Warren Buffett's Interview With Charlie Rose: "Bought $12 Billion of Common Stocks Since Election"

Charlie Rose recently sat down with both Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway as well as Bill Gates of Microsoft. 

They started off talking about the giving pledge and philanthropy and they've been surprised at the overwhelming participation. 

On business, Buffett noted that it's imperative that he be able to know and understand the business and to stay within that sphere of competence.  Of his two younger managers (Ted Weschler and Todd Combs), he notes, "I have two people who themselves have different circles of competence."  They weren't chosen because of that, but it's nice to have a huge circle he says.

He says it's harder to find acquisitions mainly because of the size of Berkshire these days.  On how he finds them, he might get a call, he might be thinking about certain areas.  Occasionally, he decides to act.

One key takeaway from the interview was that Buffett said,"We've bought $12 billion net of common stocks since the election.  (Ted and Todd) have probably bought some too." 

When asked by Rose about his purchase of airline stocks last year, Buffett said it was largely his decision to do so.

The conversation then shifted to allocation of time and Gates poignantly noted that, "You control your time.  Sitting and thinking might be a much higher priority.  It's not a proxy of seriousness that you fill every minute of your schedule."

Buffett added, "I can't buy time" and Rose noted it's the most precious resource.

Buffett thinks a 4% growth rate that the Trump Administration is targeting is pretty high and in actuality, a 2% rate would be fantastic and could potentially be possible.

Embedded below is the video of Charlie Rose's interview with Warren Buffett:

Seth Klarman Interview With Charlie Rose

A few months back, Charlie Rose interviewed Baupost Group's legendary investor Seth Klarman. Just yesterday, we posted up notes from Seth Klarman's Margin of Safety so we figured this was a very appropriate follow up.

The video interview starts with talk about his nonprofit "Facing History" for the first 18 minutes or so. After that, they shift topics to Klarman's book, Margin of Safety.

One interesting tidbit from the conversation is when Klarman contrasted his investing style to that of Warren Buffett's. Baupost's leading man says that he buys "cigar butts" at cheap prices. Warren Buffett used to also do this. The difference between the two legends is that Klarman stayed focused on cigar butts while Buffett's process morphed into buying great companies at great prices and then into paying so-so prices for great companies.

Appearances and interviews by Klarman in public are rare, so needless to say this is a must-watch. Embedded below is Charlie Rose's interview with Seth Klarman:



If you missed it, be sure to check out notes from Seth Klarman's Margin of Safety.

Bridgewater's Ray Dalio Interview With Charlie Rose

Late last year Ray Dalio, the founder of hedge fund behemoth Bridgewater Associates, sat down for his first interview with Charlie Rose. He talked about Bridgewater's culture, investment process, and more.

Embedded below is Ray Dalio's interview with Charlie Rose for those who may have missed it (email readers click the link to watch):



We've posted up other resources from Bridgewater such as Ray Dalio's principles.

Pershing Square's Bill Ackman Video Interview With Charlie Rose (From 4/24/09)

Bill Ackman recently sat down with Charlie Rose and here is the video of the entire interview. Rose's other guests in this chat include Andrew Ross Sorkin, Joseph Stiglitz, and more. (Email readers will have to come to the blog to view the video).

Enjoy:

Bill Ackman's (Pershing Square) Recent Interview With Charlie Rose

Great commentary from Bill Ackman of Pershing Square Capital Management from a recent Charlie Rose interview. Hat tip to Earnings Breakout for finding it. (Note: Email readers will have to come to the blog to view the embedded video).