Well, one time some attractive woman sat next to Charlie and asked him what he owed his success to, and, unfortunately, she insisted on a one word answer. He had a speech prepared that would have gone on for several hours. But when forced to boil it down to one word, he said that was "rational". You know, he comes equipped for rationality, and he applies it in business. He doesn't always apply it elsewhere, but he applies it in business and that has made him a huge business success.

Intensity is the price of excellence.

I insist on a lot of time being spent, almost every day, to just sit and think. That is very uncommon in American business.

At Berkshire, I both initiate and monitor every derivatives contract on our books ... If Berkshire ever gets in trouble, it will be my fault. It will not be because of the misjudgments made by a risk committee or chief risk officer.

We're still in a recession. We're not gonna be out of it for a while, but we will get out.

You have no ability, if you're a financial institution and you're threatened with criminal prosecution, you have no ability to negotiate.

Your premium brand had better be delivering something special, or it's not going to get the business.