Key Quotes from 1981 Shareholder Letter

1. "Our belief is that, in aggregate, those undistributed and, therefore, unrecorded earnings will be translated into tangible value for Berkshire shareholders just as surely as if subsidiaries we control had earned, retained and reported similar earnings."

2. "Regardless of the impact upon immediately reportable earnings, we would rather buy 10% of Wonderful Business T at X per share than 100% of T at 2X per share. Most corporate managers prefer just the reverse, and have no shortage of stated rationales for their behavior."

3. "In the long run, managements stressing accounting appearance over economic substance usually achieve little of either."

4. "If something's not worth doing at all, it's not worth doing well."

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Source: Full Letter