OFFICER AT SNEED CAPITAL MANAGEMENT. GOOD TO SEE YOU, MY FRIEND. HOW ARE YOU? >> I'M WELL. THANK YOU. >> I WANT TO BEGIN BY ASKING HOW DID MR. BUFFET STRIKE YOU? IT WAS A WEEKEND OF SOME SENTIMENTALITY, AS CHARLIE MUNGER WAS REMEMBERED. HOW DID MR. BUFFET STRIKE YOU? >> WELL, HE HAS BEEN SUCH A GENEROUS AND BRILLIANT AND WISE MAN IN MY LIFE THAT -- THAT THERE IS HARDLY ANYTHING THAT HE CAN DO THAT -- THAT DISAPPOINTS ME. HE'S 93 YEARS OLD. HE JUST HAD HIS CLOSEST FRIEND AND HIS CLOSEST BUSINESS CONFIDANT PASS, AND HE'S FEELING THE EFFECTS OF THAT. AND CHARLIE, THEY STARTED THE MEETING OUT WITH A BUNCH OF CHARLIE WHIT OF THE PAST YEARS, AND YOU COULDN'T HELP BUT BE EMOTIONAL ABOUT IT. IT WAS NEAR THE END OF AN ERA. >> IT WAS CLEAR IN THE SUB TEXT THAT GREG ABLE IS ASSUMING A MORE IMPORTANT ROLE INTERNALLY. HE'S THE DEZ SIGNATED SUCCESSOR. DID YOU FEEL THAT WAY? >> YES. HE WILL BE THE CEO OF BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY, THE PRIMARY ASSET ALLOCATOR AMONG BUYING WHOLE COMPANIES VERSUS PUTTING MORE TOWARD STOCKS, ET CETERA, WHICH WAS KIND OF A SURPRISE TO US. WE THOUGHT THE LAST TEN YEARS OR SO WOULD BE A PROCESS OF TURNING MORE OF THE REINS IN COMPANY SELECTION TO TOM COMBS AND TED WESSLER. WE WONDERED ABOUT THAT, AND WE GOT THAT QUESTION ANSWERED FOR US. BUT IT WILL BE A DIFFERENT COMPANY. IT'S A WONDERFUL LARGE CONGLOMERATE THAT IS CLOSELY TIED TO THE UNITED STATES ECONOMY. AND IF YOU WANT A WONDERFUL COMPANY CLOSELY TIED TO THE UNITED STATES ECONOMY, IT WILL BE A GOOD INVESTMENT FOR YOU THE NEXT TEN YEARS. >> AND, OF COURSE, WE SHOULD NOT EVEN SUGGEST THAT MR. BUFFET IS ANYWHERE CLOSE TO FINISHED YET. HE IS AN AMAZING LEADER, AMAZING STAMINA AND, OF COURSE, IS STILL FULLY IN CHARGE HERE. SO LET'S TALK ABOUT THEIR BIG CASH PILE. $180 BILLION, HEADING TO $200 BILLION. WHAT SHOULD THEY DO WITH IT? THERE IS SOME -- WOULD YOU AS A SHAREHOLDER LIKE TO SEE THEM PAY A DIVIDEND, OR WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE THEM MAKE A BIG ACQUISITION OR WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE THEM BUY BACK SHARES? >> WE HAVE NO INTEREST IN THE DIVIDEND. IT'S FINE TO HAVE THEM BUY BACK SHARES. BUT YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO THINK ABOUT BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY, DO AS I DO, NOT AS I SAY BECAUSE WARREN BUFFET IS A SUPER NICE GUY. HE HAS ABSOLUTELY NO INTEREST IN OFFENDING PEOPLE. BUT IF YOU LOOK AT WHAT HE'S DOING, HE IS AS BEARISH AS HE EVER GETS. I READ RIGHT BETWEEN THE LINES RIGHT FROM THE BEGINNING AT THE MEETING ON SATURDAY. I WAS THERE SITTING IN THE AUDIENCE, AND I THOUGHT, OKAY, HUGE CASH POSITION, TRIMMED HIS APPLE POSITION. IT ISN'T -- HE'S NIBBLING ON SOMETHING BELOW THE SURFACE THEY HAVEN'T ANNOUNCED YET. BUT BASICALLY, HE IS WAITING UNTIL THE NEXT 40% DECLINE IN THE STOCK MARKET TO APPLY MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF CAPITAL AT BARGAIN PRICES AND THINGS THAT ARE LARGE ENOUGH TO BE MEANINGFUL TO THIS COMPANY AT THE SIZE IT IS NOW. >> SO YOU JUST USED THE PHRASE, THIS IS AS BEARISH, I BELIEVE YOU SAID, AS I HAVE EVER SEEN HIM. SHOULD -- IS THAT REALLY THE RIGHT CHARACTERIZATION? OR IS IT, RATHER, THAT HE THINKS THE MARKET IS TOO HIGHLY PRICED FOR HIM TO GO IN IN A BIG WAY AND PUT FRESH CAPITAL TO WORK? IN OTHER WORDS, IS IT SO MUCH A BEARISH CALL AS IT IS A REJECTION OF THE IDEA THAT THIS IS AN OPPORTUNISTIC TIME TO INVEST? >> TYLER, YOU HAVE ASKED A GREAT QUESTION. SO I'M GOING TO ANSWER THIS IN KIND OF AN ODD WAY. IN 1969, HE PIVOTED FROM BEING PRIMARILY A QUANTITATIVE BEN GRAHAM VALUE GUY TO BEING MORE OF A CHARLIE MUNGER QUALITATIVE GUY, RIGHT? GET A REASONABLE PRICE ON A GREAT COMPANY, AND HE SAID BACK IN '67, '68, '69 THAT THE QUANTITATIVE IDEAS THAT HE USED TO LIKE TO BUY WERE COMBED AND RE-COMBED. THAT WAS HIS LETTER TO PARTNERS. AND THIS YEAR, THIS LAST YEAR, HE SAID THAT -- THAT THE KIND OF THINGS THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO DO HAVE BEEN ENDLESSLY PICKED OVER. SO THAT -- THAT IS CODE FOR WE THINK THE MARKET IS EXPENSIVE. WE'RE NOT IN ANY HURRY. WE WILL WAIT. AND, REMEMBER, HE'S TALKED CONSTANTLY FOR 10 TO 15 YEARS THAT THE BIGGER BERKSHIRE GETS, THE MORE IMMATT LIMITS HIS
