put on the walls
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days of extreme panic
in Wall Street,
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just as a reminder that anything
can happen in this world.
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I mean it--
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it's instructive art
you can call it.
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♪ ♪
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I was born in 1930here in Omaha, Nebraska,
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during the stock market crash.
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My dad lost his job in 1931,
a year after I was born.
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He was a stock salesman,
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and he had what little savingshe had in the bank,
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and so he startedhis own company.
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He worked right through
the depression.
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♪ ♪
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He had an investment company,
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and as an adult
when I looked back,
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I thought, "Wow, did that ever
take a lot of nerve."
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Sometimes we'dgo down there on Sunday,
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and we could playwith the adding machine.
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My brother and I tendedto play the games together.
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And I rememberat one point he said to me,
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"I'm going to be a millionaire by the time I'm... 30,"
or something like that.
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It was totally outside of anythingmy family had experienced,
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but he just wasunusual that way.
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Well, I was the oldest,
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and then my brotherand then my sister.
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And my father would go
to New York periodically
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to check on businesses,stocks, and things like that,
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and he'd come back,he'd always have a costume
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for each of us,and Warren loved it.
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He was very good-natured.He was quiet.
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It was hard to tell
he was a genius at that point,
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but I mean,who was looking?
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The first booksI read on investment
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were actuallyin my dad's office.
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Pretty soon, I readall the books in the office
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and read some of themmore than once.
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My dad hadvarious nicknames for me.
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He'd call me"Fireball" sometimes,
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because I'd startlittle businesses.
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He didn't careabout money at all.
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He believed very muchin having an inner scorecard
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and never worry about what other
people are thinking about you.
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You know, just-- just--
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if you know why you're doing what you're doing,
that's good enough.
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I admired everythingabout him to the extent
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that I was absorbing lessonsfrom him without knowing it.
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And the idea that all lives have
equal value is something that
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all three of his childrenfelt since I can remember.
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My dad at one pointran for congress
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when I was 12 or so.
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It wasa very republican household.
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I campaigned for him.My sisters campaigned for him.
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The whole family did.
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My mother was
very, very bright,
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00:12:10,689 --> 00:12:13,565
and she was very gregarious.
She was a good campaigner for my dad.
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She had a lot of ambition,
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and I thinkmy brother Warren got a lot
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of his extreme competitiveness
from my mother, actually.
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She was brilliant at math.
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00:12:29,040 --> 00:12:31,124
You know, I guess
they still had these things
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where you crank them
and things added up,
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00:12:33,003 --> 00:12:35,962
and she could add it in her head
faster than the machine could do it.
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She wasabsolutely amazing in that.
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She was very dutifulabout taking care of the kids,
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but you didn't get
the same feeling of-- of love.
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00:12:45,307 --> 00:12:48,600
It was there, but it just-- it didn't come
out the same way as with my dad.
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00:12:50,896 --> 00:12:53,521
Howard Buffett, Sr. On radio:
In the nation, the only permanent way
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00:12:53,565 --> 00:12:56,566
to prosperity is
a balanced budget.
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00:12:56,610 --> 00:12:59,110
Unless that goal
is achieved,
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00:12:59,154 --> 00:13:03,740
all post-war plans will collapse
like Hitler's conquest.
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00:13:03,783 --> 00:13:06,409
You have heard Congressman
Howard L.H. Buffett,
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00:13:06,453 --> 00:13:08,495
a Republican member
of the House of Representatives
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00:13:08,538 --> 00:13:09,829
from Nebraska
speaking on the--
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00:13:09,873 --> 00:13:11,539
When I was about 12 or 13,
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00:13:11,583 --> 00:13:14,834
we moved to Washington,
my family, and I was mad.
235
00:13:14,878 --> 00:13:17,879
I was having fun in Omaha,
and I lost all my friends,
236
00:13:17,923 --> 00:13:20,715
and now I moved to a town
where they were all strange,
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00:13:20,759 --> 00:13:24,177
and so I was very,
very unhappy.
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♪ ♪
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00:13:28,099 --> 00:13:30,475
At school,I just lost interest.
240
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I took pleasurein tormenting my teachers.
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00:13:37,317 --> 00:13:40,818
At that time for example,AT&T was the stock
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00:13:40,862 --> 00:13:43,071
that all teachers ownedfor their retirement,
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00:13:43,114 --> 00:13:46,866
and I decided that it woulddrive my teachers a little crazy
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00:13:46,910 --> 00:13:49,494
if I went and short the stock,
because when you go short a stock,
245
00:13:49,538 --> 00:13:52,121
you're betting
that it will go down.
246
00:13:52,165 --> 00:13:54,207
So I shorted10 shares of AT&T,
247
00:13:54,251 --> 00:13:56,292
and then broughtthe confirmation to school
248
00:13:56,336 --> 00:13:58,294
and showed these teachersI was shorting the stock.
249
00:13:59,548 --> 00:14:01,172
They found mea big pain in the neck,
250
00:14:01,216 --> 00:14:03,049
but they did think I knewa lot about stocks.
251
00:14:03,093 --> 00:14:04,676
♪ ♪
252
00:14:07,305 --> 00:14:11,766
And then at home,my mother would have terrific headaches,
253
00:14:11,810 --> 00:14:14,435
and you didn't want to be around her
when she was having the headaches,
254
00:14:14,479 --> 00:14:17,355
and she would-- she would lash out more.
She would never do it in public.
255
00:14:19,317 --> 00:14:20,984
Well, I thinkwe were terrified of her.
256
00:14:21,027 --> 00:14:22,694
♪ ♪
257
00:14:22,737 --> 00:14:24,195
When I'd wake upin the morning,
258
00:14:24,239 --> 00:14:26,447
I'd listen to hear her voice.
I could tell by her voice
259
00:14:26,491 --> 00:14:29,742
if it was going to be
a terrible day or not.
260
00:14:29,786 --> 00:14:32,537
When she got difficult,the three children felt it.
261
00:14:35,333 --> 00:14:39,043
When I was at the low point, sort of,I decided that I would run away.
262
00:14:41,089 --> 00:14:43,840
So I talked two other guysinto running away with me.
263
00:14:45,552 --> 00:14:47,385
We went out,and we start hitchhiking...
264
00:14:48,847 --> 00:14:50,888
and then we got picked upby the highway patrol
265
00:14:50,932 --> 00:14:53,725
and that scaredthe hell out of us.
266
00:14:56,354 --> 00:14:59,897
It's very interesting.My dad never really gave me hell about doing this,
267
00:14:59,941 --> 00:15:01,441
but he finally said,
"You know,"
268
00:15:01,484 --> 00:15:04,485
he said,
"you can do better than this."
269
00:15:04,529 --> 00:15:07,572
And just saying that,
I mean, I--
270
00:15:07,616 --> 00:15:09,824
I felt like I was
letting him down, basically.
271
00:15:09,868 --> 00:15:12,952
So in all ways,
he was teaching me.
272
00:15:12,996 --> 00:15:15,121
Never taught
by telling me things,
273
00:15:15,165 --> 00:15:17,123
he just taught by example.
274
00:15:17,167 --> 00:15:20,335
He had unlimited confidence in me,
even when I screwed up,
275
00:15:20,378 --> 00:15:23,546
and that takes you
a long, long way.
276
00:15:27,052 --> 00:15:29,010
The best giftI was ever given
277
00:15:29,054 --> 00:15:31,554
was to have the fatherthat I had when I was born.
278
00:15:37,520 --> 00:15:41,439
I didn't want to go to college.I was 16 when I got out of high school
279
00:15:41,483 --> 00:15:43,483
and I was buying stocks.
280
00:15:43,526 --> 00:15:45,401
I mean,I actually was having a pretty good time
281
00:15:45,445 --> 00:15:48,363
and I didn't see that really was much
to be gained by going to college,
282
00:15:48,406 --> 00:15:50,114
but my dad
kind of jollied me into it.
283
00:15:50,158 --> 00:15:52,492
♪ ♪
284
00:15:52,535 --> 00:15:54,535
He had a roommatewho was a friend of mine,
285
00:15:54,579 --> 00:15:56,871
and the roommate saidit would just drive him crazy,
286
00:15:56,915 --> 00:15:58,623
because he studiedall the time,
287
00:15:58,667 --> 00:16:01,876
and Warren would come in
15 minutes before the exam
288
00:16:01,920 --> 00:16:05,380
and just ace his way
through it.
289
00:16:05,423 --> 00:16:08,091
I finished in three years,'cause I had enough credits,
290
00:16:08,134 --> 00:16:10,426
and I was in a hurry.
I wanted to get out.
291
00:16:14,599 --> 00:16:16,349
When I got outof the University of Nebraska,
292
00:16:16,393 --> 00:16:19,185
I applied
to Harvard Business school.
293
00:16:19,229 --> 00:16:23,147
They told me I was to get
interviewed in a place near Chicago.
294
00:16:23,191 --> 00:16:27,193
I got there,
and he interviewed me for about 10 minutes,
295
00:16:27,237 --> 00:16:29,237
and he said, "Forget it."
296
00:16:29,280 --> 00:16:30,947
"You're not going
to Harvard."
297
00:16:30,990 --> 00:16:33,574
And so now I'm thinking,
"What do I tell my dad?
298
00:16:33,618 --> 00:16:36,744
Oh, this is terrible."
And it turned out to be
299
00:16:36,788 --> 00:16:38,121
the best thing
that ever happened to me.
300
00:16:38,164 --> 00:16:39,956
Later that summer,
301
00:16:39,999 --> 00:16:41,916
I was lookingthrough a catalog
302
00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:45,628
and in the catalog,
it had these names of people that were teaching,
303
00:16:45,672 --> 00:16:48,631
and one was Graham
and another was Dodd.
304
00:16:48,675 --> 00:16:51,426
I had read this book
by the two of them,
305
00:16:51,469 --> 00:16:53,261
so I wrote him a letter
in mid-August,
306
00:16:53,304 --> 00:16:56,431
and I said,
"Dear Professor Dodd,"
307
00:16:56,474 --> 00:16:58,933
I said, "I thought
you guys were dead."
308
00:16:58,977 --> 00:17:01,978
"But, now that I found out
that you're alive
309
00:17:02,021 --> 00:17:04,731
and teaching at Columbia,
I would really like to come."
310
00:17:04,774 --> 00:17:07,316
And he admitted me.
So, you know what?
311
00:17:07,360 --> 00:17:10,027
That-- it just shows,
you never can tell.
312
00:17:10,071 --> 00:17:13,781
♪ ♪
313
00:17:16,661 --> 00:17:18,786
Gentlemen,
Professor Graham.
314
00:17:18,830 --> 00:17:20,580
Ben wasthis incredible teacher.
315
00:17:20,623 --> 00:17:23,958
I mean he-- he was a natural,
and he drew us all in.
316
00:17:24,002 --> 00:17:25,752
Are Wall Street professionals--
317
00:17:25,795 --> 00:17:30,423
they more accurate in the shorter
term than the long term forecast?
318
00:17:30,467 --> 00:17:35,762
Well, our studies indicate that you have
your choice between tossing coins...
319
00:17:35,805 --> 00:17:38,723
and taking the consensus
of expert opinions,
320
00:17:38,767 --> 00:17:41,976
and the results are just about the same in each case.
321
00:17:43,354 --> 00:17:44,729
It was like learning baseball
322
00:17:44,773 --> 00:17:47,106
from a fellowwho's batting .400.
323
00:17:47,150 --> 00:17:49,567
It really-- it shapedmy professional life.
324
00:17:52,447 --> 00:17:55,615
There are two rules of investing according to Warren,
325
00:17:55,658 --> 00:17:58,034
and he learned this
from Ben Graham.
326
00:18:01,706 --> 00:18:04,707
Rule number one,
never lose money.
327
00:18:04,751 --> 00:18:08,252
Rule number two,
never forget rule number one.
328
00:18:10,799 --> 00:18:14,550
Ben Graham basically coined
the term "value investing."
329
00:18:14,594 --> 00:18:17,386
He believedin careful scrutiny
330
00:18:17,430 --> 00:18:20,223
of a company'sfinancial statements,
331
00:18:20,266 --> 00:18:24,435
and that if you bought value,
it would eventually prove out.
332
00:18:27,482 --> 00:18:30,566
A few years ago,
I went to Amazon,
333
00:18:30,610 --> 00:18:32,068
and sure enough,
they had this manual there,
334
00:18:32,111 --> 00:18:36,239
so while reliving my youth--
other guys were going to Amazon
335
00:18:36,282 --> 00:18:39,826
and probably buying
old "Playboys" or something,
336
00:18:39,869 --> 00:18:41,953
but I bought old
Moody's manuals instead,
337
00:18:41,996 --> 00:18:45,706
and when I got out of school,
I started selling stocks,
338
00:18:45,750 --> 00:18:47,542
I was 20 years old at the time,
339
00:18:47,585 --> 00:18:49,961
looked about 16,
and acted about 12,
340
00:18:50,004 --> 00:18:53,965
so I was not the most impressive
salesperson anybody ever met.
341
00:18:54,008 --> 00:18:57,218
But what I would do was I went
through, page by page,
342
00:18:57,262 --> 00:19:00,263
looking for possibly
undervalued stocks.
343
00:19:02,058 --> 00:19:04,350
Is this like going through
an old family album?
344
00:19:04,394 --> 00:19:06,185
Better!
345
00:19:06,229 --> 00:19:08,604
♪ ♪
346
00:19:10,400 --> 00:19:13,276
When I got out of business school at Columbia,
347
00:19:13,319 --> 00:19:16,696
I developed pretty decent skills in terms of business,
348
00:19:16,739 --> 00:19:20,116
but I hadn't really come to terms with the world exactly.
349
00:19:21,661 --> 00:19:23,953
What were you like
around girls back then?
350
00:19:23,997 --> 00:19:28,374
Bad. I was-- I was sort of out of the
swing of things there for a while.
351
00:19:29,878 --> 00:19:33,629
I went to my 60th reunion,and there was a girl there.
352
00:19:33,673 --> 00:19:37,466
I took her out one time to the
Uptown Theater in Washington,
353
00:19:37,510 --> 00:19:40,136
and I asked her whether she
remembered what movie we saw,
354
00:19:40,179 --> 00:19:41,929
and she said,
"No, I don't remember that."
355
00:19:41,973 --> 00:19:44,432
And then she said,
"But I do remember one thing."
356
00:19:44,475 --> 00:19:46,684
And like an idiot,
I said, "What was that?"
357
00:19:46,728 --> 00:19:48,603
And she said, "Well,
you picked me up in a hearse."
358
00:19:48,646 --> 00:19:50,313
And it was truethat I owned
359
00:19:50,356 --> 00:19:52,732
a half-interest in a hearsewhile I was in high school,
360
00:19:52,775 --> 00:19:54,775
which was not
the smoothest thing that--
361
00:19:54,819 --> 00:19:56,402
or coolest,
as they would say now--
362
00:19:56,446 --> 00:19:58,863
that you could--
you could do on a date.
363
00:20:02,577 --> 00:20:05,453
There were two turning points in my life.
364
00:20:05,496 --> 00:20:06,913
Once whenI came out of the womb,
365
00:20:06,956 --> 00:20:08,497
and once when I metSusie, basically.
366
00:20:08,541 --> 00:20:12,501
♪ ♪
367
00:20:12,545 --> 00:20:14,295
She was the girl, yep.
368
00:20:16,049 --> 00:20:17,298
But it took hera little longer
369
00:20:17,342 --> 00:20:19,634
to figure outI was the boy.
370
00:20:22,513 --> 00:20:24,305
I was going to be
371
00:20:24,349 --> 00:20:27,391
his youngest sister's roommate
at Northwestern.
372
00:20:27,435 --> 00:20:31,354
So I walk into their house,
he was sitting in this chair,
373
00:20:31,397 --> 00:20:35,232
and he madesome sarcastic quip.
374
00:20:35,276 --> 00:20:38,486
So I made one back.
I thought, "Who is this jerk?"
375
00:20:38,529 --> 00:20:39,820
♪ ♪
376
00:20:39,864 --> 00:20:41,822
And that's how we met, yes.
377
00:20:44,827 --> 00:20:47,954
Listen, Warren is smarter
than you even know.
378
00:20:47,997 --> 00:20:50,915
His brain is goingall the time.
379
00:20:50,959 --> 00:20:53,542
And my dad said to me,
380
00:20:53,586 --> 00:20:55,836
"Now you haveto understand about him--
381
00:20:55,880 --> 00:20:58,047
"you're not going to havediscussions with him
382
00:20:58,091 --> 00:21:00,007
"like you wouldmost normal people,
383
00:21:00,051 --> 00:21:02,510
but he hasa heart of gold."
384
00:21:04,514 --> 00:21:06,681
He was just
totally enamored of her,
385
00:21:06,724 --> 00:21:09,266
and why not?
And she of him.
386
00:21:09,310 --> 00:21:12,728
She'd sit on his lap all the time,
and he'd stroke her hair.
387
00:21:13,815 --> 00:21:15,106
It was softening him.
388
00:21:16,567 --> 00:21:19,652
Susie wasreally kind, considerate,
389
00:21:19,696 --> 00:21:21,779
and she was
the balancing force.
390
00:21:25,284 --> 00:21:27,994
I just got very,
very, very lucky.
391
00:21:28,037 --> 00:21:30,079
But I was
a lopsided person,
392
00:21:30,123 --> 00:21:32,498
and it took a while,
but she just stood there
393
00:21:32,542 --> 00:21:35,459
with a little watering can
394
00:21:35,503 --> 00:21:39,588
and just nourished me along
and-- and changed me.
395
00:21:39,632 --> 00:21:42,341
♪ ♪
396
00:21:42,385 --> 00:21:45,094
Somebody once said
that the chains of habit
397
00:21:45,138 --> 00:21:48,639
are too light to be felt until
they're too heavy to be broken.
398
00:21:50,601 --> 00:21:54,020
I had been terrifiedof public speaking.
399
00:21:54,063 --> 00:21:55,563
I couldn't do it.I'd throw up.
400
00:21:57,025 --> 00:21:59,775
And I knew if I didn't cure it then,
I'd never cure it.
401
00:21:59,819 --> 00:22:01,861
♪ ♪
402
00:22:01,904 --> 00:22:06,032
And so I saw an ad in the paperfor the Dale Carnegie Course,
403
00:22:06,075 --> 00:22:09,660
which worked on developingyour ability to speak in public,
404
00:22:09,704 --> 00:22:10,870
and I went down there.
405
00:22:10,913 --> 00:22:12,997
Be sincere.
406
00:22:13,041 --> 00:22:15,082
A good smile
has the same effect
407
00:22:15,126 --> 00:22:17,001
as a puppy's tail.
When a puppy wags--
408
00:22:17,045 --> 00:22:18,544
They made us doall these crazy things
409
00:22:18,588 --> 00:22:21,338
to get out of ourselves,and so we stood on tables
410
00:22:21,382 --> 00:22:22,715
and did all kinds of things.
411
00:22:28,139 --> 00:22:29,889
If I hadn't had done that...
412
00:22:29,932 --> 00:22:31,766
my whole lifewould have been different.
413
00:22:33,352 --> 00:22:35,686
So in my officeyou will not see
414
00:22:35,730 --> 00:22:37,980
the degree I got from the University of Nebraska.
415
00:22:38,024 --> 00:22:41,025
You will not see the Masters degreeI got from Columbia University,
416
00:22:41,069 --> 00:22:43,736
but you'll seethe little award certificate
417
00:22:43,780 --> 00:22:45,988
I gotfrom the Dale Carnegie Course.
418
00:22:47,617 --> 00:22:49,867
As a matter of fact,
every week,
419
00:22:49,911 --> 00:22:52,578
the instructor
would give a pencil
420
00:22:52,622 --> 00:22:56,832
to whoever had done the most with
what we'd learned the week before.
421
00:22:56,876 --> 00:22:59,210
And so in the fourth
or fifth week,
422
00:22:59,253 --> 00:23:01,629
I proposed to her mother,
423
00:23:01,672 --> 00:23:04,799
and she said yes.
And so that week,
424
00:23:04,842 --> 00:23:08,010
I won the pencil,
I also got engaged,
425
00:23:08,054 --> 00:23:09,678
and it was
an incredible week.
426
00:23:09,722 --> 00:23:11,222
♪ ♪
427
00:23:15,436 --> 00:23:17,061
The wedding datewas kind of interesting,
428
00:23:17,105 --> 00:23:18,938
because I couldn't seeanything without my glasses,
429
00:23:18,981 --> 00:23:20,189
and I wasso nervous that I--
430
00:23:20,233 --> 00:23:22,858
I just decidedto take off my glasses
431
00:23:22,902 --> 00:23:25,528
and I wouldn't be able to see
all those people out there.
432
00:23:25,571 --> 00:23:29,824
♪ ♪
433
00:23:32,495 --> 00:23:34,870
She was 19 when we got married and I was 21...
434
00:23:36,833 --> 00:23:40,251
but she was so much more mature than I was.There was no comparison.
435
00:23:45,716 --> 00:23:47,258
She was a better person
than I was...
436
00:23:48,803 --> 00:23:50,886
but when you get married,it's not a question of saying,
437
00:23:50,930 --> 00:23:53,389
"I'm going to put
a 14 % factor in for humor,
438
00:23:53,432 --> 00:23:56,809
and 17 % for intellect,
and 22 % for looks."
439
00:23:56,853 --> 00:23:59,520
It doesn't work that way.
440
00:23:59,564 --> 00:24:02,690
I knew it was the right decision,and-- and it was.
441
00:24:11,951 --> 00:24:13,826
You could live
anywhere in the world.
442
00:24:13,870 --> 00:24:15,327
Why do you choose
Omaha, Nebraska?
443
00:24:15,371 --> 00:24:18,205
Yeah, I love it, and I--
you know, I was...
444
00:24:18,249 --> 00:24:21,041
born about a mile from here
and, you know,
445
00:24:21,085 --> 00:24:23,210
I've never had a bad experience in Omaha.
446
00:24:23,254 --> 00:24:26,714
♪ ♪
447
00:24:35,641 --> 00:24:38,142
Well, Omaha and Nebraskaare home to me.
448
00:24:40,605 --> 00:24:42,396
Everything about itseems like home.
449
00:24:44,734 --> 00:24:48,944
It's a pace,it's relationships.
450
00:24:48,988 --> 00:24:52,031
There's a lot of continuity.
There's a lot of community.
451
00:24:52,074 --> 00:24:53,574
There's a lot
of friendship.
452
00:24:53,618 --> 00:24:56,118
It's a very solid placeand friendly place
453
00:24:56,162 --> 00:24:58,829
in which to grow up in,in which to conduct a business.
454
00:25:03,753 --> 00:25:07,463
When I came backto Omaha in early 1956,
455
00:25:07,506 --> 00:25:09,340
I had no ideawhat I was going to do.
456
00:25:11,052 --> 00:25:14,011
A few months after I came back,
some members of the family said,
457
00:25:14,055 --> 00:25:15,221
"What should we do
with our money?"
458
00:25:15,264 --> 00:25:16,639
And I said, "Well,
I'm not going back
459
00:25:16,682 --> 00:25:18,098
"in the business
of selling stocks,
460
00:25:18,142 --> 00:25:20,351
but if you would like
to join me in a partnership,"
461
00:25:20,394 --> 00:25:21,602
I said,
"I'll be glad to do it."
462
00:25:21,646 --> 00:25:23,938
So within a couple of months
after coming back,
463
00:25:23,981 --> 00:25:25,564
I set up
the first partnership.
464
00:25:32,448 --> 00:25:34,323
I wroteall the checks individually.
465
00:25:34,367 --> 00:25:36,325
I filed11 income-tax returns.
466
00:25:36,369 --> 00:25:39,203
I took delivery on stocks forall these different companies.
467
00:25:39,247 --> 00:25:42,456
I-- I was a one-man band there for six years.
468
00:25:46,462 --> 00:25:49,630
Warren would sit upstairsin his little office there,
469
00:25:49,674 --> 00:25:52,466
and I would bring up
the name of a company,
470
00:25:52,510 --> 00:25:54,009
and most of the time he knew
471
00:25:54,053 --> 00:25:55,678
much more than I did
about the company.
472
00:25:55,721 --> 00:25:57,888
He'd know how many shares
were outstanding.
473
00:25:57,932 --> 00:26:00,140
He'd know the capitalization.
He'd know the earnings.
474
00:26:00,184 --> 00:26:03,602
It was absolutely incredible.
475
00:26:03,646 --> 00:26:06,689
I mean when Warren said something,it meant a heck of a lot,
476
00:26:06,732 --> 00:26:09,650
and I think all of us paida lot of attention to Warren
477
00:26:09,694 --> 00:26:12,736
when he took a definite stand on something.
478
00:26:14,657 --> 00:26:18,742
When I first met Warrenback in 1959,
479
00:26:18,786 --> 00:26:20,327
I recognized immediately
480
00:26:20,371 --> 00:26:23,664
that he was
a very intelligent person.
481
00:26:23,708 --> 00:26:25,541
For the last four
or five years,
482
00:26:25,584 --> 00:26:27,334
the stock market
has been booming along
483
00:26:27,378 --> 00:26:29,962
and presumably
forecasting better business,
484
00:26:30,006 --> 00:26:31,588
which has really
not materialized,
485
00:26:31,632 --> 00:26:34,133
so maybe the stock market
is really correcting
486
00:26:34,176 --> 00:26:36,302
a previous incorrect forecast this time
487
00:26:36,345 --> 00:26:38,262
rather than making
a new correct one.
488
00:26:38,306 --> 00:26:42,725
He made a lot of money
buying thinly traded securities
489
00:26:42,768 --> 00:26:46,103
that were incredibly
cheap statistically.
490
00:26:49,775 --> 00:26:51,150
Warren was, at that time,
491
00:26:51,193 --> 00:26:52,860
dealing with small companies,
492
00:26:52,903 --> 00:26:56,739
and his investments often were
to buy a company
493
00:26:56,782 --> 00:27:00,075
that you could figure wasa discarded cigar butt,
494
00:27:00,119 --> 00:27:01,910
but it had
one more smoke in it,
495
00:27:01,954 --> 00:27:04,997
and he wantedto buy at the right time
496
00:27:05,041 --> 00:27:08,584
to be able to benefitfrom the one smoke.
497
00:27:08,627 --> 00:27:12,171
The first partnership
started with $105,100.
498
00:27:12,214 --> 00:27:15,257
I put up the 100,
and the other people put up the 105,000.
499
00:27:15,301 --> 00:27:19,845
And then at the start of 1962,I moved to Kiewit Plaza.
500
00:27:19,889 --> 00:27:22,556
And by the time I movedto Kiewit Plaza,
501
00:27:22,600 --> 00:27:24,558
we had $7 million invested,
502
00:27:24,602 --> 00:27:26,769
and a fair amountwas profits.
503
00:27:30,941 --> 00:27:34,318
I was then renting a house.I never owned a house to that point.
504
00:27:35,571 --> 00:27:36,904
And then two years later,
505
00:27:36,947 --> 00:27:40,240
I bought the houseI live in today in 1958.
506
00:27:48,292 --> 00:27:50,250
We had three children,Susie and I.
507
00:27:54,340 --> 00:27:55,631
And we had 'em young,incidentally,
508
00:27:55,674 --> 00:27:57,216
which was I think wasa very good thing.
509
00:27:57,259 --> 00:27:59,760
♪ ♪
510
00:28:02,807 --> 00:28:04,765
My daughter Susiewas born here.
511
00:28:06,560 --> 00:28:08,644
I named her Susie just like that,as soon as I looked at her,
512
00:28:08,687 --> 00:28:10,062
because she lookedjust like her mother,
513
00:28:10,106 --> 00:28:14,358
♪ ♪
514
00:28:14,402 --> 00:28:16,193
And she was a cinch.
515
00:28:19,323 --> 00:28:23,826
And then Howie was, you know,this absolute bundle of energy...
516
00:28:25,287 --> 00:28:27,371
which made thingsvery difficult
517
00:28:27,415 --> 00:28:29,456
for big Susiefor a while.
518
00:28:32,753 --> 00:28:35,504
Peter again reverted backto Susie's personality,
519
00:28:35,548 --> 00:28:37,214
and he was an easy child.
520
00:28:42,471 --> 00:28:44,555
Well, I would describemy childhood as normal,
521
00:28:44,598 --> 00:28:46,723
but who knowswhat normal is?
522
00:28:46,767 --> 00:28:48,267
People often think,
523
00:28:48,310 --> 00:28:50,936
"Well, Warren Buffett was
this famous rich guy."
524
00:28:50,980 --> 00:28:52,354
He was not famous,
and he wasn't rich
525
00:28:52,398 --> 00:28:53,522
when we were growing up.
526
00:28:53,566 --> 00:28:55,566
♪ ♪
527
00:28:55,609 --> 00:28:59,486
What I saw first and foremost,
528
00:28:59,530 --> 00:29:02,614
day in and day out,
was consistency.
529
00:29:02,658 --> 00:29:05,951
Every day we hear the garage door close in the house
530
00:29:05,995 --> 00:29:09,371
and then like clockwork,my dad would come in the door,
531
00:29:09,415 --> 00:29:12,708
"I'm home!" And we'd
all eat dinner together,
532
00:29:12,751 --> 00:29:14,918
which I think surprisesa lot of people.
533
00:29:17,882 --> 00:29:20,257
Susie Buffett, Jr: My dad,
he used to rock me to sleep at night
534
00:29:20,301 --> 00:29:22,843
and sing "Over the Rainbow,"so I have
535
00:29:22,887 --> 00:29:27,264
this insanely sentimental
attachment to that song.
536
00:29:27,308 --> 00:29:29,183
I've always had a really closerelationship with him.
537
00:29:29,226 --> 00:29:32,019
♪ ♪
538
00:29:35,316 --> 00:29:36,690
I've got threevery different kids,
539
00:29:36,734 --> 00:29:38,984
and they've gota common heart,
540
00:29:39,028 --> 00:29:40,569
which they gotfrom their mother.
541
00:29:43,240 --> 00:29:44,990
She did mostof the work by far
542
00:29:45,034 --> 00:29:46,325
of bringing upthe children,
543
00:29:46,368 --> 00:29:47,743
which is probably
a good thing.
544
00:29:47,786 --> 00:29:49,870
They have more
of her qualities than mine,
545
00:29:49,914 --> 00:29:52,247
which I would--
I would recommend.
546
00:29:53,792 --> 00:29:55,042
Well, my mom was
547
00:29:55,085 --> 00:29:57,628
the biggest partof my life growing up...
548
00:29:57,671 --> 00:30:00,380
even though I got disciplined
on a regular basis
549
00:30:00,424 --> 00:30:02,049
and she was usually
the one doing it,
550
00:30:02,092 --> 00:30:04,051
she was stillmy best friend.
551
00:30:04,094 --> 00:30:06,303
She was somebodywho would help anybody,
552
00:30:06,347 --> 00:30:08,138
I mean,
whether she knew 'em or didn't know 'em
553
00:30:08,182 --> 00:30:11,475
or maybe even didn't agree with them,
she would still help them.
554
00:30:13,145 --> 00:30:15,187
She was incredibly empathetic,
555
00:30:15,231 --> 00:30:19,566
and she was interested
in every person individually.
556
00:30:19,610 --> 00:30:23,445
She never cared about moneyor business at all.
557
00:30:23,489 --> 00:30:24,988
I mean he wouldgo around saying,
558
00:30:25,032 --> 00:30:28,951
"I'm going to be the richest man in the world."
559
00:30:28,994 --> 00:30:31,370
And I think, well,
it's like somebody says,
560
00:30:31,413 --> 00:30:34,081
"I play music,
and I'm gonna be Mozart."
561
00:30:34,124 --> 00:30:37,668
I don't know.
How does anyone know...
562
00:30:38,546 --> 00:30:40,712
How does anyone know?
You know?
563
00:30:40,756 --> 00:30:44,967
So that was okay.
I don't really care about that.
564
00:30:46,470 --> 00:30:48,595
I would saythat Susie led Warren
565
00:30:48,639 --> 00:30:50,764
toward changinghis political views.
566
00:30:50,808 --> 00:30:52,599
He grew up
as a young Republican,
567
00:30:52,643 --> 00:30:55,519
his father was
a Republican congressman,
568
00:30:55,563 --> 00:30:58,647
but Susie saw thingsin different ways.
569
00:30:58,691 --> 00:31:00,440
She was the catalyst.
570
00:31:00,484 --> 00:31:04,152
Freedom, freedom, freedom!
571
00:31:04,196 --> 00:31:06,863
Louder, louder,
louder, louder, louder!
572
00:31:06,907 --> 00:31:10,492
Freedom, freedom...
What do we want now?
573
00:31:10,536 --> 00:31:12,494
When the childrenwere growing up,
574
00:31:12,538 --> 00:31:15,581
I was very involvedin civil rights.
575
00:31:15,624 --> 00:31:20,627
I was immersed in it,
and I think that's what made Warren a Democrat.
576
00:31:20,671 --> 00:31:24,214
He would go with meto hear speakers.
577
00:31:25,843 --> 00:31:28,427
I remember that speechthat Martin Luther King gave.
578
00:31:28,470 --> 00:31:32,431
That was one of the most inspiring
speeches I-- I've ever heard.
579
00:31:32,474 --> 00:31:34,516
I come to say to you
this afternoon...
580
00:31:34,560 --> 00:31:36,852
Took me right out of my seat.My wife was with me.
581
00:31:36,895 --> 00:31:38,520
We both hadthe same experience.
582
00:31:38,564 --> 00:31:40,647
It will not be long.
It was interesting, he--
583
00:31:40,691 --> 00:31:44,568
in that speech,
he talked about truth forever on the scaffold,
584
00:31:44,612 --> 00:31:49,906
long forever on the throne,but that scaffold sways the future.
585
00:31:49,950 --> 00:31:52,284
Well, he was goingto be dead in six months,
586
00:31:52,328 --> 00:31:54,369
but that scaffold
did sway the future.
587
00:31:56,373 --> 00:31:58,206
My wife wasmore active than I was,
588
00:31:58,250 --> 00:32:00,375
but I was 100 %with her mentally.
589
00:32:00,419 --> 00:32:05,672
I was just working a little more on my own investments.
590
00:32:05,716 --> 00:32:07,466
But it didn't make a differencewhat we were gonna do
591
00:32:07,509 --> 00:32:09,051
with the moneyafter we made it.
592
00:32:09,094 --> 00:32:11,011
I thought I would pile it up over the years
593
00:32:11,055 --> 00:32:15,015
then she would unpile itin terms of running a--
594
00:32:15,059 --> 00:32:17,225
one very large foundation.
595
00:32:17,269 --> 00:32:20,437
And I was particularly good
at compounding money,
596
00:32:20,481 --> 00:32:23,482
and therefore society
would benefit by waiting.
597
00:32:23,525 --> 00:32:25,692
♪ ♪
598
00:32:27,321 --> 00:32:30,989
I was genetically blessedwith certain wiring
599
00:32:31,033 --> 00:32:33,700
that's very useful in a highly-developed market system
600
00:32:33,744 --> 00:32:35,702
where there's lotsof chips on the table,
601
00:32:35,746 --> 00:32:38,455
and you know, I happento be good at that game.
602
00:32:40,751 --> 00:32:42,959
Ted Williams wrote a book
called "The Science of Hitting,"
603
00:32:43,003 --> 00:32:45,754
and in it he had a picture
of himself at bat
604
00:32:45,798 --> 00:32:50,717
and the strike zone brokeninto, I think, 77 squares.
605
00:32:50,761 --> 00:32:52,761
And he said,if he waited for the pitch
606
00:32:52,805 --> 00:32:55,639
that was really in his sweet spot,he would bat .400
607
00:32:55,683 --> 00:32:58,308
and if he had to swing atsomething on the lower corner,
608
00:32:58,352 --> 00:33:01,019
he wouldprobably bat .235.
609
00:33:01,063 --> 00:33:04,147
And in investing,I'm in a no-called strike business,
610
00:33:04,191 --> 00:33:06,441
which is the best businessyou can be in.
611
00:33:06,485 --> 00:33:08,402
I can look at a thousand different companies,
612
00:33:08,445 --> 00:33:12,155
and I don't have to be right on everyone of them or even 50 of 'em...
613
00:33:13,659 --> 00:33:15,534
so I can pick the ballI want to hit.
614
00:33:17,705 --> 00:33:22,374
And the trick in investing is just to sit
there and watch pitch after pitch to go by
615
00:33:22,418 --> 00:33:24,334
and wait for the one
right in your sweet spot.
616
00:33:24,378 --> 00:33:26,920
And the people that are yelling,
"Swing, you bum"? Ignore 'em.
617
00:33:28,298 --> 00:33:31,508
There's a temptation
for people to act
618
00:33:31,552 --> 00:33:33,135
far too frequently in stocks,
619
00:33:33,178 --> 00:33:35,762
simply because
they're so liquid.
620
00:33:35,806 --> 00:33:38,432
Over the years
you develop a lot of filters,
621
00:33:38,475 --> 00:33:41,435
and I do know what I call
my circle of competence,
622
00:33:41,478 --> 00:33:43,895
so I-I-- I stay
within that circle,
623
00:33:43,939 --> 00:33:47,566
and I don't worry about thingsthat are outside that circle.
624
00:33:47,609 --> 00:33:49,693
Defining what your game is,
625
00:33:49,737 --> 00:33:53,405
where you're going to have an
edge is enormously important.
626
00:33:56,952 --> 00:34:01,455
♪ ♪
627
00:34:01,498 --> 00:34:04,458
I bought the first sharesof Berkshire in 1962,
628
00:34:04,501 --> 00:34:06,668
and it wasa northern textile business
629
00:34:06,712 --> 00:34:08,545
destined to becomeextinct eventually,
630
00:34:08,589 --> 00:34:13,175
and it was a statistically cheap
stock in a terrible business.
631
00:34:14,720 --> 00:34:17,387
Berkshire Hathawaywas closing mills
632
00:34:17,431 --> 00:34:20,807
and as they closed mills,it would free up some capital,
633
00:34:20,851 --> 00:34:23,101
and then they would
repurchase shares,
634
00:34:23,145 --> 00:34:24,936
so I boughtsome stock with the idea
635
00:34:24,980 --> 00:34:27,564
that there would be another tender offer at some point,
636
00:34:27,608 --> 00:34:30,692
and we would sell the stockat a modest profit.
637
00:34:30,736 --> 00:34:33,278
And at one point,
638
00:34:33,322 --> 00:34:36,239
the management asked me at whatprice we would tender our stock,
639
00:34:36,283 --> 00:34:38,033
and I said, "$11.50."
640
00:34:38,076 --> 00:34:41,077
♪ ♪
641
00:34:41,121 --> 00:34:43,830
And the tender offercame out a few months later,
642
00:34:43,874 --> 00:34:48,376
and it wasat $11 and 3/8ths,
643
00:34:48,420 --> 00:34:50,420
which was an eighthof a point cheaper.
644
00:34:51,465 --> 00:34:52,923
And that made me very mad,
645
00:34:52,966 --> 00:34:55,967
so I just startedbuying more stock.
646
00:34:56,011 --> 00:34:59,387
I just felt that I'd been
double-crossed by the management.
647
00:34:59,431 --> 00:35:02,224
And in May of 1965,
648
00:35:02,267 --> 00:35:04,684
I bought enough so we controlled the company,
649
00:35:04,728 --> 00:35:06,520
and we changedthe management.
650
00:35:13,153 --> 00:35:15,195
It was a pretty silly way
to behave,
651
00:35:15,239 --> 00:35:19,282
as Warren has recounted
in retrospect.
652
00:35:19,326 --> 00:35:20,951
One of the reasonsWarren is successful
653
00:35:20,994 --> 00:35:23,787
is he's brutalin appraising his own past.
654
00:35:23,831 --> 00:35:28,625
He wants to identify misthinkings
and avoid them in the future,
655
00:35:28,669 --> 00:35:31,753
but it was an accident that hechose Berkshire Hathaway.
656
00:35:31,797 --> 00:35:34,840
If the chairman hadn't triedto cheat him out of an eighth,
657
00:35:34,883 --> 00:35:38,593
there wouldn't have been any
Buffett- Berkshire Hathaway history.
658
00:35:41,431 --> 00:35:44,558
If you're emotional about investment,you're not going to do well.
659
00:35:44,601 --> 00:35:46,476
You may have all these feelings about the stock.
660
00:35:46,520 --> 00:35:49,604
The stock has
no feelings about you.
661
00:35:49,648 --> 00:35:51,690
Looking back, it's interesting,that tender offer--
662
00:35:51,733 --> 00:35:55,986
I didn't realize it, but it-- it happened
about five days after my dad had died
663
00:35:56,029 --> 00:35:58,738
and whether that had affected me or not,
I don't know.
664
00:35:58,782 --> 00:36:01,241
♪ ♪
665
00:36:03,203 --> 00:36:06,246
Do you remember your last
conversation with your father?
666
00:36:06,290 --> 00:36:08,498
Yeah, but I don't want
to talk about it.
667
00:36:15,799 --> 00:36:18,633
I think it just sobered himand hurt him,
668
00:36:19,636 --> 00:36:21,011
but...
669
00:36:23,348 --> 00:36:24,848
Warren soldiers on.
670
00:36:28,353 --> 00:36:31,438
Both Warren and I
could look at our fathers
671
00:36:31,481 --> 00:36:34,608
and see what they did right
and what they did wrong.
672
00:36:34,651 --> 00:36:39,362
Warren's father was a realold-fashioned right-wing ideologue.
673
00:36:40,532 --> 00:36:42,782
And his father wasso intense about it,
674
00:36:42,826 --> 00:36:46,161
that Warren just decidedthat it was mistake--
675
00:36:46,204 --> 00:36:49,539
it cabbaged up your head
to be that much an ideologue,
676
00:36:49,583 --> 00:36:52,500
so he loved his father,
but he didn't want to become
677
00:36:52,544 --> 00:36:55,712
that much of a true believer in-- in anything.
678
00:36:58,508 --> 00:37:03,428
My politics became more overt
after my dad died.
679
00:37:03,472 --> 00:37:05,472
♪ ♪
680
00:37:05,515 --> 00:37:07,724
Civil rightschanged my views.
681
00:37:07,768 --> 00:37:10,477
You know, in 1776Thomas Jefferson wrote,
682
00:37:10,520 --> 00:37:13,146
"All men are created equal,"and then when they wrote the Constitution,
683
00:37:13,190 --> 00:37:15,148
they all of a sudden
decided that, no,
684
00:37:15,192 --> 00:37:17,192
it was just 3/5ths of a person
if you were black.
685
00:37:17,235 --> 00:37:18,485
I mean, that struck me
as kind of crazy.
686
00:37:18,528 --> 00:37:21,404
♪ ♪
687
00:37:21,448 --> 00:37:25,033
I was talking to him one dayabout some racial issue,
688
00:37:25,077 --> 00:37:29,579
and he said to me,"Wait till women discover
689
00:37:29,623 --> 00:37:31,998
they're the slaves
of the world."
690
00:37:33,335 --> 00:37:37,087
Now how many men
were cognizant of that,
691
00:37:37,130 --> 00:37:39,005
and even women then?
692
00:37:41,343 --> 00:37:43,718
The initial exampleis really my mother.
693
00:37:43,762 --> 00:37:45,804
She came from a generation
694
00:37:45,847 --> 00:37:47,973
where the main functionof the wife
695
00:37:48,016 --> 00:37:50,266
was to help
her husband in the job.
696
00:37:50,310 --> 00:37:55,146
And my sisters arefully as smart as I am.
697
00:37:55,190 --> 00:37:57,232
They got better personalitiesthan I had,
698
00:37:57,275 --> 00:37:59,693
but they got the messagea million different ways
699
00:37:59,736 --> 00:38:02,237
that their futurewas limited,
700
00:38:02,280 --> 00:38:04,906
and I got the message
that the sky is the limit
701
00:38:04,950 --> 00:38:08,368
and it wasn't due to a lack oflove or anything of the sort.
702
00:38:08,412 --> 00:38:10,036
It just--it was the culture.
703
00:38:12,082 --> 00:38:13,498
On the other hand,you can look
704
00:38:13,542 --> 00:38:15,375
at the flip side of thatand say it's quite encouraging,
705
00:38:15,419 --> 00:38:17,335
because if you look at what
this country accomplished
706
00:38:17,379 --> 00:38:19,045
only using half of its talent,
707
00:38:19,089 --> 00:38:20,880
just think of the potential
for the future.
708
00:38:20,924 --> 00:38:23,216
I'm enormously bullish
on America over the future
709
00:38:23,260 --> 00:38:24,843
and part of the reasonis that we,
710
00:38:24,886 --> 00:38:27,262
by some ratherstupid decisions,
711
00:38:27,305 --> 00:38:30,015
essentially put half our talent on the sidelines.
712
00:38:31,810 --> 00:38:35,353
Warren is probably the mostrational person I've ever met.
713
00:38:35,397 --> 00:38:38,773
Charlie Munger
would be a close rival.
714
00:38:38,817 --> 00:38:40,734
And Charlie became a man
715
00:38:40,777 --> 00:38:44,362
that Warrendepended on heavily
716
00:38:44,406 --> 00:38:47,282
and I think his firstexperiences
717
00:38:47,325 --> 00:38:49,993
in the discarded-cigar-butt era
718
00:38:50,037 --> 00:38:54,748
convinced him that it was not
exactly where he wanted to be.
719
00:38:54,791 --> 00:38:56,916
He made so much moneyfor so long
720
00:38:56,960 --> 00:38:59,294
doing what he'd been taughtby Ben Graham,
721
00:38:59,337 --> 00:39:01,796
which he'd buythese very cheap stocks.
722
00:39:01,840 --> 00:39:03,631
If they were cheap enough,
he didn't care it was
723
00:39:03,675 --> 00:39:05,508
a lousy company
and a lousy management.
724
00:39:05,552 --> 00:39:10,013
He knew he was going to make money anyway,
just because of the cheapness.
725
00:39:10,057 --> 00:39:12,599
Charlie Munger has hada big impact on me
726
00:39:12,642 --> 00:39:17,645
in moving me toward looking for
wonderful companies at fair prices
727
00:39:17,689 --> 00:39:20,482
rather than fair companies
at wonderful prices.
728
00:39:20,525 --> 00:39:24,652
That was enormously important,because it enabled Berkshire to scale up in a way
729
00:39:24,696 --> 00:39:27,614
that would have been impossible to do otherwise.
730
00:39:28,825 --> 00:39:31,534
Yep?
- What are the key indicators
731
00:39:31,578 --> 00:39:35,246
you'd look for within companies
before making an investment?
732
00:39:35,290 --> 00:39:38,041
Well, I look for something that
does give them a moat around it.
733
00:39:41,463 --> 00:39:44,130
We have a company called See'sCandies out on the west coast.
734
00:39:44,174 --> 00:39:47,217
See's CandiesBoxed Chocolates.
735
00:39:47,260 --> 00:39:51,262
If you give a box of See's chocolates to your girlfriend
736
00:39:51,306 --> 00:39:54,933
on the first dateand she kisses you?
737
00:39:54,976 --> 00:39:56,684
We own you.
You know? I mean we--
738
00:39:56,728 --> 00:39:58,228
we can raise
the price tomorrow.
739
00:39:58,271 --> 00:39:59,521
I mean,
you'll buy the same box.
740
00:39:59,564 --> 00:40:01,106
You're not gonnafool around with success,
741
00:40:01,149 --> 00:40:04,067
so the key thereis the response.
742
00:40:04,111 --> 00:40:07,278
You do not want to get homeon Valentine's Day
743
00:40:07,322 --> 00:40:09,280
and say to your wife
or your sweetheart--
744
00:40:09,324 --> 00:40:11,866
preferably they're
the same person--
745
00:40:11,910 --> 00:40:14,577
you don't say, "Here, honey,
I took the low bid."
746
00:40:14,621 --> 00:40:16,204
It doesn't work.
747
00:40:16,248 --> 00:40:19,082
Price is-- to a degree,
is immaterial.
748
00:40:19,126 --> 00:40:21,626
If you've got
an economic castle,
749
00:40:21,670 --> 00:40:24,254
people are gonna come and wannatake that castle away from you.
750
00:40:24,297 --> 00:40:26,172
You better havea strong moat.
751
00:40:26,216 --> 00:40:28,675
You better have a knight in thecastle that knows what he's doing.
752
00:40:30,178 --> 00:40:31,761
You're not buying an asset,
753
00:40:31,805 --> 00:40:34,013
you're buying a name,
you're buying a brand,
754
00:40:34,057 --> 00:40:36,933
you're buying
a real franchise here,
755
00:40:36,977 --> 00:40:41,729
and Charlie was more responsible
for that than anybody.
756
00:40:41,773 --> 00:40:44,566
♪ ♪
757
00:40:44,609 --> 00:40:46,151
We were mental partners
758
00:40:46,194 --> 00:40:48,736
right from the moment we met.
759
00:40:48,780 --> 00:40:50,613
I wanna know,going back 50 years,
760
00:40:50,657 --> 00:40:53,199
what it was like
when you first met Warren.
761
00:40:53,243 --> 00:40:54,784
Well, I thought
he was a prodigy...
762
00:40:56,079 --> 00:40:57,579
and I got a lot
of criticism.
763
00:40:57,622 --> 00:41:00,790
My wife said,
"Why are you paying such enormous respect
764
00:41:00,834 --> 00:41:02,375
"to that young man
with a crew cut
765
00:41:02,419 --> 00:41:06,671
who won't eat vegetables?"
766
00:41:06,715 --> 00:41:08,423
He's ungodly smart.
767
00:41:08,466 --> 00:41:11,384
He's got a much broaderintellect than I do,
768
00:41:11,428 --> 00:41:14,095
and he's magnificent
at being able
769
00:41:14,139 --> 00:41:17,849
to condense important ideas
into just a very few words.
770
00:41:17,893 --> 00:41:22,854
If you're not interested
in the economic scene right now,
771
00:41:22,898 --> 00:41:24,647
you're mentally dead.
772
00:41:24,691 --> 00:41:26,357
Charlie has no tact.
773
00:41:26,401 --> 00:41:28,443
All right, let's talk
a little bit about bankers.
774
00:41:28,486 --> 00:41:31,571
Charlie, on Friday,
compared them to heroin addicts.
775
00:41:31,615 --> 00:41:33,239
Yeah, well,
that's colorful Charlie,
776
00:41:33,283 --> 00:41:35,325
but I would nothave chosen that.
777
00:41:35,368 --> 00:41:37,285
I once wrote of him
778
00:41:37,329 --> 00:41:38,912
that when
they handed out humility,
779
00:41:38,955 --> 00:41:40,997
he didn't get
his fair share.
780
00:41:41,041 --> 00:41:45,043
The ideal way to run a headquarters is to have one man,
781
00:41:45,086 --> 00:41:47,378
preferably over 80,
782
00:41:47,422 --> 00:41:50,048
sitting in an officeby himself.
783
00:41:50,091 --> 00:41:53,509
Anything else
is pure frippery.
784
00:41:53,553 --> 00:41:55,553
He's always honestin what he tells me,
785
00:41:55,597 --> 00:41:57,347
so I-- I listen to him.
786
00:41:59,643 --> 00:42:01,184
We never had an argument.
787
00:42:02,187 --> 00:42:03,478
We just...
788
00:42:05,148 --> 00:42:08,566
We just kinda
roll with it easily.
789
00:42:08,610 --> 00:42:12,403
Suppose Warren doesn't wanna do
something that I would've done,
790
00:42:12,447 --> 00:42:16,658
and suppose that happens four
times over 40 years or something.
791
00:42:16,701 --> 00:42:18,826
What the hell difference
does it make to me?
792
00:42:18,870 --> 00:42:20,620
♪ ♪
793
00:42:20,664 --> 00:42:22,830
Net, the record isworking out is fine.
794
00:42:27,629 --> 00:42:32,090
Both of us know that we've
done better by having ethics.
795
00:42:32,133 --> 00:42:33,675
Warren's not interested
796
00:42:33,718 --> 00:42:35,385
in making moneyby cheating people.
797
00:42:38,473 --> 00:42:39,764
Warren's opinions
798
00:42:39,808 --> 00:42:42,350
of Wall Streetinvestment bankers
799
00:42:42,394 --> 00:42:45,687
would not endear him
to their mothers.
800
00:42:45,730 --> 00:42:48,982
He feels that they're,for the most part,
801
00:42:49,025 --> 00:42:50,942
not out for their clients.
802
00:42:50,986 --> 00:42:54,070
They're out for their own
business interests.
803
00:42:55,615 --> 00:42:58,700
In the late 1960s,
there were just a flood
804
00:42:58,743 --> 00:43:02,161
of accountingshenanigans and mergers
805
00:43:02,205 --> 00:43:05,832
built upon false accountingand misleading people.
806
00:43:05,875 --> 00:43:08,751
It was a time
when a lot of charlatans
807
00:43:08,795 --> 00:43:10,670
were prevailing in Wall Street
808
00:43:10,714 --> 00:43:12,588
and were being applauded
by Wall Street.
809
00:43:12,632 --> 00:43:14,841
I understood whatthe game was about,
810
00:43:14,884 --> 00:43:16,426
but I didn't wantto play in it,
811
00:43:16,469 --> 00:43:20,513
so I closed down the partnership at the end of 1969,
812
00:43:20,557 --> 00:43:24,058
and I took on the title ofChairman for Berkshire Hathaway.
813
00:43:24,102 --> 00:43:27,353
♪ ♪
814
00:43:27,397 --> 00:43:29,314
Well, I thinkthe modern Berkshire
815
00:43:29,357 --> 00:43:31,316
is pretty much
all a reflection of Warren.
816
00:43:31,359 --> 00:43:34,110
♪ ♪
817
00:43:34,154 --> 00:43:39,032
I have constructeda business that fits me.
818
00:43:39,075 --> 00:43:42,076
It's kind of crazy
to spend your life painting
819
00:43:42,120 --> 00:43:43,995
if you're painting a subject
you don't want to look at.
820
00:43:44,039 --> 00:43:47,206
I've gotten to paintmy own painting in business
821
00:43:47,250 --> 00:43:49,625
on an unlimitedcanvas in a way.
822
00:43:51,588 --> 00:43:53,212
It's a differentsort of place.
823
00:43:54,966 --> 00:43:56,466
I work with a great group of people
824
00:43:56,509 --> 00:43:59,761
that make my life very easy
and that take good care of me.
825
00:43:59,804 --> 00:44:01,929
Come. Okay.
826
00:44:03,224 --> 00:44:05,767
We have 25 peoplein the office,
827
00:44:05,810 --> 00:44:11,147
and if you go back, it's the exact same 25,the exact same ones.
828
00:44:12,692 --> 00:44:14,942
We don't have any committees at Berkshire.
829
00:44:14,986 --> 00:44:16,819
We don't havea public relations department.
830
00:44:16,863 --> 00:44:19,155
We don't have investor relations.
We don't have a general council.
831
00:44:19,199 --> 00:44:21,199
We don't have
a human relations department.
832
00:44:21,242 --> 00:44:25,161
We just don't go for anything thatpeople do just as a matter of form.
833
00:44:26,456 --> 00:44:28,206
It's exactly the life I like,
834
00:44:28,249 --> 00:44:31,042
and it's not work to me.
835
00:44:31,086 --> 00:44:33,086
It's just a formof play, basically.
836
00:44:42,472 --> 00:44:44,597
Oh, I--I like things quiet.
837
00:44:44,641 --> 00:44:46,349
I shut the door,
actually, at the office,
838
00:44:46,393 --> 00:44:49,102
'cause I don't want to hear
anybody talking outside.
839
00:44:49,145 --> 00:44:50,770
Broad distinctions
between his views
840
00:44:50,814 --> 00:44:52,230
and the belt-tightening
proposals.
841
00:44:52,273 --> 00:44:54,232
And I still probably spend
842
00:44:54,275 --> 00:44:55,858
five or six hoursa day reading.
843
00:44:55,902 --> 00:44:57,360
...look at what's
trending today.
844
00:44:57,404 --> 00:44:58,986
Our quick round-up...
845
00:44:59,030 --> 00:45:01,030
Well, what's amazing isthe stuff he remembers.
846
00:45:02,200 --> 00:45:04,450
It's like a little computer,
you know?
847
00:45:04,494 --> 00:45:07,328
I keep thinking the hard drive will run out of space,
but it doesn't.
848
00:45:09,791 --> 00:45:12,041
He's one of the smartestpeople we know.
849
00:45:12,085 --> 00:45:13,793
So I was at a couple
of the family dinners
850
00:45:13,837 --> 00:45:15,837
at the Gates house
where Mary, Bill's mom,
851
00:45:15,880 --> 00:45:17,380
was trying to convince him
to come out
852
00:45:17,424 --> 00:45:19,382
to the family place
at Hood Canal
853
00:45:19,426 --> 00:45:21,926
to meet Warren Buffett,and he was resisting
854
00:45:21,970 --> 00:45:23,553
because he wasreally busy with Microsoft.
855
00:45:23,596 --> 00:45:26,848
And finally he said, "Mom,
okay, I'll come for lunch."
856
00:45:26,891 --> 00:45:28,975
♪ ♪
857
00:45:29,018 --> 00:45:30,977
So the two of usflew out there
858
00:45:31,020 --> 00:45:32,895
somewhat reluctantly,'cause you know,
859
00:45:32,939 --> 00:45:35,648
buying and selling stocks-- which
is how I thought of Warren--
860
00:45:35,692 --> 00:45:39,819
wasn't of particular interest to me
and didn't seem like value added.
861
00:45:39,863 --> 00:45:42,155
It turned out
that was completely wrong.
862
00:45:42,198 --> 00:45:45,575
We knew that day thatwe'd be very close friends.
863
00:45:45,618 --> 00:45:48,619
In fact, we just couldn't
get enough of each other.
864
00:45:48,663 --> 00:45:50,246
♪ ♪
865
00:45:50,290 --> 00:45:52,081
Shortly afterI met Bill Gates,
866
00:45:52,125 --> 00:45:54,917
Bill's dad asked each of us towrite down on a piece of paper
867
00:45:54,961 --> 00:45:58,254
one word that would best describewhat had helped us the most.
868
00:45:58,298 --> 00:46:00,798
Bill and I, without any
collaboration at all,
869
00:46:00,842 --> 00:46:02,258
each wrote the word "focus."
870
00:46:04,512 --> 00:46:09,265
Well, focus has always been astrong part of my personality.
871
00:46:09,309 --> 00:46:11,476
If I get interested in something,
I get really interested.
872
00:46:11,519 --> 00:46:14,312
If I get interested in a new subject,I want to read about it,
873
00:46:14,355 --> 00:46:17,440
I want to talk about it,and I want to meet people that are involved in it.
874
00:46:19,819 --> 00:46:21,360
We both love to work hard.
875
00:46:21,404 --> 00:46:24,572
You know, neither of uslike frivolous things.
876
00:46:24,616 --> 00:46:26,073
You know he doesn't know
much about cooking,
877
00:46:26,117 --> 00:46:30,870
or art, or...
a huge range of things.
878
00:46:30,914 --> 00:46:35,041
I can't tell you the color of the walls
in my bedroom or my living room.
879
00:46:35,084 --> 00:46:36,709
We're on a satellite phone.
880
00:46:36,753 --> 00:46:39,170
I don't have a mind that relatesto the physical universe well.
881
00:46:39,214 --> 00:46:41,047
Warren checking the DOW.
882
00:46:41,090 --> 00:46:44,717
But the business universe I-- I
think I understand reasonably well.
883
00:46:46,179 --> 00:46:49,597
Warren's ability to size up people and businesses,
884
00:46:49,641 --> 00:46:52,016
it's a pretty magical thing.
885
00:46:52,060 --> 00:46:54,810
He is the best at that,
anybody we know.
886
00:46:54,854 --> 00:46:58,481
We-- we should all try to be
20 % as-- as good at that.
887
00:47:03,279 --> 00:47:04,487
I like to sit and think,
888
00:47:04,531 --> 00:47:06,948
and I spenda lot of time doing that.
889
00:47:06,991 --> 00:47:09,575
And sometimes it's
pretty unproductive but--
890
00:47:09,619 --> 00:47:13,913
but I find it enjoyable
to think about--
891
00:47:13,957 --> 00:47:15,206
particularly about--
about business
892
00:47:15,250 --> 00:47:16,958
or investment problems.
They're easy.
893
00:47:17,001 --> 00:47:19,043
It's the human problems
that are the tough ones.
894
00:47:19,087 --> 00:47:21,420
Sometimes there aren't any good
answers with human problems.
895
00:47:21,464 --> 00:47:23,923
There's-- there's almost always
a good answer with money.
896
00:47:37,480 --> 00:47:39,522
He was sort of a genius.
897
00:47:40,733 --> 00:47:43,067
I think sometimes
geniuses are,
898
00:47:43,111 --> 00:47:47,196
by default,
lonely and isolated.
899
00:47:50,743 --> 00:47:54,036
He was notreally well adjusted.
900
00:47:54,080 --> 00:47:56,998
He was just this funny--
901
00:47:57,041 --> 00:48:01,127
I mean,
humorous guy who maybe had a moat around him,
902
00:48:01,170 --> 00:48:05,756
because he was afraid
and he didn't know anyone
903
00:48:05,800 --> 00:48:08,175
that he wanted to let in.
904
00:48:10,722 --> 00:48:14,890
And to this day,
I mean, I don't know...
905
00:48:16,394 --> 00:48:18,352
Well, nobody
knows him like I do,
906
00:48:18,396 --> 00:48:21,856
and probably any wife
would say that, but...
907
00:48:21,899 --> 00:48:24,650
♪ ♪
908
00:48:27,030 --> 00:48:29,697
He's a loner in a sense.
909
00:48:29,741 --> 00:48:32,742
And it's difficult to connect
on an emotional level,
910
00:48:32,785 --> 00:48:37,580
because I think that that's not
his basic mode of operation.
911
00:48:39,334 --> 00:48:43,169
He was there... physically,
912
00:48:43,212 --> 00:48:46,839
but he was upstairsreading all the time.
913
00:48:49,385 --> 00:48:53,095
I always told my motherwe have to talk in sound bytes.
914
00:48:53,139 --> 00:48:57,600
I learned that early on,
that if you start going into some long thing,
915
00:48:57,644 --> 00:49:00,561
unless you've explained to him ahead
of time that it's going to be a long thing
916
00:49:00,605 --> 00:49:04,690
and you need him to hang in there,
you lose him.
917
00:49:04,734 --> 00:49:06,942
You lose him
to whatever giant thought
918
00:49:06,986 --> 00:49:08,819
he has in his head at the time
919
00:49:08,863 --> 00:49:11,572
that he was probably thinking
about before you came in
920
00:49:11,616 --> 00:49:13,366
and really wantsto get back to.
921
00:49:13,409 --> 00:49:16,285
♪ ♪
922
00:49:17,914 --> 00:49:20,164
He's not likethe rest of us.
923
00:49:20,208 --> 00:49:23,376
I don't think my dad ever took anybody for granted,
924
00:49:23,419 --> 00:49:26,128
but you are
a little bit blind, I think,
925
00:49:26,172 --> 00:49:29,423
sometimes to what other people
might be doing behind the scenes,
926
00:49:29,467 --> 00:49:32,134
and my dad's gottena little bit of a pass.
927
00:49:32,178 --> 00:49:34,929
♪ ♪
928
00:49:34,972 --> 00:49:37,306
Warren can't findthe light switch,
929
00:49:37,350 --> 00:49:39,433
and it's probably my fault.
930
00:49:39,477 --> 00:49:43,104
One time, years ago
when the kids were little,
931
00:49:43,147 --> 00:49:45,356
I was feeling really sick.
I had the flu,
932
00:49:45,400 --> 00:49:47,400
so I lay down on the bed,and I said to Warren,
933
00:49:47,443 --> 00:49:50,653
"Will you get me a pan?Or something from the kitchen.
934
00:49:50,697 --> 00:49:53,864
I may not get to the bathroom.I feel so sick."
935
00:49:53,908 --> 00:49:57,785
He said, "Okay."
So he trottles down to the kitchen,
936
00:49:57,829 --> 00:50:01,622
and I hear this bang,bip, boom, bang!
937
00:50:01,666 --> 00:50:05,751
And he comes up,
and he brings me a colander.
938
00:50:05,795 --> 00:50:09,922
I looked at it, and I said, "Look, honey,this has holes in it."
939
00:50:09,966 --> 00:50:13,259
"Oh, oh, okay."
So he ran down,
940
00:50:13,302 --> 00:50:16,137
all this banging
and everything.
941
00:50:16,180 --> 00:50:20,641
And he comes up and he puts
the colander on a cookie sheet.
942
00:50:25,648 --> 00:50:30,192
Physical proximity to Warren doesn'talways mean that he's there with you.
943
00:50:30,236 --> 00:50:33,237
♪ ♪
944
00:50:33,281 --> 00:50:35,698
He's so cerebral, you see?
945
00:50:39,454 --> 00:50:41,746
That's why I learned
to have my own life.
946
00:50:41,789 --> 00:50:44,623
We were
two parallel lines and--
947
00:50:44,667 --> 00:50:48,794
but very connected when
he was open to connecting.
948
00:50:52,467 --> 00:50:54,467
I did make a joke at one point.I said, you know,
949
00:50:54,510 --> 00:50:56,719
we could make
a tape of Mom yelling,
950
00:50:56,763 --> 00:50:58,721
"Bye, Warren,
I'll be back later!"
951
00:50:58,765 --> 00:51:03,100
And then have the door slam,
and he would just think she was here.
952
00:51:03,144 --> 00:51:05,519
I don't think he knew what shewas doing most of the time.
953
00:51:05,563 --> 00:51:08,481
♪ ♪
954
00:51:08,524 --> 00:51:10,316
Once Howie and Iwere both gone,
955
00:51:10,359 --> 00:51:14,278
as we've gotten older,
she started to see the writing on the wall here
956
00:51:14,322 --> 00:51:16,489
and just startedtrying to figure out
957
00:51:16,532 --> 00:51:18,699
how she couldat least have some more,
958
00:51:18,743 --> 00:51:20,951
as she called it,a room of her own.
959
00:51:20,995 --> 00:51:25,498
♪ ♪
960
00:51:28,211 --> 00:51:30,377
The worst mistakes involve
961
00:51:30,421 --> 00:51:33,589
not understanding other peopleas well as you might.
962
00:51:43,810 --> 00:51:46,769
Well, she left Omaha in 1977,
963
00:51:46,813 --> 00:51:50,272
and there really isn't much
to say about that.
964
00:51:59,575 --> 00:52:03,577
It was devastating for him,
and I came home,
965
00:52:03,621 --> 00:52:08,582
because I-I-- I can't say
I was mad at her exactly,
966
00:52:08,626 --> 00:52:11,669
but I kept thinking,
"How can you leave him?
967
00:52:11,712 --> 00:52:16,465
He's so-- he can't function by himself."
968
00:52:16,509 --> 00:52:20,886
So my mother-- she'd asked a bunch of her friends
969
00:52:20,930 --> 00:52:25,057
to sort of look in on him,
and Astrid was one of them.
970
00:52:25,101 --> 00:52:27,476
So I called Astrid.I said, "Astrid,
971
00:52:27,520 --> 00:52:29,812
"will you take Warren--make him some soup?
972
00:52:29,856 --> 00:52:32,022
"Go over there
and look after him,
973
00:52:32,066 --> 00:52:34,733
because he's not
gonna make it."
974
00:52:34,777 --> 00:52:38,904
And it took him a while to figure it out,
but he figured it out.
975
00:52:38,948 --> 00:52:41,156
I said, "I'm not leaving you,
976
00:52:41,200 --> 00:52:44,577
because I'll be wherever you
want me when you want me."
977
00:52:47,081 --> 00:52:48,998
My mom moved to San Francisco,
978
00:52:49,041 --> 00:52:52,126
and I think one of the reasons it wasimportant for her to leave Omaha
979
00:52:52,169 --> 00:52:56,297
was because she just felt like she was
kinda trapped in this environment,
980
00:52:56,340 --> 00:52:58,716
that everybody knew
who she was,
981
00:52:58,759 --> 00:53:02,553
that she couldn't have
her own identity.
982
00:53:02,597 --> 00:53:05,222
He knew that there wassomething she needed to do
983
00:53:05,266 --> 00:53:10,811
and that she really recognized
that the money gave us all and her
984
00:53:10,855 --> 00:53:15,024
a choice in a lot of ways that
a lot of people didn't have.
985
00:53:15,067 --> 00:53:18,611
There was a timeWarren was getting criticized.
986
00:53:18,654 --> 00:53:22,406
Here was this very,
very rich man who was getting richer every year,
987
00:53:22,450 --> 00:53:24,867
and really wasn't giving
a lot of money away,
988
00:53:24,911 --> 00:53:27,912
and there was terrific criticism by some people,
989
00:53:27,955 --> 00:53:30,289
which Warren never saidanything about.
990
00:53:31,751 --> 00:53:33,792
The biggest thingin making money is time.
991
00:53:33,836 --> 00:53:38,172
You don't have to be particularly smart,you just have to be patient.
992
00:53:38,215 --> 00:53:40,424
Susie didn't want
to wait as much as I did,
993
00:53:40,468 --> 00:53:44,595
but she never quite appreciated compounding like I did.
994
00:53:44,639 --> 00:53:47,222
That isa disagreement we have.
995
00:53:47,266 --> 00:53:49,934
I run a foundation now.
996
00:53:49,977 --> 00:53:52,978
I think we should be
giving more money away,
997
00:53:53,022 --> 00:53:55,981
but I understandwhy we don't--
998
00:53:56,025 --> 00:53:59,026
because it's... business.
999
00:53:59,070 --> 00:54:03,489
To me the crux of it is,
that it wasn't the money itself.
1000
00:54:03,532 --> 00:54:05,616
You can see that
in the way he lives.
1001
00:54:05,660 --> 00:54:09,161
I mean, he doesn't buy
huge paintings
1002
00:54:09,205 --> 00:54:11,705
or build big houses
or anything like that.
1003
00:54:11,749 --> 00:54:16,377
It's all mental with him,
and the money is his scorecard.
1004
00:54:16,420 --> 00:54:18,170
♪ ♪
1005
00:54:18,214 --> 00:54:20,547
And he used to say to me,
1006
00:54:20,591 --> 00:54:23,133
"Everybody can readwhat I read.
1007
00:54:23,177 --> 00:54:25,469
It's a level playing field."
1008
00:54:25,513 --> 00:54:28,097
And he loves that,
because he's competitive.
1009
00:54:28,140 --> 00:54:31,767
And he's sitting thereall by himself in his office,
1010
00:54:31,811 --> 00:54:35,354
reading these thingsthat everybody else can read,
1011
00:54:35,398 --> 00:54:39,024
but he loves the idea
that he's gonna win. Ha!
1012
00:54:42,613 --> 00:54:44,238
I'll tell youhow you do it.
1013
00:54:45,199 --> 00:54:46,991
Have you ever seen a juggler
1014
00:54:47,034 --> 00:54:49,576
juggle 25 milk bottles?
1015
00:54:49,620 --> 00:54:52,162
How did
he ever get to do that?
1016
00:54:52,206 --> 00:54:55,124
The answer is he started with one bottle,then two, then three
1017
00:54:55,167 --> 00:54:57,835
and just kept doing it,and pretty soon he was at 25,
1018
00:54:57,878 --> 00:55:00,170
and that's the way we did it.
1019
00:55:00,214 --> 00:55:02,381
So, basically,
we started out with cash
1020
00:55:02,425 --> 00:55:05,509
and ended up buyinga bunch of businesses,
1021
00:55:05,553 --> 00:55:07,594
including insurance companies.
1022
00:55:07,638 --> 00:55:12,141
Insurance is, in itself,a profitable business,
1023
00:55:12,184 --> 00:55:14,852
but it has
the additional advantage
1024
00:55:14,895 --> 00:55:17,813
of creating something
that's called "float."
1025
00:55:17,857 --> 00:55:21,358
Float is the moneythat hangs around Berkshire
1026
00:55:21,402 --> 00:55:23,944
while a claim is waitingto be paid.
1027
00:55:23,988 --> 00:55:28,490
And Warren turned outto have a extraordinary ability
1028
00:55:28,534 --> 00:55:31,285
to use the moneythrown off by the float
1029
00:55:31,328 --> 00:55:35,080
to buy companies that fedthe growth of Berkshire.
1030
00:55:38,044 --> 00:55:41,295
In 1983, Mrs. B cashed inon her business
1031
00:55:41,338 --> 00:55:44,673
by selling controlfor $55 million
1032
00:55:44,717 --> 00:55:47,134
to a company ownedby investor Warren Buffett.
1033
00:55:47,178 --> 00:55:49,636
♪ ♪
1034
00:55:53,601 --> 00:55:57,561
Warren was quite an expertabout newspapers.
1035
00:55:57,605 --> 00:55:59,354
He got interestedin the "Post,"
1036
00:55:59,398 --> 00:56:00,814
because he recognized it
1037
00:56:00,858 --> 00:56:03,859
as a greatly
undervalued company.
1038
00:56:05,362 --> 00:56:07,029
He had to write me a letter.
1039
00:56:07,073 --> 00:56:09,990
"Dear Ms. Graham,
I've just bought 5 % of your company,
1040
00:56:10,034 --> 00:56:11,784
"and I mean you no harm,
1041
00:56:11,827 --> 00:56:13,660
"and I thinkit's a great company.
1042
00:56:13,704 --> 00:56:15,704
"I know it's Graham ownedand Graham run,
1043
00:56:15,748 --> 00:56:17,331
and that's fine with me."
1044
00:56:17,374 --> 00:56:21,960
And I thought, "Whoa,this guy's really terrific."
1045
00:56:22,004 --> 00:56:26,131
He used to come to board meetings
with about 20 annual reports
1046
00:56:26,175 --> 00:56:28,675
and he would take me
through these annual reports.
1047
00:56:28,719 --> 00:56:32,513
It was like going to business school with Warren Buffett.
1048
00:56:32,556 --> 00:56:36,517
Kay Graham did introduce Warren
to the world of Washington,
1049
00:56:36,560 --> 00:56:39,895
entirely different group thanhe had ever dealt with before.
1050
00:56:41,732 --> 00:56:45,192
It was clearthat working with Kay
1051
00:56:45,236 --> 00:56:49,321
gave him a different kind of confidence,
and he was the star.
1052
00:56:50,950 --> 00:56:52,032
Everyone wants to hear
1053
00:56:52,076 --> 00:56:53,617
what Warren Buffetthas to say.
1054
00:56:53,661 --> 00:56:55,452
The Oracle of Omaha
1055
00:56:55,496 --> 00:56:58,330
building his imageand having some fun.
1056
00:56:58,374 --> 00:57:00,707
♪ ♪
1057
00:57:00,751 --> 00:57:02,167
Berkshire shareshave increased
1058
00:57:02,211 --> 00:57:04,336
more than2,000 % in value.
1059
00:57:04,380 --> 00:57:07,089
One of the largest marketcapitalizations in the world,
1060
00:57:07,133 --> 00:57:08,757
and it could growa lot larger
1061
00:57:08,801 --> 00:57:11,635
since Warren Buffett showsno sign of slowing down.
1062
00:57:11,679 --> 00:57:13,387
So how did he do it?
1063
00:57:13,430 --> 00:57:16,098
By investing in what he knows and understands--
1064
00:57:16,142 --> 00:57:18,976
good old-fashioned American brands like Coca-Cola,
1065
00:57:19,019 --> 00:57:20,936
Fruit of the Loom,and Dairy Queen.
1066
00:57:20,980 --> 00:57:23,647
What inspired you?
This inspired me!
1067
00:57:23,691 --> 00:57:25,691
Buy what you like,
is that what it is? Yeah absolutely.
1068
00:57:25,734 --> 00:57:28,485
♪ ♪
1069
00:57:28,529 --> 00:57:30,988
Today, the Coca-Cola
Company will sell
1070
00:57:31,031 --> 00:57:34,908
almost two billion
eight-ounce servings
1071
00:57:34,952 --> 00:57:37,411
of one form or anotherof Coca Cola products.
1072
00:57:37,454 --> 00:57:40,998
Now if you get an extra penny a day,
a penny a serving,
1073
00:57:41,041 --> 00:57:42,541
that's $20 million a day,
1074
00:57:42,585 --> 00:57:47,588
that's $7.3 billion a yearfrom one penny more.
1075
00:57:47,631 --> 00:57:50,799
When you own Coca Cola,you own a little piece
1076
00:57:50,843 --> 00:57:54,469
of the minds of billionsand billions of people.
1077
00:57:56,015 --> 00:57:57,264
That is really good.
1078
00:57:59,768 --> 00:58:01,810
Who's got the most$100 bills these days?
1079
00:58:01,854 --> 00:58:04,146
Well, his name is Warren Buffett in this country,
1080
00:58:04,190 --> 00:58:07,024
and he has just displacedhis friend Bill Gates
1081
00:58:07,067 --> 00:58:09,902
as the richest businessmanin the world.
1082
00:58:17,494 --> 00:58:19,453
And the purpose of Wednesday's
meeting was to discuss
1083
00:58:19,496 --> 00:58:21,663
Buffett's company,
Berkshire Hathaway's plan
1084
00:58:21,707 --> 00:58:23,790
to purchase railroad giantBurlington Northern,
1085
00:58:23,834 --> 00:58:28,337
valued at $26 billion.This would be Buffett's largest acquisition ever.
1086
00:58:32,551 --> 00:58:34,968
He's created Berkshirefrom virtually nothing
1087
00:58:35,012 --> 00:58:37,930
into hundreds of billions
of dollars of market cap.
1088
00:58:37,973 --> 00:58:41,558
Nobody else hasa record like that.
1089
00:58:41,602 --> 00:58:44,937
He wanted to havean outstanding reputation
1090
00:58:44,980 --> 00:58:49,024
that he'd never really upset the apple
cart when he bought a business,
1091
00:58:49,068 --> 00:58:50,859
that he kept
the management in place.
1092
00:58:52,529 --> 00:58:55,072
He was establishinga reputation
1093
00:58:55,115 --> 00:58:58,533
that paid off later in life.
1094
00:58:58,577 --> 00:59:01,453
It's been building and buildingever since I've known him.
1095
00:59:03,707 --> 00:59:05,832
It takes 20 yearsto build a reputation,
1096
00:59:05,876 --> 00:59:07,834
then it takesfive minutes to lose it.
1097
00:59:07,878 --> 00:59:10,754
♪ ♪
1098
00:59:12,216 --> 00:59:14,299
When Warren madehis investment in Salomon,
1099
00:59:14,343 --> 00:59:18,136
I was one of the people,along with many, many others,
1100
00:59:18,180 --> 00:59:20,847
who were quite amazed,
because he had taken
1101
00:59:20,891 --> 00:59:26,270
a very critical tone in talking about
investment bankers and about their greed.
1102
00:59:26,313 --> 00:59:29,481
And here he wasinvesting in one,
1103
00:59:29,525 --> 00:59:33,318
Salomon Brothers,that was known to be a member of the club.
1104
00:59:35,948 --> 00:59:38,323
Warren and Charliewere on the board,
1105
00:59:38,367 --> 00:59:42,536
and Charlie couldn't stand
what was going on there
1106
00:59:42,579 --> 00:59:45,080
and didn't likethe culture at all.
1107
00:59:45,124 --> 00:59:50,168
And shortly after they got involved,
the thing exploded.
1108
00:59:58,971 --> 01:00:02,889
In 1991 on a terrible dayin August,
1109
01:00:02,933 --> 01:00:07,894
I got a call,
and the two top officers of Salomon
1110
01:00:07,938 --> 01:00:10,188
were on the other end,
and they said that--
1111
01:00:10,232 --> 01:00:12,774
that... "We have problem."
1112
01:00:14,069 --> 01:00:17,362
This is "NBC Nightly News."
1113
01:00:17,406 --> 01:00:19,990
Good evening.
It is the kind of scandal
1114
01:00:20,034 --> 01:00:22,326
that rocks Wall Street
and raises questions,
1115
01:00:22,369 --> 01:00:25,412
questions about the integrityof our financial institutions.
1116
01:00:25,456 --> 01:00:29,333
The giant securities firm of SalomonBrothers under investigation
1117
01:00:29,376 --> 01:00:31,335
for improper tradingof treasury bonds.
1118
01:00:32,629 --> 01:00:34,713
Salomon admittedit exceeded the limit
1119
01:00:34,757 --> 01:00:36,590
of tradingin government bonds,
1120
01:00:36,633 --> 01:00:39,092
once by buying bondsin the name of a customer
1121
01:00:39,136 --> 01:00:41,053
who didn't even knowabout the deal.
1122
01:00:41,096 --> 01:00:44,639
Salomon Brothers is under investigation
by the Treasury Department,
1123
01:00:44,683 --> 01:00:47,934
the Federal Reserve, the SEC,and the Justice Department.
1124
01:00:47,978 --> 01:00:50,937
But more important than
the fate of the firm itself
1125
01:00:50,981 --> 01:00:53,148
is the impact
their actions could have
1126
01:00:53,192 --> 01:00:55,317
on the public trust
and on the credibility
1127
01:00:55,361 --> 01:00:57,277
of the American
market worldwide.
1128
01:00:59,490 --> 01:01:02,449
The company owed$150 billion.
1129
01:01:02,493 --> 01:01:05,035
It owed more money
than any other private company
1130
01:01:05,079 --> 01:01:07,079
in the United States
at the time.
1131
01:01:07,122 --> 01:01:12,125
And that night I met with the man that
ran the Federal Reserve of New York,
1132
01:01:12,169 --> 01:01:16,088
who was the sheriff
in effect, and I said, you know,
1133
01:01:16,131 --> 01:01:17,923
"I've never really owed
very much money before."
1134
01:01:17,966 --> 01:01:19,800
I said,
"I've got a little mortgage on a house,
1135
01:01:19,843 --> 01:01:22,928
but 150 billion is
a little staggering."
1136
01:01:22,971 --> 01:01:25,013
And I was hoping he would say,
"Well, don't worry, Warren.
1137
01:01:25,057 --> 01:01:27,182
We'll give you
a few weeks to breathe."
1138
01:01:27,226 --> 01:01:31,311
And he-- he said to me,
"Prepare for any eventuality."
1139
01:01:31,355 --> 01:01:34,106
♪ ♪
1140
01:01:37,736 --> 01:01:40,612
Earlier today,the US Treasury Department
1141
01:01:40,656 --> 01:01:42,823
announced it had suspendedSalomon Brothers
1142
01:01:42,866 --> 01:01:45,075
from participatingin the auction of new issues.
1143
01:01:45,119 --> 01:01:46,952
It was one more jolt
1144
01:01:46,995 --> 01:01:49,037
for a scandal-scarredWall Street.
1145
01:01:50,582 --> 01:01:52,582
The Fed wasin effect saying,
1146
01:01:52,626 --> 01:01:56,545
"You're an evil force,
and we don't want you trading our bonds."
1147
01:01:59,007 --> 01:02:02,509
It was a huge turning pointfor Warren.
1148
01:02:02,553 --> 01:02:05,554
And he believed that,at that particular point,
1149
01:02:05,597 --> 01:02:08,765
his reputation
was on the line.
1150
01:02:08,809 --> 01:02:11,893
Warren had 24 hoursto make up his mind
1151
01:02:11,937 --> 01:02:15,188
as to whether he was going
to go forward or just bow out.
1152
01:02:15,232 --> 01:02:19,234
And I think at that point,
Salomon Brothers could have gone into bankruptcy.
1153
01:02:19,278 --> 01:02:22,779
And Warren stepped upand took responsibility.
1154
01:02:27,119 --> 01:02:30,203
Okay. I'm Warren Buffett.
1155
01:02:30,247 --> 01:02:33,790
I was... elected...
1156
01:02:33,834 --> 01:02:36,710
Interim Chairman
of Salomon, Inc.
1157
01:02:36,753 --> 01:02:39,212
A few hours ago at a board
of directors meeting.
1158
01:02:39,256 --> 01:02:41,631
Why was it necessary
for you to step in
1159
01:02:41,675 --> 01:02:43,633
and what is your mandate
of leadership?
1160
01:02:43,677 --> 01:02:45,969
I think that
it was necessary to step in
1161
01:02:46,013 --> 01:02:48,513
because I would do
whatever was needed,
1162
01:02:48,557 --> 01:02:51,808
dig out any bit of information about
what's happened in the past,
1163
01:02:51,852 --> 01:02:53,477
and I would do everything
I could to make sure
1164
01:02:53,520 --> 01:02:54,936
that things
exactly right in the future.
1165
01:02:54,980 --> 01:02:57,314
Mr. Buffett,
are you satisfied that--
1166
01:02:57,357 --> 01:03:01,651
I had to convince the Treasury
that what was done in the past
1167
01:03:01,695 --> 01:03:06,072
was awful and stupid,
and they had every right to be furious at us,
1168
01:03:06,116 --> 01:03:08,533
but this firmemployed 8,000 people,
1169
01:03:08,577 --> 01:03:10,410
and it was goingto go out of business
1170
01:03:10,454 --> 01:03:13,205
unless they let uscontinue, basically.
1171
01:03:13,248 --> 01:03:15,790
♪ ♪
1172
01:03:15,834 --> 01:03:19,961
Warren believed that there was
a too-big-to-fail scenario.
1173
01:03:20,005 --> 01:03:21,880
The term was not used then,
1174
01:03:21,924 --> 01:03:25,342
but he believed that Salomon was too big to fail.
1175
01:03:25,385 --> 01:03:28,053
And if Salomon went down,
1176
01:03:28,096 --> 01:03:31,806
it would take other important
parts of Wall Street with it.
1177
01:03:31,850 --> 01:03:34,809
♪ ♪
1178
01:03:34,853 --> 01:03:37,187
We had this death knellfrom the Treasury,
1179
01:03:37,231 --> 01:03:39,397
so I called the Treasury.
1180
01:03:39,441 --> 01:03:41,691
Nick Brady wasthe Secretary.
1181
01:03:41,735 --> 01:03:44,486
I'm pleading for my life.
1182
01:03:44,530 --> 01:03:46,655
And I'm sure my voice was cracking and everything else,
1183
01:03:46,698 --> 01:03:49,366
and I said, "Nick,
this is the most important day of my life."
1184
01:03:49,409 --> 01:03:54,162
And I really did feel that it wasgoing to be a colossal disaster.
1185
01:03:55,666 --> 01:03:57,415
He wasn't sure
I was right at all--
1186
01:03:57,459 --> 01:03:58,833
in fact,
he probably thought I was wrong--
1187
01:03:58,877 --> 01:04:01,503
but he knew that I felt
what I was saying.
1188
01:04:02,673 --> 01:04:05,257
So, the Treasurymodified its order,
1189
01:04:05,300 --> 01:04:06,883
and in effect, of course,
1190
01:04:06,927 --> 01:04:08,343
it was quite an endorsement.
1191
01:04:09,429 --> 01:04:11,680
It was huge.
1192
01:04:11,723 --> 01:04:15,517
♪ ♪
1193
01:04:15,561 --> 01:04:17,352
It saved Salomon.
1194
01:04:17,396 --> 01:04:21,523
Nick Brady went with Warren,because he trusted him.
1195
01:04:21,567 --> 01:04:24,734
It shows how having a good
reputation is really helpful in life.
1196
01:04:26,989 --> 01:04:28,572
I thank you for the opportunity
1197
01:04:28,615 --> 01:04:30,365
to appear
before this subcommittee.
1198
01:04:31,618 --> 01:04:33,785
I would like to start
by apologizing
1199
01:04:33,829 --> 01:04:35,870
for the acts that
have brought us here.
1200
01:04:35,914 --> 01:04:39,666
A nation has a right to expect
its rules and laws to be obeyed,
1201
01:04:39,710 --> 01:04:42,502
but I also have asked
every Salomon employee
1202
01:04:42,546 --> 01:04:45,088
to be his or her
own compliance officer.
1203
01:04:45,132 --> 01:04:47,507
After they first obey all rules,
1204
01:04:47,551 --> 01:04:50,051
I then want employees
to ask themselves
1205
01:04:50,095 --> 01:04:53,471
whether they are willing
to have any contemplated act
1206
01:04:53,515 --> 01:04:56,182
appear the next day
on the front page
1207
01:04:56,226 --> 01:04:59,394
of their local paper
to be read by their spouses,
1208
01:04:59,438 --> 01:05:00,854
children, and friends.
1209
01:05:01,982 --> 01:05:03,523
If they follow this test,
1210
01:05:03,567 --> 01:05:06,401
they need not fear
my other message to them:
1211
01:05:06,445 --> 01:05:09,487
Lose money for the firm,
and I will be understanding.
1212
01:05:09,531 --> 01:05:11,531
Lose a shred of reputation
for the firm,
1213
01:05:11,575 --> 01:05:13,283
and I will be ruthless.
1214
01:05:13,327 --> 01:05:15,076
I welcome your questions.
1215
01:05:37,017 --> 01:05:38,350
It's been 50 years
1216
01:05:38,393 --> 01:05:41,311
since I formally took controlof Berkshire Hathaway,
1217
01:05:41,355 --> 01:05:44,481
and, step by step,
we've created something
1218
01:05:44,524 --> 01:05:48,652
that is kind of what I dreamt
we might create over time,
1219
01:05:48,695 --> 01:05:50,528
but it took a lotof time to do it.
1220
01:05:50,572 --> 01:05:52,697
Never seemed like we were makingthat much progress on any one day,
1221
01:05:52,741 --> 01:05:55,283
but compound interest works.
1222
01:05:56,411 --> 01:05:58,870
When you think
back 50 years ago
1223
01:05:58,914 --> 01:06:00,664
when you founded
this company,
1224
01:06:00,707 --> 01:06:03,792
did you ever imagine it would be the
fifth-largest company in the world?
1225
01:06:05,295 --> 01:06:08,588
No, I-- I didn't,
but if I was thinking about it,
1226
01:06:08,632 --> 01:06:10,507
I wouldn't have thought
in terms of being the fifth,
1227
01:06:10,550 --> 01:06:12,884
or the fourth,
or the third.
1228
01:06:12,928 --> 01:06:14,427
You would've wanted
number one.
1229
01:06:14,471 --> 01:06:17,639
Oh! I mean, if you're gonna dream,
you might as well dream.
1230
01:06:17,683 --> 01:06:20,725
...two, three.
1231
01:06:20,769 --> 01:06:24,354
Bill Gates wins.
Bill Gates wins.
1232
01:06:24,398 --> 01:06:26,898
Well, a Berkshire Hathawayshareholders meeting is
1233
01:06:26,942 --> 01:06:30,110
partly a fun festival.
It's sort of a Mardi Gras
1234
01:06:30,153 --> 01:06:32,070
for peopleto come every year.
1235
01:06:32,114 --> 01:06:34,823
It's a chance for usto have a lot of fun
1236
01:06:34,866 --> 01:06:37,659
and meet the people that haveentrusted us with their money.
1237
01:06:41,081 --> 01:06:45,834
Well, we used to have just30 people in a cafeteria,
1238
01:06:45,877 --> 01:06:49,129
and now we have
this huge public spectacle.
1239
01:06:51,299 --> 01:06:53,967
Celebration ispart of making
1240
01:06:54,010 --> 01:06:56,511
a group of peoplework well together.
1241
01:06:56,555 --> 01:06:58,430
It's a celebration.
1242
01:06:58,473 --> 01:07:00,557
♪ We are glad ♪
1243
01:07:00,600 --> 01:07:04,060
♪ You're here
at our meeting ♪
1244
01:07:04,104 --> 01:07:07,731
♪ Be sure to check out
our wares ♪
1245
01:07:07,774 --> 01:07:12,026
♪ We'll sell you See's Candyand Dilly Bars ♪
1246
01:07:12,070 --> 01:07:15,739
♪ And insurancefor all of your cars ♪
1247
01:07:15,782 --> 01:07:19,409
♪ For its buy, buy,
buy all you see ♪
1248
01:07:19,453 --> 01:07:24,497
♪ At the Berkshire show! ♪
1249
01:07:29,921 --> 01:07:31,629
All right! Woo!
1250
01:07:32,716 --> 01:07:36,176
He truly loves
to do what he does.
1251
01:07:36,219 --> 01:07:39,262
Love you, Warren!
Aw, yeah.
1252
01:07:39,306 --> 01:07:42,891
I think investors who ownBerkshire Hathaway,
1253
01:07:42,934 --> 01:07:45,727
they see themselves
as a part of a community.
1254
01:07:45,771 --> 01:07:47,061
One, two, three.
1255
01:07:49,441 --> 01:07:53,443
There are more long-term holders
of Berkshire than any company.
1256
01:07:53,487 --> 01:07:55,111
People consider it a religion.
1257
01:07:55,155 --> 01:07:58,031
Okay, right here.
1258
01:07:58,074 --> 01:07:59,449
They don't buy itwith the idea
1259
01:07:59,493 --> 01:08:01,493
they're gonna sell itnext week.
1260
01:08:01,536 --> 01:08:04,454
I think most of them buying it with the
intent of holding it for their lifetime,
1261
01:08:04,498 --> 01:08:06,706
just like they'd buy a farm
or buy an apartment house.
1262
01:08:06,750 --> 01:08:09,876
At Berkshire, everybody getsthe same information
1263
01:08:09,920 --> 01:08:12,962
from the comprehensiveannual report.
1264
01:08:13,006 --> 01:08:14,756
We don't meetwith the analysts.
1265
01:08:14,800 --> 01:08:17,091
I'm not interested in what ananalyst thinks about Berkshire.
1266
01:08:17,135 --> 01:08:19,552
I'm interested in what the owners
of Berkshire think about Berkshire.
1267
01:08:22,140 --> 01:08:24,682
He came outof a private partnership
1268
01:08:24,726 --> 01:08:28,102
where people he knew
were trusting him.
1269
01:08:28,146 --> 01:08:30,897
And he had his relativesin the partnership,
1270
01:08:30,941 --> 01:08:32,565
and they were not rich.
1271
01:08:32,609 --> 01:08:34,984
And as it got bigger,he started treating
1272
01:08:35,028 --> 01:08:37,028
everybody else the wayhe treated his relatives.
1273
01:08:40,617 --> 01:08:41,741
In terms of our feeling
1274
01:08:41,785 --> 01:08:43,660
toward the peoplewho are shareholders,
1275
01:08:43,703 --> 01:08:45,328
we regard them
as our partners.
1276
01:08:45,372 --> 01:08:48,456
They're not somefaceless group of people.
1277
01:08:48,500 --> 01:08:51,292
And that's why at the annual meeting,I love seeing 40,000 of them.
1278
01:08:52,838 --> 01:08:54,879
It gives real meaning to what
we're doing every day.
1279
01:08:55,924 --> 01:08:58,716
Let's try.
♪ If you know... ♪
1280
01:08:58,760 --> 01:09:01,928
♪ Susie like I know Susie ♪
1281
01:09:01,972 --> 01:09:05,348
♪ Oh, oh, oh, what a gal ♪
1282
01:09:05,392 --> 01:09:08,184
We just have a lot of love
and respect for each other.
1283
01:09:08,228 --> 01:09:09,853
And that's never changed.
1284
01:09:09,896 --> 01:09:12,814
♪ Oh,
oh... ♪ I don't go to most things in Omaha,
1285
01:09:12,858 --> 01:09:15,400
because I thinkAstrid lives there with him,
1286
01:09:15,443 --> 01:09:16,734
and that's for her to do.
1287
01:09:18,280 --> 01:09:20,154
And then we doall kinds of things.
1288
01:09:24,202 --> 01:09:25,910
Strange as itmay seem to people,
1289
01:09:25,954 --> 01:09:27,620
I always think,you know, "Who cares?
1290
01:09:27,664 --> 01:09:29,914
"If it's working between the
people who are directly involved,
1291
01:09:29,958 --> 01:09:31,332
who cares
what anyone thinks?"
1292
01:09:31,376 --> 01:09:33,877
And my mother and Astrid
were very close, you know.
1293
01:09:33,920 --> 01:09:36,379
They really,really loved each other,
1294
01:09:36,423 --> 01:09:39,507
and I think that my motherwas glad that she was there,
1295
01:09:39,551 --> 01:09:41,134
'cause she--
she loved my dad.
1296
01:09:41,177 --> 01:09:43,303
She wanted him
taken care of and happy,
1297
01:09:43,346 --> 01:09:45,263
and there'sno one better than Astrid.
1298
01:09:45,307 --> 01:09:47,599
She's just-- she loves my dad.She wouldn't care if he had one cent.
1299
01:09:47,642 --> 01:09:49,559
♪ ...back where you belong ♪
1300
01:09:49,603 --> 01:09:52,312
Well, Astrid has lived
with me for a long time.
1301
01:09:53,315 --> 01:09:55,231
She's done wonders for me.
1302
01:09:55,275 --> 01:09:57,609
It worked well,
but I don't think it'll work
1303
01:09:57,652 --> 01:09:59,694
for lots of other people
necessarily.
1304
01:10:01,740 --> 01:10:03,865
Susie and I loved each other,we admired each other,
1305
01:10:03,909 --> 01:10:06,451
and we were totally in syncwith what the other was doing,
1306
01:10:06,494 --> 01:10:08,870
but we were
two different individuals.
1307
01:10:11,374 --> 01:10:14,292
♪ ♪
1308
01:10:14,336 --> 01:10:18,004
The first time Warrencame out to San Francisco...
1309
01:10:19,174 --> 01:10:21,257
we took a walk,
and he looked around,
1310
01:10:21,301 --> 01:10:23,343
and he doesn't--
he's not very visual.
1311
01:10:24,471 --> 01:10:26,596
He was looking around,and he said,
1312
01:10:26,640 --> 01:10:29,641
"This really is--this is your city."
1313
01:10:36,733 --> 01:10:41,653
I am so drawn to color,light, form, and nature,
1314
01:10:41,696 --> 01:10:45,406
that he thought
it was a good place for me.
1315
01:10:46,952 --> 01:10:48,201
Over the yearsI've developed
1316
01:10:48,244 --> 01:10:50,745
a better understandingof human nature.
1317
01:10:50,789 --> 01:10:52,705
I can learn a lot about investments out of a book,
1318
01:10:52,749 --> 01:10:56,376
but I don't think you can learnas much about human beings.
1319
01:10:56,419 --> 01:10:58,086
You really needsome experiences,
1320
01:10:58,129 --> 01:11:02,298
and I'm wiser in that respect
than I was 40 or 50 years ago,
1321
01:11:02,342 --> 01:11:05,635
even though
I can't rattle off numbers
1322
01:11:05,679 --> 01:11:07,220
the same way
I used to be able to.
1323
01:11:07,263 --> 01:11:09,681
♪ ♪
1324
01:11:12,978 --> 01:11:17,563
Well, I think that what we do
reflects who we are,
1325
01:11:17,607 --> 01:11:19,732
and that's true for everybody
in this room.
1326
01:11:19,776 --> 01:11:22,443
And if you do the work I do,
1327
01:11:22,487 --> 01:11:24,904
you meet the best
human beings in the world.
1328
01:11:24,948 --> 01:11:27,115
People whohave made a choice
1329
01:11:27,158 --> 01:11:30,284
not to make money,but to serve other human beings.
1330
01:11:30,328 --> 01:11:33,997
I think it's the best kind
of life anyone could have.
1331
01:11:34,040 --> 01:11:38,626
I was with her in Arizona at this "Fortune"
Most Powerful Women's Conference,
1332
01:11:38,670 --> 01:11:41,045
and she told me she had
a biopsy the day before,
1333
01:11:41,089 --> 01:11:42,964
and I didn't really think
much of it.
1334
01:11:43,008 --> 01:11:45,299
♪ ♪
1335
01:11:45,343 --> 01:11:48,344
Then we got home,
and the biopsy results were not good.
1336
01:11:48,388 --> 01:11:50,138
It was stage four
oral cancer.
1337
01:11:52,183 --> 01:11:54,976
I was on my wayto a board meeting in India,
1338
01:11:55,020 --> 01:11:56,561
and I remembersaying to her,
1339
01:11:56,604 --> 01:11:58,479
"I'll see youwhen I get back."
1340
01:11:58,523 --> 01:12:00,523
And she rarely cried,
1341
01:12:00,567 --> 01:12:02,233
and she just
started crying and said,
1342
01:12:02,277 --> 01:12:03,860
"No, you need to stay here,
1343
01:12:03,903 --> 01:12:06,154
and you need to come out
for the operation."
1344
01:12:08,116 --> 01:12:09,991
So we were all there,
1345
01:12:10,035 --> 01:12:12,535
and the day she wasgoing into the surgery,
1346
01:12:12,579 --> 01:12:16,205
that morning,my dad...
1347
01:12:16,249 --> 01:12:18,958
It's funny,
he-- there's some of it he just can't--
1348
01:12:19,002 --> 01:12:20,585
you know, he just can't--
1349
01:12:20,628 --> 01:12:23,671
the thought of something happening to her was just,
for him--
1350
01:12:23,715 --> 01:12:26,507
you know,
was just the worst thing that could happen.
1351
01:12:26,551 --> 01:12:28,009
♪ ♪
1352
01:12:28,053 --> 01:12:30,136
She knew it was goingto be really difficult.
1353
01:12:30,180 --> 01:12:33,473
She knew the recovery
was going to be brutal,
1354
01:12:33,516 --> 01:12:37,685
so I think that she hadthat surgery for others.
1355
01:12:41,066 --> 01:12:43,775
It was...
quite a big surgery.
1356
01:12:43,818 --> 01:12:47,695
She couldn't talk,she couldn't swallow, she couldn't eat.
1357
01:12:47,739 --> 01:12:50,907
But she came out,and I really was with her
1358
01:12:50,950 --> 01:12:52,617
for the nextfour months or so.
1359
01:12:53,870 --> 01:12:55,286
And my dad came out
every weekend.
1360
01:12:55,330 --> 01:12:57,538
♪ ♪
1361
01:13:01,920 --> 01:13:04,378
And in a few monthsshe was doing better.
1362
01:13:15,934 --> 01:13:17,809
She and my dad had goneto Cody, Wyoming,
1363
01:13:17,852 --> 01:13:20,394
which they did every yearwith a bunch of friends.
1364
01:13:25,735 --> 01:13:30,530
And my dad called. This was,I don't know, 8:00 at night or something,
1365
01:13:30,573 --> 01:13:33,866
and he said,
"Something happened to Mom.
1366
01:13:33,910 --> 01:13:36,702
I'm in an ambulance.
You need to come."
1367
01:13:40,667 --> 01:13:43,417
I actually thought somethinghad happened to my dad.
1368
01:13:43,461 --> 01:13:46,087
I don't know why I thought that,
but I-- I guess I thought
1369
01:13:46,131 --> 01:13:48,089
my mom had
had this recovery,
1370
01:13:48,133 --> 01:13:52,176
it was successful,
and why would anything happen to her?
1371
01:13:52,220 --> 01:13:55,721
♪ ♪
1372
01:13:58,059 --> 01:13:59,100
It was horrible.
1373
01:14:00,436 --> 01:14:01,978
And a total shock.
1374
01:14:02,021 --> 01:14:03,896
You know, she'd been fine.
1375
01:14:03,940 --> 01:14:05,606
She'd been fine.
They went off to Cody,
1376
01:14:05,650 --> 01:14:07,900
she was fine,
and they were having dinner,
1377
01:14:07,944 --> 01:14:10,695
and you know,
she didn't feel well after dinner,
1378
01:14:10,738 --> 01:14:13,281
and... she had the stroke.
1379
01:14:18,371 --> 01:14:21,706
We went into the hospital room,and my dad was sitting there.
1380
01:14:21,749 --> 01:14:24,542
He'd been sitting there
all night, holding her hand.
1381
01:14:27,005 --> 01:14:28,754
I was so proud of him,
1382
01:14:28,798 --> 01:14:31,340
because when
it came down to it,
1383
01:14:31,384 --> 01:14:32,925
he knew what
he was supposed to do,
1384
01:14:32,969 --> 01:14:35,428
and he did it,
which was nothing.
1385
01:14:35,471 --> 01:14:38,639
♪ ♪
1386
01:14:39,726 --> 01:14:41,976
So my dad went to sleep,
1387
01:14:42,020 --> 01:14:43,811
and I sat with her.
1388
01:14:43,855 --> 01:14:46,397
And I just kept
putting my hand on her heart
1389
01:14:46,441 --> 01:14:48,733
to see if she was
breathing, and...
1390
01:14:51,279 --> 01:14:53,696
At one point, you know,
I didn't feel anything,
1391
01:14:53,740 --> 01:14:55,198
so I went out,
I got the nurse,
1392
01:14:55,241 --> 01:14:57,533
and I said,
"Can you come in here?"
1393
01:14:57,577 --> 01:14:59,994
And she said,
"No, she's gone."
1394
01:15:00,038 --> 01:15:02,413
So, I have to say one
of the worst moments of my life
1395
01:15:02,457 --> 01:15:03,956
was waking my dad up
to tell him that.
1396
01:15:04,000 --> 01:15:07,168
♪ ♪
1397
01:15:14,552 --> 01:15:15,885
It's a verystrange thing, love.
1398
01:15:15,929 --> 01:15:16,969
You can't get rid of it.
1399
01:15:19,641 --> 01:15:21,599
If you try to give it out,you get more back.
1400
01:15:24,270 --> 01:15:26,020
If you try to hang onto it,you lose it.
1401
01:15:35,114 --> 01:15:38,157
Susie...really put me together.
1402
01:15:38,201 --> 01:15:39,325
She believed in me.
1403
01:15:39,369 --> 01:15:41,452
She-she-she--
she put me together.
1404
01:15:41,496 --> 01:15:45,206
And I would not only have turned out
to be the person I turned out to be,
1405
01:15:45,250 --> 01:15:47,083
but I would not have--
1406
01:15:47,126 --> 01:15:49,710
I actually wouldn't have been as
successful in business without that, and...
1407
01:15:50,672 --> 01:15:52,129
she made me more
of a whole person.
1408
01:15:52,173 --> 01:15:54,882
♪ ♪
1409
01:16:00,223 --> 01:16:04,141
He went dark, essentially,quiet and inward
1410
01:16:04,185 --> 01:16:05,643
for a certain amountof time.
1411
01:16:05,687 --> 01:16:08,437
♪ ♪
1412
01:16:08,481 --> 01:16:11,649
You know, my dad is
a solitary guy,
1413
01:16:11,693 --> 01:16:15,736
and he had lived, essentially,a solitary life in a lot of ways.
1414
01:16:18,241 --> 01:16:21,075
I think it came downto him figuring out
1415
01:16:21,119 --> 01:16:24,453
how he was gonnaget through this tunnel
1416
01:16:24,497 --> 01:16:26,497
and get out the other side.
1417
01:16:31,045 --> 01:16:32,378
In my head
at the time, I thought,
1418
01:16:32,422 --> 01:16:34,547
"God, I don't know
if he'll ever get out of bed."
1419
01:16:38,303 --> 01:16:39,552
But he did.
1420
01:16:52,400 --> 01:16:54,692
Welcome.
I'm Patty Stonesifer,
1421
01:16:54,736 --> 01:16:57,194
the CEO of the Bill
and Melinda Gates Foundation.
1422
01:16:57,238 --> 01:16:59,280
And we appreciate
you coming today,
1423
01:16:59,324 --> 01:17:02,825
especially since I sent a very vague and very late notice
1424
01:17:02,869 --> 01:17:05,703
to ask you to come to a
conversation with Bill and Melinda
1425
01:17:05,747 --> 01:17:08,247
on the future on philanthropy.
1426
01:17:08,291 --> 01:17:10,958
So, lets get on with it.
1427
01:17:11,002 --> 01:17:15,212
I have the pleasure
of introducing a good man
1428
01:17:15,256 --> 01:17:19,550
whose great decision is going to change the world,
Warren Buffett.
1429
01:17:25,433 --> 01:17:28,059
♪ ♪
1430
01:17:30,438 --> 01:17:32,313
A remarkable decision tonight
1431
01:17:32,357 --> 01:17:34,231
from one of the richest menin the world.
1432
01:17:34,275 --> 01:17:36,484
Mega-billionaire
Warren Buffett says
1433
01:17:36,527 --> 01:17:39,278
he is giving away most of his fortune away to charity.
1434
01:17:39,322 --> 01:17:40,863
Buffett has pledgedto give away
1435
01:17:40,907 --> 01:17:42,448
the bulk of his fortune
1436
01:17:42,492 --> 01:17:45,201
to the Bill and Melinda GatesFoundation
1437
01:17:45,244 --> 01:17:47,787
and giving morethan 15 % of his money
1438
01:17:47,830 --> 01:17:52,500
to foundations started by his threechildren and his late wife, Susan.
1439
01:17:52,543 --> 01:17:55,795
One global health activistcalled what Buffett did today
1440
01:17:55,838 --> 01:18:01,759
one of the most remarkably selflessacts that history will ever record.
1441
01:18:01,803 --> 01:18:05,513
That's a better hand than I get
at a Berkshire Hathaway meeting.
1442
01:18:05,556 --> 01:18:07,807
I'd like to thank you
for coming.
1443
01:18:07,850 --> 01:18:12,019
It-- it's a great day for me.
It's a great day for my family.
1444
01:18:12,063 --> 01:18:15,189
My wife Susie and I had planned
that whatever I made
1445
01:18:15,233 --> 01:18:16,982
would go back to society,
1446
01:18:17,026 --> 01:18:19,318
and, originally, I thoughtshe would outlive me
1447
01:18:19,362 --> 01:18:21,070
and that she'd makea big decision on it.
1448
01:18:21,114 --> 01:18:24,490
But since her death,
I had to rethink
1449
01:18:24,534 --> 01:18:27,034
the best way to get
the money into society
1450
01:18:27,078 --> 01:18:28,869
and have it used
in the most effective way,
1451
01:18:28,913 --> 01:18:33,332
and I had a solution
staring me in the face.
1452
01:18:33,376 --> 01:18:37,002
It was completely out of the blue.
I mean amazing.
1453
01:18:37,046 --> 01:18:40,923
The largest single giftever given was
1454
01:18:40,967 --> 01:18:43,843
what he gave away that day.
1455
01:18:43,886 --> 01:18:46,595
I'd like to ask the people
representing those...
1456
01:18:46,639 --> 01:18:48,556
various foundations
to come out.
1457
01:18:52,728 --> 01:18:55,062
The first three letters are
easy to sign, I just sign "Dad."
1458
01:18:58,401 --> 01:19:01,485
♪ ♪
1459
01:19:10,121 --> 01:19:12,163
When he wrotethe letter to us,
1460
01:19:12,206 --> 01:19:13,831
he put somethingin that letter
1461
01:19:13,875 --> 01:19:15,583
that was
incredibly important to me,
1462
01:19:15,626 --> 01:19:19,920
which was exactly how
our foundation behaves,
1463
01:19:19,964 --> 01:19:22,673
which is,
if you're gonna try to bat a thousand,
1464
01:19:22,717 --> 01:19:24,967
you won't do very many thingsthat are important.
1465
01:19:25,011 --> 01:19:28,554
But if you're willing to basically strike out a few times,
1466
01:19:28,598 --> 01:19:30,473
you can really change
something big.
1467
01:19:30,516 --> 01:19:34,602
I.C.C.N.!
1468
01:19:34,645 --> 01:19:36,145
Well, I feel terrificabout the fact
1469
01:19:36,189 --> 01:19:38,772
that my three childreneach run a separate foundation
1470
01:19:38,816 --> 01:19:41,609
that combines
their special interests,
1471
01:19:41,652 --> 01:19:43,694
whether it's early education
1472
01:19:43,738 --> 01:19:47,364
or whether it's farming in areaswhere people's techniques for using
1473
01:19:47,408 --> 01:19:50,242
small plots of land could usea lot of improvement.
1474
01:19:50,286 --> 01:19:52,369
All kinds of ways--vaccines, you name it.
1475
01:19:54,165 --> 01:19:55,831
More powerfulthan Buffett's gift
1476
01:19:55,875 --> 01:19:58,959
is the message he's sendingto other wealthy Americans,
1477
01:19:59,003 --> 01:20:01,295
that those who havethe least in this world
1478
01:20:01,339 --> 01:20:04,131
should benefit from those who have the most.
1479
01:20:09,555 --> 01:20:12,348
In my entire lifetime,everything that I've spent
1480
01:20:12,391 --> 01:20:15,809
will be quite a bit less
than one percent
1481
01:20:15,853 --> 01:20:16,894
of everything I've made.
1482
01:20:16,938 --> 01:20:19,104
The other 99 % plus
will go to others,
1483
01:20:19,148 --> 01:20:21,190
because it hasno utility to me.
1484
01:20:21,234 --> 01:20:23,150
♪ ♪
1485
01:20:25,530 --> 01:20:31,033
So, it's silly for meto not transfer that utility
1486
01:20:31,077 --> 01:20:32,451
to people who can use it.
1487
01:20:34,372 --> 01:20:35,913
It's doing me no good.
1488
01:20:41,254 --> 01:20:43,003
I am so proud of what we do.
1489
01:20:45,174 --> 01:20:46,840
I almost cryat every board meeting,
1490
01:20:46,884 --> 01:20:50,344
because I just think
she would be so proud.
1491
01:20:51,847 --> 01:20:54,640
And that is my biggest job,in my opinion,
1492
01:20:54,684 --> 01:20:56,433
is to make surethat every penny gets spent
1493
01:20:56,477 --> 01:20:57,643
the way she wouldwant it spent.
1494
01:21:01,148 --> 01:21:03,774
Whoever you are in this life,you don't want to think
1495
01:21:03,818 --> 01:21:08,112
you wasted a lot
of your energy, love,
1496
01:21:08,155 --> 01:21:11,073
and time
on something useless.
1497
01:21:11,117 --> 01:21:12,950
♪ ♪
1498
01:21:12,994 --> 01:21:16,495
I always thought I'd marry a minister,a doctor, or somebody
1499
01:21:16,539 --> 01:21:21,208
out doing
some valuable service
1500
01:21:21,252 --> 01:21:23,544
to human beings.
1501
01:21:23,588 --> 01:21:28,215
And the fact that I married somebody
who makes just piles of money
1502
01:21:28,259 --> 01:21:31,427
is really the antithesis
of what I ever thought,
1503
01:21:31,470 --> 01:21:33,429
but I know what he is,
1504
01:21:33,472 --> 01:21:37,516
and... he is...
1505
01:21:38,894 --> 01:21:41,312
There's no finer human beingthan who he is.
1506
01:21:43,733 --> 01:21:48,736
♪ ♪
1507
01:21:54,035 --> 01:21:55,784
The truth is that I'm here
1508
01:21:55,828 --> 01:21:57,828
in my positionas a matter of luck.
1509
01:21:57,872 --> 01:21:59,788
Hey!
How are you doing, Grandpa?
1510
01:21:59,832 --> 01:22:01,957
Hey, Grandpa!
Okay.
1511
01:22:02,001 --> 01:22:04,168
When I was born in 1930,
1512
01:22:04,211 --> 01:22:09,131
the odds were probably 40:1 againstme being born in the United States.
1513
01:22:09,175 --> 01:22:13,427
I did win the ovarian lottery on that first day,
and on top of that, I was male.
1514
01:22:14,555 --> 01:22:16,555
Put that downas another 50/50 shot
1515
01:22:16,599 --> 01:22:21,602
and now the odds are 80:1 againstbeing born a male in the United States,
1516
01:22:21,646 --> 01:22:25,814
and it was enormously
important in my whole life.
1517
01:22:25,858 --> 01:22:28,651
To think that that makes me
superior to anyone else
1518
01:22:28,694 --> 01:22:31,779
as a human being is just-- I can't
follow that line of reasoning.
1519
01:22:32,823 --> 01:22:34,365
Perfect!
Okay, good luck.
1520
01:22:37,912 --> 01:22:42,247
I think I was lucky to have been
standing alongside Warren Buffett
1521
01:22:42,291 --> 01:22:44,458
while he was
becoming Warren Buffett.
1522
01:22:44,502 --> 01:22:49,588
He has developed over the years.He's broadened.
1523
01:22:49,632 --> 01:22:52,216
His values extendthrough all of his life.
1524
01:22:54,011 --> 01:22:56,970
He wants to lead a lifethat he and his father,
1525
01:22:57,014 --> 01:23:00,265
if his father was still living,would say was a good one.
1526
01:23:00,309 --> 01:23:02,601
♪ ♪
1527
01:23:02,645 --> 01:23:06,647
I think he's going to end up in the
history books a hundred years from now.
1528
01:23:06,691 --> 01:23:10,234
I'm not sure what rolehe's going to be assigned.
1529
01:23:10,277 --> 01:23:13,028
Will he be famousfor what he did as an investor
1530
01:23:13,072 --> 01:23:16,115
or as a philanthropist?
1531
01:23:16,158 --> 01:23:20,285
But Warren said that hisambition in life is to be a teacher.
1532
01:23:21,997 --> 01:23:23,580
The world isa great movie to watch,
1533
01:23:23,624 --> 01:23:26,250
but you don't wantto sleepwalk through life.
1534
01:23:26,293 --> 01:23:28,585
The important thing to dois to look for the job
1535
01:23:28,629 --> 01:23:30,796
you would takeif you didn't need a job
1536
01:23:30,840 --> 01:23:32,965
and life is wonderful then.
1537
01:23:33,008 --> 01:23:35,342
I mean, you'll jump out
of bed in the morning
1538
01:23:35,386 --> 01:23:38,178
because you're really
looking forward to the day.
1539
01:23:38,222 --> 01:23:41,849
I have--
for over 60 years,
1540
01:23:41,892 --> 01:23:43,267
I've been able
to tap dance to work
1541
01:23:43,310 --> 01:23:45,894
just 'cause I'm doing
what I love doing and--
1542
01:23:45,938 --> 01:23:48,355
and I just feel
very, very lucky.
1543
01:23:48,399 --> 01:23:50,441
Okay, class dismissed.
1544
01:23:54,697 --> 01:23:57,197
♪ ♪
1545
01:24:10,212 --> 01:24:11,336
Night.
1546
01:24:12,214 --> 01:24:13,589
Do you fear death?
1547
01:24:13,632 --> 01:24:16,383
No, I don't.
1548
01:24:16,427 --> 01:24:19,845
I've had a terrific life.I feel-- you know, it's gonna happen,
1549
01:24:19,889 --> 01:24:22,347
and I have no idea
what happens after it.
1550
01:24:22,391 --> 01:24:23,932
I'm an agnostic, so I--
1551
01:24:23,976 --> 01:24:26,143
you know, it may be
terribly interesting.
1552
01:24:26,187 --> 01:24:27,895
It may not be interesting
at all. We'll find out.
1553
01:24:27,938 --> 01:24:30,522
But physically,I'm pretty well depreciated.
1554
01:24:30,566 --> 01:24:32,399
I'm getting downto salvage value.
1555
01:24:38,532 --> 01:24:40,616
But it really doesn't makeany difference at all.
1556
01:24:40,659 --> 01:24:43,535
It doesn't interfere with my work.It doesn't interfere with my happiness.
1557
01:24:43,579 --> 01:24:44,912
It doesn't interferewith my thinking.
1558
01:24:44,955 --> 01:24:50,334
♪ ♪
1559
01:24:50,377 --> 01:24:54,129
I don't feel any diminution
in my enjoyment of life
1560
01:24:54,173 --> 01:24:55,839
or enthusiasm
for life at all.
1561
01:24:55,883 --> 01:24:58,967
In fact, in a sense,the game that I'm in
1562
01:24:59,011 --> 01:25:00,886
gets more interestingall the time.
1563
01:25:02,264 --> 01:25:05,516
It's a competitive game.It's a big game,
1564
01:25:05,559 --> 01:25:08,560
and I enjoyed
the game a lot.
1565
01:25:17,154 --> 01:25:19,279
♪ ♪
1566
01:26:02,950 --> 01:26:08,370
♪ Somewhere over the rainbow ♪
1567
01:26:08,414 --> 01:26:13,292
♪ Way up high ♪
1568
01:26:13,335 --> 01:26:19,214
♪ There's a landthat I heard of ♪
1569
01:26:19,258 --> 01:26:24,386
♪ Once in a lullaby ♪
1570
01:26:24,430 --> 01:26:29,975
♪ Somewhere over the rainbow ♪
1571
01:26:30,019 --> 01:26:35,063
♪ Skies are blue ♪
1572
01:26:35,107 --> 01:26:38,859
♪ And the dreams ♪
1573
01:26:38,903 --> 01:26:41,570
♪ That you dare to dream ♪
1574
01:26:41,614 --> 01:26:45,574
♪ Really do come true ♪
1575
01:26:45,618 --> 01:26:48,452
♪ One day I'll wishupon a star ♪
1576
01:26:48,495 --> 01:26:50,579
♪ And wake up wherethe clouds ♪
1577
01:26:50,623 --> 01:26:54,207
♪ Are far behind me ♪
1578
01:26:56,253 --> 01:26:58,045
♪ Where troubles melt ♪
1579
01:26:58,088 --> 01:26:59,546
♪ Like lemon drops ♪
1580
01:26:59,590 --> 01:27:00,923
♪ Oh, way above ♪
1581
01:27:00,966 --> 01:27:02,424
♪ The chimney tops ♪
1582
01:27:02,468 --> 01:27:04,343
♪ That's where ♪
1583
01:27:04,386 --> 01:27:08,555
♪ You'll find me ♪
1584
01:27:10,142 --> 01:27:15,562
♪ Somewhere over the rainbow ♪
1585
01:27:15,606 --> 01:27:19,858
♪ Blue birds fly ♪
1586
01:27:20,861 --> 01:27:26,281
♪ Birds fly over the rainbow ♪
1587
01:27:26,325 --> 01:27:30,869
♪ Why then, oh, why can't I? ♪
1588
01:27:52,518 --> 01:27:57,604
♪ Somewhere over the rainbow ♪
1589
01:27:57,648 --> 01:28:02,192
♪ Blue birds fly ♪
1590
01:28:02,236 --> 01:28:07,990
♪ Birds fly over the rainbow ♪
1591
01:28:08,033 --> 01:28:12,995
♪ Why then, oh, why can't I? ♪
1592
01:28:13,038 --> 01:28:18,125
♪ If happy little bluebirdsfly beyond the rainbow ♪
1593
01:28:19,086 --> 01:28:21,962
♪ Why, oh, why ♪
1594
01:28:22,006 --> 01:28:27,092
♪ Can't I? ♪
1595
01:28:27,136 --> 01:28:28,927
Good night, Susan.
131626
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