Billionaire investor Warren Buffett turns 92 today. "The Oracle from Omaha," as he is popularly called, was born in this Nebraska city on Aug. 30, 1930.
An iconic investor who inspired many to dip their toes into the financial market, Buffett made a fortune by putting his money to good work in a diversified portfolio of assets, including stocks and bonds.
Buffett’s net worth currently stands at $100 billion and he is the sixth richest man in the world, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires’ index. The nonagenarian continues to helm Berkshire Hathaway Inc BRKA BRKB in the roles of chairman and CEO.
He has also pledged to give away all his fortunes gradually for charitable causes. Buffett, along with good friend Bill Gates announced The Giving Pledge campaign in 2010, which encourages wealthy people like them to give a majority of their wealth to philanthropic causes.
People such as Buffett are worth emulating both from an investment perspective and their humane side.
Here’s a compilation of five inspirational quotes straight from the horse's mouth:
1. Predicting rain doesn’t count. Building arks does.
This was an apparent reference to the days of Noah, the Biblical character, who was asked by God to build an ark in anticipation of a deluge. He promptly followed the mandate and he and his family were saved. Buffett’s wise words suggested preparing for the inevitable was equally important as predicting the event.
His energy bets apparently reflected this outlook of him. Given the likelihood of energy prices ruling high in the near- to medium-term, he has been buying into oil giants such as Chevron Corporation CVX and Occidental Petroleum Corporation OXY.
2. The three most important words in investing are margin of safety.
Margin of safety is the difference between the price of an asset and its intrinsic value. Buffett explained this with the analogy of engineers building a structure with the strength to handle pressure more than what it is expected to face. In investing, this margin of safety provides a cushion.
3, Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.
This nugget of wisdom from Buffett reflected his investment philosophy of value investing. Value investing is buying quality assets when they are available at bargains.
“Whether we're talking about socks or stocks, I like buying quality merchandise when it is marked down. Price and value are two sides of the same coin,” he said in his letter to shareholders in 2008.
4. It’s far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price.
This saying once again resonated with his value investing theme along with his focus on quality. He apparently isn’t in favor of buying struggling businesses however cheap they are. Instead, his bets would be on quality names that are available for a bargain.
5. Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.
This quote from Buffett emphasized the fact that the hard miles one puts in may be beneficial not only to him but also to future generations. It also underlined his preference for a long-term investment horizon over the lure of making some quick bucks.
See Also: As Warren Buffett Turns 92, Here's How His Top 3 Holdings Did Since His Last Birthday
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