Markets
The 25 Best Warren Buffett Quotes in One Infographic
Warren Buffett is famous for his wit, and will likely go down in history as one of the most quotable and influential investors of all time.
With this week marking his 89th birthday, we thought it was a good time to highlight the 25 best Warren Buffett quotes accumulated through his lengthy and prestigious career.
The Warren Buffett Series
Part 5: Wisdom from the Oracle
Today’s infographic highlights the smartest and most insightful quotes from Buffett on investing, business, and life.
It’s the fifth and final part of the Warren Buffett Series, which we’ve done in partnership with finder.com, a personal finance site that helps people make better decisions – whether they want to find the right credit card or become the next big value investor.
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After sifting through hundreds of quotes from the Oracle of Omaha, we’ve chosen the best 25 of them and sorted them into a few select categories:
Keeping it Simple
Buffett is known for putting his money in “no-brainer” businesses (i.e. Coca-Cola) that are simple to run, with long-term competitive advantages.
| Buffett Quotes on Keeping It Simple | |
|---|---|
| #1 | “Never invest in a business you cannot understand.” |
| #2 | “I don’t look to jump over 7-foot bars: I look around for 1-foot bars that I can step over.” |
| #3 | “I try to buy stock in businesses that are so wonderful that an idiot can run them. Because sooner or later, one will.” |
| #4 | “A ham sandwich could run Coca-Cola." |
| #5 | “Beware of geeks bearing formulas.” |
| #6 | "You don't need to be a rocket scientist. Investing is not a game where the guy with the 160 IQ beats the guy with 130 IQ." |
| #7 | “Rule No. 1: Never lose money. Rule No. 2: Never forget rule No.1” |
Temperament
For Buffett, how someone responds to different situations is far more important than their actual skills or knowledge level. Investors must not care what the crowd thinks, and they must be patient, focused, and decisive to maximize their potential.
| Buffett Quotes on Temperament | |
|---|---|
| #8 | "The most important quality for an investor is temperament, not intellect. You need a temperament that neither derives great pleasure from being with the crowd or against the crowd." |
| #9 | “It’s only when the tide goes out that you learn who has been swimming naked.” |
| #10 | “Our favorite holding period is forever.” |
| #11 | “Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” |
| #12 | “An investor should act as though he had a lifetime decision card with just twenty punches on it.” |
Value
Buffett’s decision-making is driven by an assessment of value. Is the asset he is buying worth way more than it is currently being priced at by the fickle Mr. Market – if so, he’ll lay down his chips.
| Buffett Quotes on Value | |
|---|---|
| #13 | "Price is what you pay; value is what you get." |
| #14 | "Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful." |
| #15 | “It’s far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price, than a fair company at a wonderful price.” |
Conduct
A Midwestern gentleman, Buffett follows a simple and friendly style of business conduct, with deals often bounded by one’s promise or a simple handshake.
| Buffett Quotes on Conduct | |
|---|---|
| #16 | "You can't make a good deal with a bad person." |
| #17 | "It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently." |
Perspective
At 89 years old, Buffett knows a thing or two about business and life. As a result, he’s developed some unique perspectives.
| Buffett Quotes on Perspective | |
|---|---|
| #18 | “In the business world, the rearview mirror is always clearer than the windshield.” |
| #19 | “If past history was all that is needed to play the game of money, the richest people would be librarians.” |
| #20 | “Failing conventionally is the route to go; as a group, lemmings may have a rotten image, but no individual lemming has ever received bad press” |
| #21 | "In my view, derivatives are financial weapons of mass destruction, carrying dangers that, while now latent, are potentially lethal." |
Life and Success
How did he build such a successful career, and how does one man generate so much wisdom?
| Buffett Quotes on Life and Success | |
|---|---|
| #22 | “The most important investment you can make is in yourself.” |
| #23 | “If you get to my age in life and nobody thinks well of you, I don’t care how big your bank account is, your life is a disaster.” |
| #24 | "I do more reading and thinking, and make less impulse decisions than most people in business. I do it because I like this kind of life." |
| #25 | "My life couldn't be happier. In fact, it'd be worse if I had six or eight houses. So, I have everything I need to have, and I don't need any more." |
With $89.5 billion to his name, Warren Buffett is not only known for his self-made wealth and investing acumen, but also his wit and quotability. We hope this selection of the best Warren Buffett quotes helps you think about life and investing differently, and that the legendary investor continues to share his wisdom with the world.
Want more Buffett?
Don’t forget to check out the other parts of our Buffett infographic series:
Markets
U.S. Debt Interest Payments Reach $1 Trillion
U.S. debt interest payments have surged past the $1 trillion dollar mark, amid high interest rates and an ever-expanding debt burden.
U.S. Debt Interest Payments Reach $1 Trillion
This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.
The cost of paying for America’s national debt crossed the $1 trillion dollar mark in 2023, driven by high interest rates and a record $34 trillion mountain of debt.
Over the last decade, U.S. debt interest payments have more than doubled amid vast government spending during the pandemic crisis. As debt payments continue to soar, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reported that debt servicing costs surpassed defense spending for the first time ever this year.
This graphic shows the sharp rise in U.S. debt payments, based on data from the Federal Reserve.
A $1 Trillion Interest Bill, and Growing
Below, we show how U.S. debt interest payments have risen at a faster pace than at another time in modern history:
| Date | Interest Payments | U.S. National Debt |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | $1.0T | $34.0T |
| 2022 | $830B | $31.4T |
| 2021 | $612B | $29.6T |
| 2020 | $518B | $27.7T |
| 2019 | $564B | $23.2T |
| 2018 | $571B | $22.0T |
| 2017 | $493B | $20.5T |
| 2016 | $460B | $20.0T |
| 2015 | $435B | $18.9T |
| 2014 | $442B | $18.1T |
| 2013 | $425B | $17.2T |
| 2012 | $417B | $16.4T |
| 2011 | $433B | $15.2T |
| 2010 | $400B | $14.0T |
| 2009 | $354B | $12.3T |
| 2008 | $380B | $10.7T |
| 2007 | $414B | $9.2T |
| 2006 | $387B | $8.7T |
| 2005 | $355B | $8.2T |
| 2004 | $318B | $7.6T |
| 2003 | $294B | $7.0T |
| 2002 | $298B | $6.4T |
| 2001 | $318B | $5.9T |
| 2000 | $353B | $5.7T |
| 1999 | $353B | $5.8T |
| 1998 | $360B | $5.6T |
| 1997 | $368B | $5.5T |
| 1996 | $362B | $5.3T |
| 1995 | $357B | $5.0T |
| 1994 | $334B | $4.8T |
| 1993 | $311B | $4.5T |
| 1992 | $306B | $4.2T |
| 1991 | $308B | $3.8T |
| 1990 | $298B | $3.4T |
| 1989 | $275B | $3.0T |
| 1988 | $254B | $2.7T |
| 1987 | $240B | $2.4T |
| 1986 | $225B | $2.2T |
| 1985 | $219B | $1.9T |
| 1984 | $205B | $1.7T |
| 1983 | $176B | $1.4T |
| 1982 | $157B | $1.2T |
| 1981 | $142B | $1.0T |
| 1980 | $113B | $930.2B |
| 1979 | $96B | $845.1B |
| 1978 | $84B | $789.2B |
| 1977 | $69B | $718.9B |
| 1976 | $61B | $653.5B |
| 1975 | $55B | $576.6B |
| 1974 | $50B | $492.7B |
| 1973 | $45B | $469.1B |
| 1972 | $39B | $448.5B |
| 1971 | $36B | $424.1B |
| 1970 | $35B | $389.2B |
| 1969 | $30B | $368.2B |
| 1968 | $25B | $358.0B |
| 1967 | $23B | $344.7B |
| 1966 | $21B | $329.3B |
Interest payments represent seasonally adjusted annual rate at the end of Q4.
At current rates, the U.S. national debt is growing by a remarkable $1 trillion about every 100 days, equal to roughly $3.6 trillion per year.
As the national debt has ballooned, debt payments even exceeded Medicaid outlays in 2023—one of the government’s largest expenditures. On average, the U.S. spent more than $2 billion per day on interest costs last year. Going further, the U.S. government is projected to spend a historic $12.4 trillion on interest payments over the next decade, averaging about $37,100 per American.
Exacerbating matters is that the U.S. is running a steep deficit, which stood at $1.1 trillion for the first six months of fiscal 2024. This has accelerated due to the 43% increase in debt servicing costs along with a $31 billion dollar increase in defense spending from a year earlier. Additionally, a $30 billion increase in funding for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in light of the regional banking crisis last year was a major contributor to the deficit increase.
Overall, the CBO forecasts that roughly 75% of the federal deficit’s increase will be due to interest costs by 2034.
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