Liberty

This begs the question though, if it's so obvious, why aren't most people here doing something like that?

Probably mid-high teens maybe? Low 20s? Thanks, that's interesting. The leverage is actually making a bigger difference than I expected; I thought that the heavy concentration into your very best ideas was in itself a bigger part of the return. Though I suppose that it still is, just in a different way: You need to be extremely confident to lever things up, and you probably can't get to that point with a diversified portfolio. Did you start out investing like that, passing on anything that wasn't sure enough and then going very concentrated and levered? Or did you start with a more conventional approach to investing and over time you evolved that style because it suits your strenghts?

Since this thread has turned into a Q&A with Eric (which I really appreciate, btw! :) ), here's my question for Eric: What would you estimate your record would have been without the use of leverage?

MidAmerican has made huge investments in solar and wind power.

+28,107.42 :P

I used Google's Image Search, of course (I did it a few days ago because I was curious). Who just randomly happens to know what the real Arnold Rothstein looks like :) But I expect that this is based on someone (can't remember whom) calling him Eric Rothstein a few months back when he was saying that he's going all in on BAC, and then linking that great Boardwalk Empire speech by the fictional AR.

Arnold Rothstein.

Same here. Oh well, patience is a virtue...

A lot of what Buffett has been talking about for years.

My father mentioned something about the DOW reaching new highs, but that's about it. Nobody in my circles interested in stocks.

Great book on Chuck Feeney, I highly recommend it: http://www.amazon.com/The-Billionaire-Who-Wasnt-Fortune/dp/B001E95J70/

Very nice, thanks!

Found this randomly, so don't have much info on context, but it's Warren doing what he does best: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9Ny6pjCS-8

Ha! Thought by that reasoning if KO starts running into trouble, DVA could start doing worse too :)

Is the letter usually put up on Berkshire's site right after 4 PM, or later in the evening?

I don't know what is more likely, but I know what I would like: No dividend increase and big buybacks. That way, the market might react badly to the dividend, allowing buybacks at lower prices :)

+1 :D

My wife has been making fun of my anticipation for it. Ha! Mine too. :-[

I can't wait to get the letter. It's like xmas in March!

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-27/canada-losing-debt-halo-as-bull-market-housing-peaks-with-carney.html

They sure went out of their way to make the whole piece a big ad hominem on Ackman that covers very little else.

http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2013/02/bill-ackman-daniel-loeb-bike-ride

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-27/gold-miners-come-clean-on-costs-after-lost-6-years-commodities.html

Found this via PlanMaestro's twitter (thanks!); As someone who was too young in 1997 to see all this first hand, it was very interesting to see how the mania was seen at the time (and not just in retrospect).

Found this randomly via a youtube recommendation, and I remember seeing it a while ago, and iirc it's a BBC production. Most here have probably seen it, but if some haven't, it's always fun to watch Buffett.