Never depend on a single source of income.

I'll tell you why I like the cigarette business. It cost a penny to make. Sell it for a dollar. It's addictive. And there's a fantastic brand loyalty.

Ben's Mr. Market allegory may seem out-of-date in today's investment world, in which most professionals and academicians talk of efficient markets, dynamic hedging and betas. Their interest in such matters is understandable, since techniques shrouded in mystery clearly have value to the purveyor of investment advice. After all, what witch doctor has ever achieved fame and fortune by simply advising 'Take two aspirins'?

Don't invest in pieces of papers (stocks), invest in great businesses underlying them

If I eat 2,700 calories a day, a quarter of that is Coca-Cola.

Rule No.1: Never lose money. Rule No.2: Never forget rule No.1.

You can't make a good deal with a bad person.