Why is Buffett considered the greatest investor?

[CrazyAce]

To the people that say Buffett is the man because he's made the most money investing, what do you say about Carlos Slim?

The man is primarily an investor and will likely take over the world's richest title

[DesertCat]

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To the people that say Buffett is the man because he's made the most money investing, what do you say about Carlos Slim?

The man is primarily an investor and will likely take over the world's richest title

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I didn't say that Buffett was greatest because he was richest, just because of his excellent long term record. Not sure about Carlos Slim's record, but I think it may come with a big asterisk since he was reputably given large portions of the mexican economy by friendly politicians.

[googleit123]

He's a smart business man. His timing, patience, discipline is outstanding. The guy started selling newpapers for profit when most his age were screwing around.

[CrazyAce]

DC, where could I read more about that? The places I've been looking allude to friendly politicians but they don't come out and give details

[DesertCat]

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DC, where could I read more about that? The places I've been looking allude to friendly politicians but they don't come out and give details

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This article talks about how he got control of Mexicos state owned telecommuncations company. Like all articles, it hints at impropriety, but offers no proof.

[maxtower]

TeleMex also has an advantage of being sort of a government approved monopoly. Mexicans pay some of the highest phone rates in the world. I traveled through Central America for a few weeks and calling card rates to the US were by far the highest in Mexico than the other countries.
$0.10/min compared to $0.05 or $0.03 in other countries.

It will be interesting to see how his fortune holds up once, VOIP becomes the prevailing telephone technology. Maybe he controls the internet down there too though. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[DesertCat]

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DC,
What sources can I look at to read about the Buffett Partnership days?

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Just found this. Not sure if the guy is supposed to post these online, but he is, so enjoy.

[DesertCat]

More on what made Buffett successful, by his partner Charlie Munger.

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"WB [Buffett] is one of the smartest people I know. WB has been extremely interested in investing since he was 10. There is no substitute for having a very intense interest in something you're trying to succeed at;
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Extremely high-IQ people don't need to keep learning throughout life (they can coast), but people with less intelligence need to keep learning. WB had both -- very high intelligence and continuous learning. WB's skills have increased markedly since he turned 65! If he had stopped learning earlier in life, his record would be much less impressive."

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A lot of very bright people make continually bad decisions because they have bad character traits and, worse, they encourage them. Don't be an extreme ideologue -- whether right or left.

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On mentors: "Most of WB's achievement came by sitting on his ass and reading. You'd get fired in corporate America if you did that! The present generation of multi-taskers won't produce people who think as well as WB. Wisdom comes by sitting on your ass."

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