By Luciana Lopez, Elijah Shama, Richard Quest, Erin Burnett, NCS
(NCS) — Warren Buffett has worn many hats through the years: The stock-picking Oracle of Omaha. An avuncular, Dairy-Queen-eating, Coke-drinking product pitchman. A residing image of capitalism and its complexities.
But for generations of enterprise leaders, the 95-year-old has additionally served as one thing else: a instructor.
Buffett’s mixture of success and sagacity has made him one of the vital well-known buyers on the planet, “on the Mount Rushmore of business leaders in our country,” Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks stated. And by means of his advice-packed investor letters, his hourslong quote-fest annual conferences, his selections at work or in his private life, Buffett has taught CEOs and executives all over the world learn how to run their companies and, in lots of circumstances, their lives.
Buffett, who’s spent a lot of his life among the many top 10 richest people on the planet, is stepping down Wednesday as head of conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway; protégé Greg Abel will take the reins Thursday.
As the long-lasting investor steps down from his post, a number of enterprise leaders advised NCS concerning the classes Buffett leaves behind.
‘Predicting rain doesn’t depend’
As a journalist, I’ve coated numerous earnings experiences. None have been as enjoyable as Berkshire Hathaway’s, largely as a result of Buffett stays among the many enterprise world’s high communicators.
He stated what he meant, and he by no means used a 10-cent phrase if a one-cent phrase would do. And he was flat-out humorous in a approach that made masking him a hoot.
“What I’ve always admired about Warren Buffett, and (his late business partner) Charlie Munger for that matter, is their use of plain English and plain language to explain difficult concepts,” Steve Hafner, the CEO of Kayak, stated. “It takes a lot of skill to take a complex issue and just split it to the bare minimum.”
Their dry wit made “their shareholder letter one of my favorite reads,” he added.
Some gems amongst these shareholder letters:
- “It’s only when the tide goes out that you learn who’s been swimming naked.”
- “Predicting rain doesn’t count; building arks does.”
- “I’ve reluctantly discarded the notion of my continuing to manage the portfolio after my death – abandoning my hope to give new meaning to the term ‘thinking outside the box.’”
‘Our favorite holding period is forever’
One theme among the many CEOs who spoke to NCS: Buffett’s legendary persistence. Buffett was recognized to sit down on ginormous piles of money at Berkshire, ready for the correct alternative to take a position. And when he did make investments, he was in it for the lengthy haul: “our favorite holding period is forever,” he wrote to shareholders in 1989.
Investor, podcaster, entrepreneur and former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci wrote to Buffett 30 years in the past, saying he was shopping for Berkshire shares for his daughter.
“And since she was one and a half years old with a life expectancy of 84 years, she had 82 and a half years left in which to hold her stock,” Scaramucci stated.
“He wrote back very quickly and said that was a manifestation of short-termism. His own intention was to hold the stock for a hundred years.”
‘I will be ruthless’
Yes, Buffett was a shark who made billions of dollars off Goldman Sachs, among the many most hardcore capitalists on the planet.
But he was a shark with ethics.
“From Warren Buffett, I’ve learned that excellence really is a discipline,” stated Larry Restieri, CEO at wealth administration agency Hightower. “Set a clear direction, stay true to your principles and execute patiently.”
Buffett racked up a web value round $150 billion, according to Bloomberg, however he all the time emphasised honesty and integrity.
And he anticipated the identical from each single one who labored with him: “Lose money for the firm and I will be understanding. Lose a shred of reputation for the firm, and I will be ruthless,” he once testified before Congress.
‘A vast collection of possessions ends up possessing its owner’
Buffett famously loves flying non-public. He is a Cadillac fan. He is uber-wealthy, and he makes no apologies for it.
But he has additionally determined to go on a few of his huge riches. Buffett, together with Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates, created the Giving Pledge in 2010 for the world’s richest folks to vow “to give the majority of their wealth to charitable causes in their lifetime or wills.”
Marcel Arsenault, the CEO of Real Capital Solutions, is one of many individuals who signed that pledge. “Warren inspired me to think beyond monetary success,” he advised NCS.
In a letter explaining his dedication, Buffett wrote: “Too often, a vast collection of possessions ends up possessing its owner.”
But giving doesn’t must be about piles of money.
“When you help someone in any of thousands of ways, you help the world,” Buffett wrote in 2025. “Kindness is costless but also priceless.”
The-NCS-Wire
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