Shares are not mere pieces of paper. They represent part ownership of a business. So, when contemplating an investment, think like a prospective owner.

I did not think I would see the day when, you know, an AIG would not be able to have its checks clear.

If you understood a business perfectly and the future of the business, you need very little in the way of a margin of safety.

The true investor welcomes volatility ... a wildly fluctuating market means that irrationally low prices will periodically be attached to solid businesses.

It's a nightmare to administer some of this sort of thing, but I want to tell the shareholders of Berkshire, to the percent we own marketable securities or things for which there are market, even if those markets - I want to tell them what it's all about.

A great investment opportunity occurs when a marvelous business encounters a one-time huge, but solvable problem.

I don't look to jump over 7-foot bars: I look around for 1-foot bars that I can step over.