Warren Buffet’s Final Letter as Berkshire Hathaway’s CEO

You must read Warren Buffet’s final letter to shareholders as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.

Wisdom pours from every paragraph. Buffet is an incredible writer, and I don’t think that’s uncorrelated to his monumental success over the years. In the letter you will find some of his own personal history, what he expects the future may hold for Berkshire Hathaway, an understanding that luck does not strike all of us equally, a reminder that it’s okay to make mistakes, and a beautiful look at one’s own mortality.

Here is a direct link to the letter as shared by Berkshire Hathaway. Here are some of my favorite lines:

But Lady Luck is fickle and – no other term fits – wildly unfair. In many cases, our leaders and the rich have received far more than their share of luck – which, too often, the recipients prefer not to acknowledge.

I was born in 1930 healthy, reasonably intelligent, white, male and in America. Wow! Thank you, Lady Luck.

Father Time, to the contrary, now finds me more interesting as I age. And he is undefeated; for him, everyone ends up on his score card as “wins.” When balance, sight, hearing and memory are all on a persistently downward slope, you know Father Time is in the neighborhood.

I was late in becoming old – its onset materially varies – but once it appears, it is not to be denied.

I have assured my children that they do not need to perform miracles nor fear failures or disappointments. These are inevitable, and I have made my share.

Remember Alfred Nobel, later of Nobel Prize fame, who – reportedly – read his own obituary that was mistakenly printed when his brother died and a newspaper got mixed up. He was horrified at what he read and realized he should change his behavior. Don’t count on a newsroom mix-up: Decide what you would like your obituary to say and live the life to deserve it.

Choose your heroes very carefully and then emulate them. You will never be perfect, but you can always be better.

I could go on and on but I would probably just end up repeating the letter in its entirety. Do not delay further - go and read the letter yourself. You will not regret it.