berkshirehathaway.com/letters/2018lt…
My takeaways:
Thats over.
WEB no longer thinks BV has enough relevance for the top spot, even w/ caveating
He's the best communicator of business wisdom in history & there is significant confusion about what buybacks actually do in society.
I thought Buffett might enter the fray w/ a killer metaphor or fable.
I wish he had.
"We use debt sparingly. Many managers, it should be noted, will disagree with this policy, arguing that significant debt juices the returns for equity owners.
And these more venturesome CEOs will be right most of the time."
A Russian roulette equation – usually win, occasionally die – may make financial sense for someone who gets a piece of a company’s upside but does not share in its downside."
Rational people don’t risk what they have and need for what they don’t have and don’t need."
Warren Buffett, 2018 annual letter to shareholders
And even though thats true, I think it's statesmanlike and wise in a way few other people talk about history, or America, in politics or in business.
I unabashedly like it