Transcription
Charlie's had eight children, so he's become more and more of a believer in in nature versus nurture. You'll probably sign some nice old woman of about 95 out there in threadbear clothing and she's delaying gratification right to the end and probably has 4,000 a shares. It's just these second and third generation types that are buying old jewelry.
It's interesting if you think about we'll we'll take it to a broader point, but if you think of the long a 30-year government bond paying 3% and you allow for as an individual paying some taxes on the 3% you'll receive and you'll have the Federal Reserve Board saying that their objective is to have 2% inflation. you'll really see that uh that delayed gratification if you own a long government bond is that you know you get to you get to go to Disneyland and ride the same number of rides 30 years from now that you would if you did it now. that the the the low interest rates for people who invest in fixed dollar investments uh really mean that uh you really aren't going to, you know, get have eat steak later on if you eat hamburgers now, which is what I used to preach to my wife and children and anybody else that would listen many years ago.
Uh uh so it's I don't necessarily think that that uh for all families in all circumstances that saving money is is uh necessarily the best thing to do in life. I mean, you know, uh uh if you really really tell your kids they can whatever it may be, they never go to the movies or we'll never go to Disneyland or something of the sort because if I save this money 30 years from now, you know, well, we'll be able to stay a week instead of two days. I think I think there's a lot to be said uh for doing things that that bring you and your family enjoyment rather than trying to sever every dime. uh uh so uh I advise the delayed gratification is not uh necessarily a an unqualified uh uh course of action under all circumstances.
Uh I always believed in spending two or three cents out of every dollar I earned, saving the rest. But I really I I always had everything I wanted. I mean, but one thing you should understand if uh if you aren't happy having $50,000 or $100,000, you're not going to be happy if you have 50 million or 100 million. I mean, it it uh the a certain amount of money does make you feel in those field around you feel better just in terms of being more secure in some cases. But but uh loads and loads of money. I I've probably known as many rich people as just about anybody. And uh uh I do not I don't think they're happier because they get super rich. I think they're I think they are they are happier when they don't have to worry about money. But uh you don't see a correlation between happiness and money uh beyond a certain place. So don't go overboard on delayed gratification.
We regard investment decisions as proprietary. Basically they belong to Bergkshire and uh we are not an investment advisory organization. Uh so that that that is counter to the interests of Bergkshire for them to be talking about securities they own. It's a counter to the interest of Bergkshire for Charlie or me to be doing it. We've done better because we don't publish every day what we're buying and selling. I mean, it's uh if somebody's working on a new product at Apple or somebody's working at a on a new drug or they're assembling property or something of the sort, they do not go out and tell everyone in the world exactly what they're doing every day. And we're trying to generate ideas and investment. And we we do not believe in telling the world what we what we're doing every day except to the extent that we're legally required.
But it's a good idea, Charlie. Well, one of the reasons we have trouble with these questions is because we're Bergkshire is so very peculiar. There's only one thing like it. We have a different kind of unbureaucratic way of making decisions. There aren't any people in headquarters. Uh we don't have endless committees deliberating forever and making bad decisions. We just we're radically different and it's awkward being so different and but I don't want to be like everybody else because this has worked better. So I think you're just going to have to endure us. [Applause]
We we do think that it's a huge corporate asset which may only surface very occasionally and depending very much on how the world is around us. But to be the one place I think in the world almost where uh uh somebody can call on a Saturday morning and and meet on Sunday morning and have a 10 billion dollar commitment. And nobody in the world doubts whether that commitment will be upheld and it's not subject to any kind of uh welching on the part of the company that's doing it. It's it's got nothing involved other than Bergkshire's word and and that's an asset that every now and then will be worth uh a lot of money the Bergkshire and I don't really think it will be subject to competition.
Uh so uh and Ted and Todd in particular uh are an additional pipeline and have proven to be an additional pipeline in terms of uh facilitating uh the exercise of that ability. I mean they they things come in through them that for one reason or another uh I might not hear about otherwise. So they've they have expanded our universe in the markets we've had in recent years that hasn't been important. I can see periods where they would be enormously valuable. Just take the question that was raised by the fellow from Winnipeg about weak covenants and bonds. I mean, we we we could have a situation uh who knows when, who knows where, or who knows whether, but we could have a situation where there could be massive defaults in uh the junk bond type market. We've had those a couple times and we made a fair amount of money off of them. But Ted and Todd would multiply our effectiveness in a big way if such a period comes along or some other types of periods come along. They they're very very very useful uh to Bergkshire.
Uh uh the call happened to come in on Friday from Brian Moahan of of uh CEO of Bank America's done an incredible job. But but we have we have we have a better chance of of uh getting more calls and having them properly filtered and everything appropriately filtered. uh uh the next time conditions get chaotic uh than we did last time and that that's important. >> Troy, >> well I do think it's true that if the world goes to hell in a handbook hand basket that you you people will be in the right company. We've got a lot of cash and we know how to behave well in a panic. Uh, and if the world doesn't go to hell, are things so bad now? And I also want to report that your vice chairman is getting new social distinction. I've been invited during this gathering to go to a happy hour put on by the Bitcoin people. And I tried to figure out what the Bitcoin people do in their happy hour. And I finally figured it out. They celebrate the life and work of Judas Escariat. Is your invitation still good?
Well, on my honeymoon in 1952, my bride, 19, and I, 21, uh, stopped in Las Vegas. We just got in my aunt Alice gave me the car and said, "Have a good time." And we went west. So, we stopped in the Flamingo. And I looked around and I saw all of these well-dressed, they dressed better in those days, well-dressed people who had come in some cases with thousands of miles away. And this was before jets, so transportation wasn't as good. And they came to do something that every damn one of them knew was mathematically dumb. And I told Susie, I said, "We are going to make a lot of money." I mean, imagine people going to stick money on some roulette number with a zero and a double zero there and knowing the percent. They all could do it and they they just do it. And I have to say Bitcoin has re has rejuvenated that feeling in me.