Fellow Partners,
This past weekend a few Phronesis Partners and I watched from the audience as Warren Buffett did something he never does: get emotional. At the end of 4.5 hours of Q&A he noted "I have one more thing to cover" and shared his intent to step down as Berkshire Hathaway's CEO at the end of 2025.
As usual he did it his own way. “This is the first time the Board of Directors and Greg [the future CEO] are hearing about this.” A standing ovation followed, broken up by Buffett's usual sense of humor: “And I will not sell a single share of our stock!”
At The Art of Quality we seek to understand that most difficult and essential thing: capital-Q Quality. We ask all our guests the same closing question: “What is your most memorable encounter with Quality?” It is notable how many mention Warren Buffett in their answer.
Few have shared more wisdom or been more quotable. As the sun sets on sixty years of Buffett the CEO, here are some of his final gems.1
(It's worth remembering that all of these were offered in answer to spontaneous questions from shareholders about business and life.)
On Posture
The world is not going to adapt to you; you need to adapt to the world.
If every time you swung you hit a homerun the game wouldn’t be very interesting.
Your brain would turn to mush if you didn't have a few problems.
Turn every page...you'll find things that no one else does.
On Partners
You get a few breaks in life in the people who you will meet. You need a handful of them. And when you have them, you treasure them.
Make the most of the people you meet who are going to make you a better person and forget about the rest.
I never wanted institutions. I wanted people.
The great pleasure in this business is having people trust you.
On Opportunities
Prices get extraordinarily attractive very occasionally.
We will make our best deals when people are most pessimistic.
Every now and again you get an extraordinary opportunity. Most of the time you don’t have much of an edge.
Don't be patient about acting on deals that make sense...and don't be patient in talking to people about things they'll never do.
On Risk
The biggest thing we have to worry about is that we've learned to destroy the world. We have changed the world enormously, but we have not changed human beings very much.
Make sure the cathedral is not taken over by the casino.
It's easier for an organization to see its quality move downward than upward.
I spend more time looking at balance sheets than income statements...over a 5-10 year period things are harder to hide there.
Government
On spending:
It's easier to do stupid things with other peoples' money than it is with your own.
On deficits:
If you picked a way to mess up the U.S., it would involve the currency.
On currency inflation:
Those who trust their government get screwed.
On healthcare regulation:
The tapeworm won.
On America
We don't want a world where 330 million Americans are crowing about 'winning' while the rest of the world is upset about it.
I was born in 1930 and stocks got much more attractive over the next two years and I didn’t do anything about it. That was the opportunity of a lifetime and I blew it by worrying about the kid in the next crib.
In Closing
Buffett will remain Chairman of the Board.
The highlight reels never get old.
It is an honor to serve you.
All the best,
John
Founder and Managing Partner
Ted Merz shared an excellent debrief as well: https://ted-merz.com/2025/05/04/wit-and-wisdom-from-warren-buffett/