Warren Buffett discussed Apple, bitcoin, coronavirus, and Bernie Sanders in an interview this week. Here are his 18 best quotes.
- Warren Buffett tackled a bunch of topics in a lengthy CNBC interview this week.
- The billionaire investor talked about Apple, bitcoin, coronavirus, the Democratic presidential race, his death, and other subjects.
- The Berkshire Hathaway CEO's 18 best quotes are listed below.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Warren Buffett is renowned for making witty and insightful comments that many investors turn to for guidance.
The 89-year-old investor and Berkshire Hathaway CEO offered several gems about Apple, bitcoin, coronavirus, the Democratic presidential race, his death, and other topics during a wide-ranging CNBC interview this week.
Here are Buffett's 18 best quotes from the interview:
1. "If I die tonight, the board tomorrow morning knows exactly what they're going to do. But I hope they're polite about it. Let the body cool off" - on Berkshire's succession plans.
2. "Berkshire without me is worth essentially the same as Berkshire with me" - on the conglomerate's long-term prospects.
3. "You are going to have two guys on the stage whose combined age is 185. We won't be looking for people that show signs of contagion" - on the threat of coronavirus to him and 96-year-old partner Charlie Munger when they speak at Berkshire's annual meeting in May.
4. "Charlie has the best 30-second mind in the world ... there is nobody better to talk to than Charlie at age 96" - on his conversations with Munger.
5. "You don't buy or sell your business based on today's headlines" - on coronavirus sparking a frantic market sell-off this week.
6. "My own science adviser is Bill Gates" - on discussing coronavirus with the Microsoft founder and billionaire philanthropist.
7. "Give me a $10 billion budget and ask me to bring out another Coca-Cola that makes a dent in Coca-Cola and I can't do it" - on the power of brands.
8. "Reaching for yield is really stupid. But it's very human ... eventually you get to midnight and everything turns to pumpkins and mice" - on increased risk-taking by insurers.
9. "I don't own any cryptocurrency. I never will" - on bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
10. "The logical move from the introduction of bitcoin is to go short suitcases because the money that was taken in suitcases from one country to another - suitcases will probably fall off in demand. You can look at that as the economic contribution of bitcoin to the society" - on the negligible value of bitcoin.
11. "I don't think another billionaire supporting him would be the best thing to announce" - on endorsing fellow billionaire and former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg for the Democratic presidential nomination.
12. "I think we should make sure that the golden goose keeps laying more eggs" - on retaining America's capitalist system.
13. "I'm very much in sympathy with the fact that Senator Sanders believes that a lot of people are getting left behind and through no fault of their own" - on his agreement with some of Sen. Bernie Sanders' views.
14. "The American public has been going wild in their enthusiasm for conglomerates in the last few years ... they call them index funds. You buy 500 businesses all put together. That's the ultimate conglomerate, isn't it?" - on Berkshire Hathaway-style conglomerates.
15. "You can't run the French restaurant and then serve hamburgers inside, and you can't run the hamburger stand and serve French food inside" - on the need to run Berkshire Hathaway according to shareholders' wishes.
16. "Probably the best business I know in the world" - on Apple, one of Berkshire's biggest holdings.
17. "We'll probably show me crushing with my foot my old flip phone, while cozying up to the new smartphone" - on screening a video at Berkshire's annual meeting that pokes fun at him finally upgrading to an iPhone.
18. "I do not think it'll be in the top 15% of stocks performing in the next 10 or 15 years ... [but] we won't be in the bottom quartile, I promise you that, over any long period of time" - on the outlook for Berkshire Hathaway shares.
