Warren Buffett

His endorsements and public praise of Jack Bogle are cited as a significant factor in Vanguard's strong brand identity.

“Really hard to replicate Warren Buffett saying that-”

He challenged the hedge fund industry to a 10-year bet against the Vanguard 500 Index Fund, which he ultimately won.

“Well, just to put an even finer point on this, St. Warren over in Omaha comes back into the story here. In 2007, fortuitously right before the crash, he had issued a public challenge, Warren Buffett had. He said that he would bet $1 million of his own money ag…”

Endorsed index funds in a 1996 shareholder letter while managing Berkshire Hathaway as a high-performing exception.

“Warren Buffett implicitly endorsed Jack and Vanguard in the 1996 Berkshire annual shareholder letter where he wrote, "The best way to own common stocks is through an index fund that charges minimal fees. Those following this path are sure to beat the net resul…”

Cited for his philosophy on long-term investing and the importance of not over-reacting to market conditions.

“Yes, it's the great Warren Buffett line, don't just do something, stand there [laughs].”

Cited as an authority who supports the investment philosophy discussed.

“[laughs] Not investment advice, but you know, hey, Warren says it, so.”

Mentioned as one of the greatest investors who sells the dream of generating high annual returns in equities.

“... during this period? Well, it turns out that Jack's first revolution of the low-cost, low-fee proposition of Vanguard, it works pretty well in equities. There are other financial markets out there where the low-cost strategy works even better, specifically …”

He praised Jack Bogle in a 2016 annual letter and is discussed as an investor who values low-cost index funds.

“Right. Right. Well, either way, Warren writes in Berkshire's 2016 annual letter related to all this, quote, "If a statue is ever erected to honor the person who has done the most for American investors, the hands-down choice should be Jack Bogle. For decades, …”

David Rosenthal credits him with changing the financial lives of millions of people.

“So yeah, I think, uh, I, I agree with Warren, and millions and millions and millions of people have had their financial lives changed because of him, and would not have happened without him.”

Mentioned as a contrast to Bogle and Hock because he owns a significant portion of his company, Berkshire Hathaway.

“Oh, Visa. Yeah, Dee Hock. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, I was gonna say Berkshire because Berkshire, as we talked about earlier, does not take fees or carry, but effectively is a private equity firm, but it's not the same because Warren owns a huge chu…”

Famous for the idea that a great business should be able to be run by a ham sandwich.

“There are two very different ideas I'm curious for you to react to. The first was made famous by Warren Buffett, who said you want to buy, as an investor, businesses that a ham sandwich could run, 'cause eventually one will. Not to pick on anyone, but think ab…”

Described as a master of using two layers of leverage through equity ownership and insurance float.

“famously didn't have to issue a ton of debt, but it was, like, the most attractive bond in the world, so it just issued tons and tons of debt, bought back its own shares. And, and it was a, a huge gain for, for Buffett's portfolio, Berkshire's portfolio. Same …”

Cited for his nuanced views on leverage and his historical strategy of using yen-denominated bonds to purchase Japanese equities.

“And so, so thank you for painting some, some color around that. Speaking about great books, I'm sure you're familiar with this one here I'm holding up to, [chuckles] to the camera. For those of you who are listening, Lyn Alden's Broken Money, I can't help but …”

Mentioned as a reference for traditional value investing principles that may need adjustment in the current macro climate.

“You know, it's kind of interesting. We've taken sort of a, a pivot here recently, and we're talking more about equities. And I've talked to quite a few people about this pivot, and the feedback I get is a bit surprising to me because what they're telling me is…”

Mentioned as an example of an investor who successfully utilizes leverage.

“Wow. Fantastic. Thank you for, for sharing. I hope the, the listener don't take away from this episode that they should not use leverage, and, and it's only Buffett who can do it. But also, don't hope they, you know, leave here and they're like, "Oh, I need to…”

Mentioned for his 'too hard pile' desk organization method as an example of an interesting artifact.

“Yeah, I like it. Uh, I also just think even if it's not, like, alpha, it's just, like, takes them out of whatever routine they were in and we get... We're gonna find something personal that nobody's ever asked them about or said, you know, some-something that'…”

Cited as a world-class investor whom the hosts enjoy reading about.

“And yet we love having professional investors on the podcast. We both love reading about Warren Buffett and people like that, and I was trying to figure out two things. The first is why do I like that so much? What, what am I drawn to these guys for, uh, so mu…”

Mentioned as the source of a prioritization exercise for life goals and relationship standards.

“What I'm, what I am noticing is that people tend-- seem to have kind of this laundry list of requirements. And as soon as they... And there's this, also this false perception of infinite options. And so as soon as the person that they're seeing or that they're…”

Mentioned for his strategy of letting acquired managers operate independently as owners.

“You know, I, I mean, I, I'll, I'll just say, like, that is such a rare and difficult thing to pull off. I mean, there's just countless stories of acquisitions where the acquirer thinks that they have culture, thinks that they know how to transfer culture, and …”

Attributed his success to the power of focus.

“Saying, "I see these people doing three things at once, and I think, God, what a terrible way that is to think." And I remember last year when I went to Omaha for the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting, I went to my friend Guy Spier's ValueX BRK event, and Doro…”

Quoted regarding the exposure of flaws during market downturns.

“First of all, the private equity industry, which is the main borrower, I don't think is growing that fast. So there probably is not gonna be the same rate of growth and demand for loans as there has been. That's number one. And there was a surge, and there's a…”