Warren Buffett

Should you find yourself in a chronically leaking boat, energy devoted to changing vessels is likely to be more productive than energy devoted to patching leaks.

The most important quality for an investor is temperament, not intellect. You need a temperament that neither derives great pleasure from being with the crowd or against the crowd.

I’ve seen more people fail because of liquor and leverage – leverage being borrowed money. You really don’t need leverage in this world much. If you’re smart, you’re going to make a lot of money without borrowing.

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

Tell me who your heroes are and I’ll tell you who you’ll turn out to be.

If you are in a poker game and after 20 minutes you don’t know who the patsy is, then you’re the patsy.

I am convinced that material things can contribute a lot to making one’s life pleasant, but, basically, if you do not have very good friends and relatives who matter to you, life will be really empty and sad and material things cease to be important.

My life with Roman was not the fairytale that the papers reported.

My grandfather, along with Carnegie, was a pioneer in philanthropy, which my father then practiced on a very large scale.

I think it’s sad when people make a lot of money and they want the biggest boat or the biggest car or the biggest plane.

We were afraid of attempts of kidnapping.

Guilt for being rich, and guilt thinking that perhaps love and peace isn’t enough and you have to go and get shot or something.

He is richest who is content with the least.

The Japanese banks are not having an easy time as they once had.

Philanthropy is involved with basic innovations that transform society, not simply maintaining the status quo or filling basic social needs that were formerly the province of the public sector.

Abramovich’s got six yachts which are just gigantic and you think, ‘What a waste of money. He could transform so many people’s lives if he put that money to good use.

When you have a lot of resources, the most important thing is to have had good parents and to have been brought up by people who gave one the proper values.

Much corporate giving is charitable in nature rather than philanthropic.

The only wealth I have to give is not material and if you need much more than that, I’m not available.

Money can add very much to one’s ability to lead a constructive life, not only pleasant for oneself, but, hopefully, beneficial to others.

I am the wealthiest man, not just in Europe, but in the whole world. I collect emotions. I am wealthy in that the people of Russia have twice entrusted me with the leadership of a great nation such as Russia – I believe that is my greatest wealth.