Best Lines From The 2024 Berkshire Meeting

During their recent episode, Taylor, Carlisle, and Cunningham discussed Best Lines From The 2024 Berkshire Meeting, here’s an excerpt from the episode:

Tobias: One of the great lines from Charlie when they– I wish I knew the interview that it had come from, but he was sitting in a chair and he said, “You know, to the effect, we’re irreverent people. We joke around and we have fun most of the time. But we find some things that are worth revering and we’re reverent when it comes to those things.” I thought that’s such a great sentiment. That’s exactly the way I try to live my life.

We laugh all the time on the show. We’re very irreverent. But there are some things that I think are worth revering. And the philosophy that those guys espouse is one of them, I think.

Jake: Yeah.

Victor: Absolutely. Yeah.

Jake: I agree. It was rather humbling just to see what a life’s work could really turn into and have all those people there who appreciate it. He said that what really got him out of the bed in the morning and excited to come to work was that he really liked when people trusted him. That was a good feeling for him. And that Charlie was the same way. That fiduciary gene that Buffett really exemplifies, I find to be very inspiring. Shit, he just did it. Lived the life that or has live the life that you would wish on your kids or anybody who you wanted them to do well.

There was one really touching moment. The room got a little dusty for me at that point, but where he did his normal– He was answering a question and then he said, “Charlie?” and then realized right away what had happened, and the crowd cheered for it and made him feel really good about it, I think. And then, Greg did a good job by saying that he had nothing to add. So, that was a pretty special moment. Actually, I feel very privileged to have been there in person to experience it and feel it, like not just see it recorded, but actually be in the moment with it. I think that’s going to mean a lot to me for a long time.

Victor: I 100% agree. I’m glad you flagged that line, because that was all of us as being stewards of other people’s capital. When he said, “I want to look out for the people who trusted me,” that was just so powerful and it’s something that we should all get up every day and think that way, say, “Hey, people trust me. I need to do right by them.” It’s great.

A thing I also found interesting was that, usually, it really thins out in the second half, whereas people just– The impact-

Jake: It didn’t. Oh, yeah.

Victor: –people just couldn’t get enough of it. Every moment was just building on the other. At the end, everyone gave them the standing ovation. It was just impactful and something that I’m never going to forget.

Tobias: Let’s do favorite lines. I’m going to get this one out first, because this is everybody else’s favorite line too. “Some people will bend over backwards for you. Some people bend over forwards” is crack.

[laughter]

Victor: The one line that he probably wanted to take back.

Tobias: Oh, no.

Jake: He’s earned it at this point, right?

Victor: Yeah. That was quite funny. But yeah, it was wonderful. The tribute at the end of the first half to Ruth and Carol Loomis was just so Buffett-esque really.

Jake: Yeah. Another nice part of the weekend was actually just getting a chance to hang out with Toby in person and spend some quality time together. And then also, lots of listeners who came up and were so nice and chatting with us and making us feel special. So, it was a great weekend.

Tobias: Yeah. We love hearing from everybody. It was awesome chatting. It is really touching. We very much appreciate it. We’re just a couple of randos in-

[laughter]

-operating out of our bedrooms, really. So, it’s cool to chat to everybody.

Victor: Yeah.

Tobias: The other one that really stood out to me that I love, and this is sort of a– I’ve got a book that’s going to be coming out at some point in the future. But this is the theme of the book. I just love that Charlie said– He said this a few times, but it’s one of the things that I think you embraced this, Vic, and I think it’s an important one. But he said, “In terms of trying to complete a project, that what you want to be doing is avoiding stupidity rather than achieving brilliance.” He said something like, “While I think that they’re probably the same thing, the better frame is to think of it as stupidity avoidance.”

I just think that’s such a powerful idea that’s unappreciated among particularly younger investors. I certainly didn’t appreciate this when I was a younger investor. And now, it’s become the very first thing that I consider. But I think that that’s true for you too. Do you want to talk about that a little bit?

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