Creative accounting is an absolute curse to a civilization. One could argue that double-entry bookkeeping was one of history's great advances. Using accounting for fraud and folly is a disgrace. In a democracy, it often takes a scandal to trigger reform. Enron was the most obvious example of a business culture gone wrong in a long, long time.

It would be nice if this [finding really cheap stocks] happened all the time. Unfortunately, it doesn't.

As I talk about strengths and weaknesses in academic economics, one interesting fact you are entitled to know is that I never took a course in economics. And with this striking lack of credentials, you may wonder why I have the chutzpah to be up here giving this talk. The answer is I have a black belt in chutzpah. I was born with it.

Understanding how to be a good investor makes you a better business manager and vice versa.

The wise ones bet heavily when the world offers them that opportunity. They bet big when they have the odds. And the rest of the time, they don't. It's just that simple.

The investment game always involves considering both quality and price, and the trick is to get more quality than you pay for in price. It's just that simple.

Beta and modern portfolio theory and the like - none of it makes any sense to me.