“Trade should not be a weapon.”

Warren Buffett

Warren Buffett presided over what may be his last annual meeting this Saturday. Seated with his customary Cherry Coke, he dispensed wisdom on everything from tariffs to patience in investing.

Buffett on Tariffs

Warren is dead set against tariffs and trade wars. Instead, he’d rather have us specialize and buy the rest from abroad.

“In the United States, we should be looking to trade with the rest of the world and we should be doing what we do best and they should do what they do best,” he said.

Warren is my idol, but I have to disagree with him here. Those tariffs give us leverage we wouldn’t otherwise have.

With that leverage, we can get better terms of trade. This will let us sell more to other countries, making us richer.

Warren also points out that if other countries feel like they’re being treated unfairly, our relationship with them will go down the drain. Right now, a lot of countries are probably feeling that way.

“I don’t think it’s good to design a world where a few countries say, ‘ha ha ha ha, we’ve won’ and other countries are envious,” Warren added.

I’m with Warren on this one. Any trade deals we make have to be mutually beneficial, or the deal’s not going to happen.

We should be aiming for zero tariffs on our goods and zero tariffs on foreign ones, even Steven. We may have to make an exception for critical items like medicine, but that’s it.

Why He’s Sitting on $335 Billion in Cash

Right now, Warren is sitting on a mountain of cash: $335 billion worth of Treasuries. So why isn’t he investing this money?

It comes down to a lack of good opportunities. Most stocks aren’t cheap, despite a slight drop off in markets this year.

“Things get extraordinarily attractive very occasionally,” Warren explained.

On my own microscopic scale, I can relate to what Warren is dealing with.

So far, I’ve only made one startup investment this year. This is way below my usual pace. In a typical year, I might already have 3-5.

But I just haven’t seen a lot of great opportunities this year. Instead, I’ve seen a ton of startups going after smallish markets and raising at huge valuations.

So I’m content to sit tight. Good opportunities will come along eventually.

“We’re running a business which is very, very, very opportunistic,” Warren added.

My corner of the investment world is a lot different from Warren’s, but patience is still critical.

Wrap-Up

Since I was a teenager, I looked up to Buffett. He was wise, independent, and of course rich. All the things I wanted to be.

I’m sad that he’s stepping down as CEO. It’s the end of an era, like when Michael Jordan retired.

But it also shows Warren’s wisdom. He’s going out on top, not being carried out.

Warren will remain as chairman, so we may see him at next year’s meeting. Fingers crossed!

This is part one of a four part series that will run through the end of the week. Pop in tomorrow for more wisdom from Buffett!

More on investing:

Buffett’s Annual Letter

The 2024 Berkshire Annual Meeting in Five Days: Day 1

My Biggest Lesson from Four Years Angel Investing

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