The real fortunes in this country have been made by people who have been right about the business they invested in, and not right about the timing of the stock market.

What an investor needs is the ability to correctly evaluate selected businesses. Note that word “selected”: You don't have to be an expert on every company, or even many. You only have to be able to evaluate companies within your circle of competence. The size of that circle is not very important; knowing its boundaries, however, is vital.

The greater the potential for reward in the value portfolio, the less risk there is.

Money is not everything. Make sure you earn a lot before speaking such nonsense.

I mean, Hank Paulson is in there [ Treasury] at the wrong time, probably shouldn't have taken the job. He's a friend of mine. But he knows markets, he knows corporations' work, he knows money, and he's got the interests of the country at heart.

If you don't feel comfortable owning something for 10 years, then don't own it for 10 minutes.

Having first rate people on the team is more important than designing hierarchies and clarifying who reports to whom.