14 Great Quotes from Warren Buffett

“Always bear in mind that your own resolution to success is more important than any other one thing.”

—Abraham Lincoln

I got to spend some quality time with my daughter this past Thanksgiving weekend. And I’m real thankful for Lauren Joan Kelly.

The great granddaughter of 2 doctors and the granddaughter of another, Lauren is a freshman at Fordham University in the Bronx, NY, where she is studying finance at the Gabelli School of Business. Lauren told me about a school club she recently joined, Smart Woman Securities organization.

One of the perks of the club is a chance to meet Warren Buffett. (Hope it happens for Lauren.) If you know anything about money, you’ve heard of Buffett. The 84-year-old chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway is famous for his unmatched investing skills and business prowess.

With an estimated net worth of $67 billion, Buffett is the second richest person in America; Bill Gates is first at $81 billion.

Here are 14 very thoughtful quotes from the Oracle of Omaha.

1. "You only have to do a very few things right in your life so long as you don't do too many things wrong."

2. "What we learn from history is that people don't learn from history."

3. "It takes 20 years to build a reputation and 5 minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently."

4. "It's better to hang out with people better than you. Pick out associates whose behavior is better than yours and you'll drift in that direction."

5. “Tell me who your heroes are and I’ll tell you how you’ll turn out to be.”

6. "If you aren't willing to own a stock for 10 years, don't even think about owning it for 10 minutes.

7. "I will tell you how to become rich. Be fearful when others are greedy. Be greedy when others are fearful."

8. "I tell college students, when you get to be my age you will be successful if the people who you hope to have love you, do love you."

9. “Only when the tide goes out do you discover who's been swimming naked.”

10. “Wall Street is the only place that people ride to in a Rolls Royce to get advice from those who take the subway.”

11. “Of the billionaires I have known, money just brings out the basic traits in them. If they were jerks before they had money, they are simply jerks with a billion dollars.”

12. “It's never paid to bet against America. We come through things, but it’s not always a smooth ride.”

13. “What the wise do in the beginning, fools do in the end.”

14. “I try to invest in businesses that are so wonderful that an idiot can run them. Because sooner or later, one will.”

Sources: The Motley Fool, Brainy Quote, ForbesImage (cropped) via Flickr user Aaron Friedman/Creative Commons License