Warren Buffett: Valuable Lessons To MBA Students (And Everybody Else)

Back in 2008, Warren Buffett was interviewed by Dr. George Athanassakos an attendees from Ivey MBA. A transcript of the interview is now available online, where Buffett shares his insights on investing, the economy, personal happiness, and broader societal issues. The conversation offers a deep dive into his philosophy on business, life, and decision-making.

The discussion reveals Buffett’s pragmatic yet optimistic worldview, grounded in rationality, humility, and a deep understanding of human behavior.

Here are the key takeaways:

  • Investment Philosophy and Market Behavior: Buffett emphasizes value investing, focusing on buying assets worth a dollar for fifty cents. He highlights the importance of exploiting market irrationality (e.g., “Mr. Market”) rather than being swayed by it. He also discusses inefficiencies in markets like auction-rate securities and the challenges of predicting extreme behaviors in markets like China’s.
  • Building Wealth and Enjoying the Process: Buffett recounts his journey from saving small sums as a child to creating significant wealth. He stresses that the key to success is doing what you love every day and not being driven solely by the need to accumulate wealth. He also underscores the importance of finding joy in the process rather than focusing solely on outcomes.
  • Happiness and Personal Values: For Buffett, happiness stems from doing what he loves with people he admires and loves in return. He believes unconditional love is the greatest gift one can receive or give. He advises young people to cultivate qualities they admire in others and avoid behaviors that alienate people.
  • Challenges Facing Society: Buffett identifies weapons of mass destruction as humanity’s greatest challenge due to their catastrophic potential. He stresses the importance of reducing risks associated with nuclear materials and acknowledges that some societal problems defy easy solutions.

Share the news

Disclaimer of liability

The above has been prepared by Børsgade ApS for information purposes and cannot be regarded as a solicitation or recommendation to buy or sell any security. Nor can the information etc. be regarded as recommendations or advice of a legal, accounting or tax nature. Børsgade cannot be held liable for losses caused by customers’/users’ actions – or lack thereof – based on the information in the above. We have made every effort to ensure that the information in the above is complete and accurate, but cannot guarantee this and accept no liability for errors or omissions.

Readers are advised that investing may involve a risk of loss that cannot be determined in advance, and that past performance and price development cannot be used as a reliable indicator of future performance and price development. For further information please contact info@borsgade.dk

You might also find this interesting:

Michael Mauboussin: How to Handle Intangibles in Modern Value Investing

Michael Mauboussin, Head of Consilient Research at Morgan Stanley, delivered a compelling keynote presentation at the Ben Graham Centre for Value Investing’s 2025 conference, addressing how the rise of intangible assets has fundamentally altered the landscape of value investing.

Drawing from nearly a century of investment wisdom while adapting to modern realities, Mauboussin argues that traditional accounting methods have become increasingly inadequate for evaluating companies in today’s intangible-heavy economy. His presentation reveals that intangible investments now represent 1.7 times tangible investments in the U.S. economy, a complete reversal from 1977 when tangible investments dominated by a factor of 1.4.

Cliff Asness: Missing the Best Days Isn’t the Real Problem

Clifford Asness of AQR Capital Management revisits his 1999 rejected paper that challenged one of the most common arguments against market timing. The widespread belief that missing just a few of the market’s best days destroys long-term returns is fundamentally flawed, according to Asness.

His analysis shows that while missing the best performing days does hurt returns, missing the worst performing days provides symmetrical benefits. The author demonstrates through both historical data and simulations that this “evidence” against market timing is mathematically obvious and essentially useless for investment decision-making.

Asness argues that legitimate criticisms of market timing should focus on investors’ lack of skill rather than cherry-picked scenarios of perfect incompetence. His 25+ years of out-of-sample data confirms these findings, showing the argument remains as flawed today as it was when first proposed.

Warren Buffett: Lessons from the Oracle of Omaha

In this special celebratory episode from The Investor’s Podcast, host William Green shares his personal observations from attending the annual shareholder meeting in Omaha where the announcement was made, describing it as the most joyful meeting he’s ever attended.

The episode features powerful highlights from Green’s previous conversations with legendary investors including Joel Greenblatt, Nick Sleep, Thomas Russo, Chris Davis, Chuck Akre, and Christopher Bloomstran, all discussing Buffett’s profound influence on their investment approaches.

Chris Davis: Navigating Todays Turbulent Markets With Bill Miller

Two legendary portfolio managers, Chris Davis and Bill Miller, engaged in a comprehensive discussion about navigating today’s volatile investment landscape, drawing from their combined decades of experience managing billions in assets.

The conversation, structured around nine key topics, covers everything from investment temperament and market volatility to emerging technologies and geopolitical challenges. Miller, famous for outperforming the S&P 500 for 15 consecutive years while managing the Legg Mason Value Trust, and Davis share insights on stewardship, patience, and contrarian investing approaches. The discussion emphasizes the importance of long-term thinking, adaptability, and maintaining perspective during uncertain times.