ON WARREN BUFFET'S "GOING QUIET"

 

I read an article about Warren Buffett saying he was “going quiet.”

I felt sad.

Why?

I will tell you why.

I was born in a remote village called Tunuga, in March 1971. The village is situated on the border between Nigeria and Niger.

There was no hospital there, and my mother gave birth to me without any medical assistance.

I had often asked—now that I am a pharmacist—what if there was a complication? What if the umbilical cord had gone around my neck and I couldn’t come out naturally?

But I made it.

And thank God for that.

Warren Buffett has talked about his luck of being born in America.

I was lucky there was no complication at my birth.

We were born (worlds apart) at different times.

But Warren Buffett’s personality has travelled across this space to change me radically.

Warren is unique.

Rare.

Not because of his business and investing acumen, but because of his personality.

Accounting, allocation of capital is boring.

Even Elon, my African brother, said so!

And we ought to take his word seriously—he has more dough (presently) than any other living thing on Earth or on Mars.

Thinking about what Warren does and not how he does it would make you miss the magic of Warren Buffett.

Magic?

Yes.

Warren Buffett waved his wad and gave the “boring allocation of capital” life.

Warren turned investing and accounting into (profits and) entertainment.

The privileges of reading his long annual letters are as exhilarating as reading Influence by Professor Robert Cialdini for the first time.

Warren is a sage, an oracle, in investing; but he is a legend in entertainment.

Business is brutal, and that’s putting it mildly. I have failed at several, and the one I am working on now (and seeking for investors) is as tough as taking care of newly born quadruplets.

Warren makes business looks simple, friendly, the way Albert Einstein figured out Relativity.

And he is honest.

In business, that’s like discovering penicillin.

Who is honest in business?

Well, Warren Buffett is. 

In a world where a lot of CEOs and politicians are devoid of it, Warren Buffett stands out like an elephant in the midst of baboons.

Warren has gained our trust. And he didn’t have to pitch the republican against the democrats—or vice versa—to earn it.

And then he is humble!

If you see his interview together with Jay-Z, you will think Jay-Z had ten times Warren’s money and capacity. Warren made himself the underdog in that interview.

And he doesn’t have to dance before we would love him.

His humility draws us to him.

He makes the world a better place with his words and personality.

He didn’t have to.

But he chooses to.

Deliberately.

He could reel out boring facts and make investing complicated, but he chooses simplicity and entertainment to make us “get it.”  

I am far away from the American Dream, but Warren’s words bring succor and wisdom to me.

I am sure it’s the same for many people across the world.

That’s why I am sad when he said he “was going quiet.”

It’s like a newlywed divorce.

“Who is going to give us succor?” I wondered.

Not the divisive CEOs!

Warren is a gem.

His brilliance makes the world richer.

But his personality makes the world beautiful.

And so let’s do three beautiful things for him while he is still here with us.

Just to try and return the favor.

I can’t buy Berkshire’s shares, but if you have the capacity, buy it.

Buy it today.

Sell your electric car shares and buy Berkshires’.

And for once, don’t listen to Warren’s advice not to buy an overpriced stock.

Buy it.

Don’t it for the fun of it.

But do it for Warren.

Let’s see if we can take Berkshire to a higher valuation.

Just for Warren.

(I can’t buy Berkshire’s shares now, but I have a $100 (that’s a whooping 145,000 in my currency) to buy him a meal at Macdonald. Of course, a Coke must be there as well! People at Berkshire; please email me how to get the $100 to him through kurungtoe@gmail.com. The sooner, the better.)

Secondly, let’s write our eulogies to him now.

Not after.

Let him read some of them and see how we really value him as a decent human being.

Let’s tell him how we would feel when he is no longer here.

I don’t know how you can get it to him but write one.

Publish it on X.

Let Warren gets to read them.

If he doesn’t, let the world know how we feel about him.

Finally, let’s gather at his house in Omaha.

Not at the office; at his home.

Let’s do it from 10 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. (you know how Warren value his time!) on a suitable American holiday.

Just circle his house and let him come out and wave.

No speech. No interaction.

Just a waving back at the circle of people.

Like the king does in England.

Or like the Pope does in Rome.

Let people in Omaha know, and let people in American know, and let the world know, that one of the finest humans in the world is celebrated and appreciated.

(I will be with you in the spirit on this one!)

******

“What’s the first lesson in investing?” I asked my fifteen-year-old son.

 “Don’t lose your capital,” he said.

“What’s the second lesson?” I asked.

“Don’t forget the first lesson,” he said. “Are you writing an article about Warren Buffett?”

“Yes,” I said.

He nodded, as if it was the right thing to do.

Going quiet?

Years from now, men would still be quoting you, Warren.

And they would acknowledge there once lived a man:

An investor.

An oracle.

A kind human.

A Warren Buffett.

Moses Kurungtoe