Lessons from this meeting:
Ethics Are Hard to Gauge from the Inside
It’s often impossible for rank-and-file employees to discern whether leadership truly values integrity or just talks about it. Look at public commitments, published communications, and whether a company prioritizes stock price over substance—but recognize even those signals can be misleading.
Keep Regulators, Not Legislators, Setting Accounting Standards
When Congress overruled the FASB on expensing stock options in the 1990s, it accelerated a culture of “anything goes.” True accounting expertise belongs with independent standard-setters, not politicians seeking market gains.
Avoid Conflicts: Don’t Wear Two Hats in Fund Management
Managing outside client assets alongside colossal in-house capital invites inevitable conflicts. If you own most of your capital in one vehicle (like Berkshire), adding a second fund management arm is ethically and operationally untenable.
Infrastructure Investments Require Long-Term Vision
Expanding Omaha’s convention center to host nearly 20,000 shareholders shows that strategic civic projects—and the willingness to thank collaborators—can unlock tremendous growth opportunities over decades.
Play to Your Unique Strengths When Buying Businesses
Private equity firms may bid, but few can match Berkshire’s promise: no forced leverage, no consultant overhauls, and lifelong operational autonomy for sellers. That one-of-a-kind offer attracts owners unwilling to auction their life’s work to the highest bidder.
Align Incentives to Deter “Write-It-All” Underwriting
Berkshire’s insurance units make underwriters feel no pressure to chase volume—no layoffs for low premium years—so they never write policies just to hit quotas. The result: decades of consistent underwriting profits.
Open Economies Gain from High-Skill Immigration
When you combine America’s natural resources and ingenuity with the world’s top talent, GDP and innovation soar. History shows neither growth nor competitiveness suffers from attracting skilled immigrants.
Stock Splits Are a Symptom, Not a Solution
Refusing to split Berkshire’s stock filters for patient, investment-oriented owners and discourages short-termists. Splits aren’t evil, but high prices help cultivate a shareholder base that shares long-term management’s philosophy.
Differentiate Ownership from Speculation
Buying stock in a business is not the same as owning and running that business. You can comfortably hold shares of companies whose products you wouldn’t operate yourself; direct ownership demands a higher ethical and operational standard.
Sensible Derivatives vs. “Demented” Speculation
Insurers like Berkshire underwrite real-world risks people need covered. Complex financial derivatives, by contrast, often enable unmoored speculation, introduce cascading collateral calls, and threaten systemic stability far beyond traditional insurance.
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