Comparison of Olam vs Wilmar

Recently, commodity stocks are in the limelight.. because it is continuously affected by the global turn of events...

I saw in hardwarezone that people are looking to buy into Wilmar.. and so i would like to give my second thoughts and compare Olam vs Wilmar...

WILMAR

Fundamentals

The cashflows, net profits are inconsistent and dividend yield is low at 1+% if you divide the dividend per share with the share price accordingly.

Another thing is the "Current Liabilities", which i highlighted up there. It's astonishing 11x of its Annual Net Profit! 

The Debt is part of the "Bank term loans/short term/pre-shipment loans/trust receipts/bill discounts" and part of it is used as pledge... but i don't see a clearer picture and would likely avoid it.

Technical

Wilmar seems to be still stuck in a consolidation phase and shows no sign of clear breakout towards the top. Discretion is the better part of valour here...

Let's look at Olam then...

OLAM

Fundamental

I am able to obtain Olam 10 years financial data from its website and it really open my eyes wide...

It's amazing to see how their sales has been so consistently increasing... and ROE at 21.3% annually!

Olam really looks like what Warren Buffett will invest in to me...

Technical

Olam is on a steady uptrend now... but current markets are facing a slight pull-back from the Europe Woes (germany not doing well, china + japan tensions grow blah blah blah...).

Despite all that, a good entry would be around $1.95 to $2 :)

So what do you think of my comparison of both Olam and Wilmar? Any comments is deeply appreciated and can allow more ideas to be shared around. :)

Hope you like my post and can do me a favour by "Like"-ing my facebook page at www.facebook.com/kissinvesting. Thanks & HUAT AH!

Recently Declared Dividends

Singapore investors are generally more conservative and prefer to go for safe and dividend paying stocks such as REITs. In addition, they like to DIY by following broker reports.

Thus, there is a broker report i have scanned through and find it relevant for all of you out there: Download it here -> http://www.mediafire.com/view/?lfa27dshmxhjjiu

As a kickstart, i believe you should scroll down to see the stocks by dividend yield. For your personal investment, you can look at stable companies paying rich dividend yield.

*Beware of companies having too high a dividend payout (%), they may be selling off assets and transferring the wealth to the shareholders via a special dividend. OR, they are paying too much dividends and their business is hard to cope with such a payout.

3 Simple Investing Lessons From Peter Lynch

I chanced upon a good article from Motley Fool and i am here to share with you all:

Just like my blog name [KISS Investing] suggests, investing can be Simple & Profitable.

Peter Lynch put together one of the greatest investing track records of all time, while serving as the portfolio manager of Fidelity's Magellan Fund. An ordinary investor who put $1,000 in the fund on the day Lynch took over would have had roughly $28,000 by the time Lynch stepped down 13 years later.

Despite those truly remarkable returns, Lynch was a passionate believer in the notion that the normal investor can pick stocks better than the average Wall Street professional. In fact, he argued that the retail investor had numerous advantages that might allow him or her to outperform both the experts and the market in general.

You need to do certain things
Lynch did not say, however, that it would be easy for retail investors to outperform. He believed they could do the job very well, but that they had to do certain things. Below are three simple lessons from Lynch that will assist ordinary investors in their quest to beat the market:

1. Do the work. 
Peter Lynch is very well known, of course, for recommending that investors "buy what they know." According to this principle, investors may want to invest in that busy restaurant on the corner that always seems crowded on Friday night.

Perhaps less well-known about Lynch is that he expected investors to understand their businesses before putting their money in them. In his classic book One Up On Wall Street, he recommended that you should "never invest in any company before you've done the homework on the company's earnings prospects, financial condition, competitive position, plans for expansion, and so forth."

Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN) provides a great example here, I think. Many of us are dedicated users of the online retailer, so why wouldn't we want to invest our money in the company as well? Before doing so, however, investors might want to know why the company's profit margins are so low, and how the company intends to increase those margins over time. Finally, investors should feel comfortable with Amazon's valuation too before buying shares in it.

Lynch was an indefatigable worker himself, who felt that -- borrowing from Edison – "investing is ninety-nine percent perspiration." In general, he believed that you need to "know what you own" and just thinking it will go up "doesn't count." As a result of this belief, Lynch figured that a part-time stock picker probably only has time to follow eight to 12 companies. And he warned that "if you don't study any companies, you have the same success buying stocks as you do in a poker game if you bet without looking at your cards."

2. Use your edge. 
Lynch strongly believed that everyone has an edge that can allow them to outperform the experts. The key is to utilize your edge by investing in companies or industries that you understand well.

He recommended that individuals identify three to five companies that they could know very well. You could study them; lecture on them; and understand their stories intimately. Ultimately, Lynch felt that ordinary folks need to discover their personal edge, whether it's a profession or hobby or even something else, like being a parent.

When I started out as an investor, Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) was a stock I felt I had a considerable edge with. My grandfather had worked for the company for over 30 years, and my grandmother held quite a few shares of the company. As a kid, I always talked with her about new products and challenges facing the business. When I first began buying stocks, I always felt extremely comfortable having P&G in my portfolio. Each of us probably knows a company or two like that, and we must use that edge to our advantage.

3. Be patient. 
Being patient and investing for the long term should be the simplest investing lesson of all. Sadly, it's one of those things that is easier said than done. In 1960, the average holding period for a stock was eight years; nowadays, it's just four months.

Lynch often said that he had no idea what the market would do in one or two years. But he was confident about what stocks would do 10, 20, or 30 years from now. He truly believed that time was on the side of the retail investor, and that's why he was an enthusiastic proponent of long-term investing.

And yes, he was aware of some long time frames where the market didn't do well. In an interview with Frontline, he referred to the period from 1966 to 1982 when the market was flat for the most part. But Lynch noted that you'd have still received dividends from your stocks. He also felt that corporate profits tend to trend upward, and that investors would eventually be rewarded for that.

McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) is perhaps a good illustration of a stock that will outperform today's market. Over the past decade, the S&P 500 has been more or less flat. Going forward, however, McDonald's -- with its growing dividend and overseas expansion -- is likely to perform very well for long-term investors. 
Similarly, I'd be very surprised if ExxonMobil(NYSE: XOM) -- with its growing dividend and rock-solid balance sheet -- didn't do well over the next decade regardless of the performance of the overall market.

Lynch believed that it "pays to be patient, and to own successful companies." He understood that there are times when there doesn't appear to be a correlation between a company's operations and its stock price. Lynch also knew, however, that "in the long term, there is a 100 percent correlation between the success of the company and the success of its stock. This … is the key to making money."

Simple is as simple does
Peter Lynch once said, "The simpler it is, the better I like it." In a world of faster trading and ever-increasing flows of information, keeping it simple might be the ultimate edge for the ordinary investor. Always remember, though, that simple doesn't necessarily mean easy. I know I have to work a lot harder on all three of those "simple" lessons mentioned above.

Profit-Taking after QE3 Rally, 18 Sept 2012

If you are planning to get into the stock markets thinking that there is money to be made, you are 50% right and 50% wrong.

"WHat do you think by That!!?" you exclaimed...

Easy Peasy... When i say you are 50% right... I mean the markets will end much higher than now at Dec 2012 and patient value investors will be rewarded!

When i say you are 50% wrong... You will see red or have your stocks get stuck in the next couple of days because of the 2 charts below:

After the QE3 Effect, majority indexes are showing a turn-around as news focus on the "Bad side" again..

And taking the top 20 volume stocks as a yardstick, many stocks have fallen off their intra-day highs; signifying profit-taking and sellers > buyers.

Thus, if you are a short-term trader, i suggest you lock in your gains now :D

Hope you like my post and can do me a favour by "Like"-ing my facebook page at www.facebook.com/kissinvesting. Thanks & HUAT AH!

Sarin Tech 13/09/2012

With all the excitement going on for the TOP 20 volume, a "fallen phoenix" appears to be reaching a pivot point now..

I have taken a look at their financials and its all positive!
[High Sales gain, High Net Profit Margin, Niche market providing the diamond manufacturing sets]

I shall stay on the sideline first and watch carefully on whether it will reach a consolidation before picking up some of them.

21 Ways Rich People Think Differently from the Poor or Average

This is a very good article worth reading, and hope to inspire all of you out there! :)

World's richest woman Gina Rinehart is enduring a media firestorm over an article in which she takes the "jealous" middle class to task for "drinking, or smoking and socializing" rather than working to earn their own fortune. 

What if she has a point? 

Steve Siebold, author of "How Rich People Think," spent nearly three decades interviewing millionaires around the world to find out what separates them from everyone else. 

It had little to do with money itself, he told Business Insider. It was about their mentality.

"[The middle class] tells people to be happy with what they have," he said. "And on the whole, most people are steeped in fear when it comes to money."

Flickr / C. Pajunen1. Average people think MONEY is the root of all evil. Rich people believe POVERTY is the root of all evil.

"The average person has been brainwashed to believe rich people are lucky or dishonest," Siebold writes.

That's why there's a certain shame that comes along with "getting rich" in lower-income communities.

"The world class knows that while having money doesn't guarantee happiness, it does make your life easier and more enjoyable." 

2. Average people think selfishness is a vice. Rich people think selfishness is a virtue.

"The rich go out there and try to make themselves happy. They don't try to pretend to save the world," Siebold told Business Insider. 

The problem is that middle class people see that as a negative––and it's keeping them poor, he writes.

"If you're not taking care of you, you're not in a position to help anyone else. You can't give what you don't have."

Getty Images3. Average people have a lottery mentality. Rich people have an action mentality.

"While the masses are waiting to pick the right numbers and praying for prosperity, the great ones are solving problems," Siebold writes.

"The hero [middle class people] are waiting for may be God, government, their boss or their spouse. It's the average person's level of thinking that breeds this approach to life and living while the clock keeps ticking away." 

4. Average people think the road to riches is paved with formal education. Rich people believe in acquiring specific knowledge.

"Many world-class performers have little formal education, and have amassed their wealth through the acquisition and subsequent sale of specific knowledge," he writes. 

"Meanwhile, the masses are convinced that master's degrees and doctorates are the way to wealth, mostly because they are trapped in the linear line of thought that holds them back from higher levels of consciousness...The wealthy aren't interested in the means, only the end."

I Love Lucy screencap5. Average people long for the good old days. Rich people dream of the future.

"Self-made millionaires get rich because they're willing to bet on themselves and project their dreams, goals and ideas into an unknown future," Siebold writes. 

"People who believe their best days are behind them rarely get rich, and often struggle with unhappiness and depression."

6. Average people see money through the eyes of emotion. Rich people think about money logically.

"An ordinarily smart, well-educated and otherwise successful person can be instantly transformed into a fear-based, scarcity driven thinker whose greatest financial aspiration is to retire comfortably," he writes.

"The world class sees money for what it is and what it's not, through the eyes of logic. The great ones know money is a critical tool that presents options and opportunities." 

7. Average people earn money doing things they don't love. Rich people follow their passion.

"To the average person, it looks like the rich are working all the time," Siebold says. "But one of the smartest strategies of the world class is doing what they love and finding a way to get paid for it."

On the other hand, middle class take jobs they don't enjoy "because they need the money and they've been trained in school and conditioned by society to live in a linear thinking world that equates earning money with physical or mental effort." 

8. Average people set low expectations so they're never disappointed. Rich people are up for the challenge.

"Psychologists and other mental health experts often advise people to set low expectations for their life to ensure they are not disappointed," Siebold writes.

"No one would ever strike it rich and live their dreams without huge expectations." 

BarackObamadotcom via YouTube9. Average people believe you have to DO something to get rich. Rich people believe you have to BE something to get rich.

"That's why people like Donald Trump go from millionaire to nine billion dollars in debt and come back richer than ever," he writes. 

"While the masses are fixated on the doing and the immediate results of their actions, the great ones are learning and growing from every experience, whether it's a success or a failure, knowing their true reward is becoming a human success machine that eventually produces outstanding results."

10. Average people believe you need money to make money. Rich people use other people's money.

Linear thought might tell people to make money in order to earn more, but Siebold says the rich aren't afraid to fund their future from other people's pockets.

"Rich people know not being solvent enough to personally afford something is not relevant. The real question is, 'Is this worth buying, investing in, or pursuing?'" he writes. 

11. Average people believe the markets are driven by logic and strategy. Rich people know they're driven by emotion and greed.

Investing successfully in the stock market isn't just about a fancy math formula.

"The rich know that the primary emotions that drive financial markets are fear and greed, and they factor this into all trades and trends they observe," Siebold writes.

"This knowledge of human nature and its overlapping impact on trading give them strategic advantage in building greater wealth through leverage."

12. Average people live beyond their means. Rich people live below theirs.

"Here's how to live below your means and tap into the secret wealthy people have used for centuries: Get rich so you can afford to," he writes.  

"The rich live below their means, not because they're so savvy, but because they make so much money that they can afford to live like royalty while still having a king's ransom socked away for the future." 

richkidsofinstagram.tumblr.com13. Average people teach their children how to survive. Rich people teach their kids to get rich.

Rich parents teach their kids from an early age about the world of "haves" and "have-nots," Siebold says. Even he admits many people have argued that he's supporting the idea of elitism. 

He disagrees.

"[People] say parents are teaching their kids to look down on the masses because they're poor. This isn't true," he writes. "What they're teaching their kids is to see the world through the eyes of objective reality––the way society really is." 

If children understand wealth early on, they'll be more likely to strive for it later in life.

14. Average people let money stress them out. Rich people find peace of mind in wealth.

The reason wealthy people earn more wealth is that they're not afraid to admit that money can solve most problems, Siebold says.

"[The middle class] sees money as a never-ending necessary evil that must be endured as part of life. The world class sees money as the great liberator, and with enough of it, they are able to purchase financial peace of mind."

Kim Bhasin / Business Insider15. Average people would rather be entertained than educated. Rich people would rather be educated than entertained.

While the rich don't put much stock in furthering wealth through formal education, they appreciate the power of learning long after college is over, Siebold says.

"Walk into a wealthy person's home and one of the first things you'll see is an extensive library of books they've used to educate themselves on how to become more successful," he writes.

"The middle class reads novels, tabloids and entertainment magazines." 

16. Average people think rich people are snobs. Rich people just want to surround themselves with like-minded people.

The negative money mentality poisoning the middle class is what keeps the rich hanging out with the rich, he says.

"[Rich people] can't afford the messages of doom and gloom," he writes. "This is often misinterpreted by the masses as snobbery.

Labeling the world class as snobs is another way the middle class finds to feel better bout themselves and their chosen path of mediocrity."

Flickr / Wei Tchou17. Average people focus on saving. Rich people focus on earning.

Siebold theorizes that the wealthy focus on what they'll gain by taking risks, rather than how to save what they have.

"The masses are so focused on clipping coupons and living frugally they miss major opportunities," he writes.

"Even in the midst of a cash flow crisis, the rich reject the nickle and dime thinking of the masses. They are the masters of focusing their mental energy where it belongs: on the big money." 

18. Average people play it safe with money. Rich people know when to take risks.

"Leverage is the watchword of the rich," Siebold writes. 

"Every investor loses money on occasion, but the world class knows no matter what happens, they will aways be able to earn more." 

Flickr / Ibrahim Iujaz19. Average people love to be comfortable. Rich people find comfort in uncertainty.

For the most part, it takes guts to take the risks necessary to make it as a millionaire––a challenge most middle class thinkers aren't comfortable living with.

"Physical, psychological, and emotional comfort is the primary goal of the middle class mindset," Siebold writes.

World class thinkers learn early on that becoming a millionaire isn't easy and the need for comfort can be devastating. They learn to be comfortable while operating in a state of ongoing uncertainty."

20. Average people never make the connection between money and health. Rich people know money can save your life.

While the middle class squabbles over the virtues of Obamacare and their company's health plan, the super wealthy are enrolled in a super elite "boutique medical care" association, Siebold says.

"They pay a substantial yearly membership fee that guarantees them 24-hour access to a private physician who only serves a small group of members," he writes.

"Some wealthy neighborhoods have implemented this strategy and even require the physician to live in the neighborhood."

Getty Images21. Average people believe they must choose between a great family and being rich. Rich people know you can have it all.

The idea the wealth must come at the expense of family time is nothing but a "cop-out", Siebold says.

"The masses have been brainwashed to believe it's an either/or equation," he writes. "The rich know you can have anything you want if you approach the challenge with a mindset rooted in love and abundance." 

From Steve Siebold, author of "How Rich People Think."

82 Reasons We Love Warren Buffett

82 Reasons We Love Warren Buffett

Chanced upon this article on Aug 30, the 82nd Birthday of Warren Buffett (my favourite investment idol)... It's quite entertaining and I would like to share with you all :D

1. Intricate, occasionally contradictory complexity hides beneath the aw-shucks folksy charm. As a Forbes writer once put it, "Buffett is not a simple person, but he has simple tastes."

2. Many people talk about avoiding the madding crowd, but Buffett actually does it by living 1,250 miles away from Wall Street.

3. He has a fortress-like internal scorecard on all things investing, but a vulnerable, endearing external scorecard on many aspects of his personal life. See his penchant for seeking mother figures.

4. Perspective: "In the 20th century, the United States endured two world wars and other traumatic and expensive military conflicts; the Depression; a dozen or so recessions and financial panics; oil shocks; a flu epidemic; and the resignation of a disgraced president. Yet the Dow rose from 66 to 11,497."

5. He is that guy in school who tells you he may have failed the test ... only to bust the top of the curve.

6. His time frame for the long run consistently exceeds his life span.

7. Him saying it better: "Someone's sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago."

8. He's human. He fears nuclear war and his own mortality. He's frequently more adept at business relationships than personal ones. He can hold a grudge. His hero is his daddy.

9. Classic line: "Rule No.1: Never lose money. Rule No.2: Never forget rule No.1."

10. Once branded a stingy miser (rightly or wrongly), Buffett has evolved (assuming it wasn't his intention from the start) into one of the most effective philanthropists I know. After growing his potential givings at a 20% compounded rate per year, he set a plan to give most of it away.

11. Perhaps as importantly, he put ego aside and outsourced the charitable decision making to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Circle of competence at its finest.

12. "I never attempt to make money on the stock market. I buy on the assumption that they could close the market the next day and not reopen it for five years." Contrast that with computer algorithm-based trading, day trading, and some of the moves you've made in your own account.

13. Buffett's smarter than you and I, but he's kind enough to let us feel otherwise.

14. David Sokol was once an heir apparent and arguably Buffett's most trusted operations guy. But when Sokolgate erupted, Buffett stayed true to his word: "We can afford to lose money -- even a lot of money. But we can't afford to lose reputation -- even a shred of reputation."

15. "Derivatives are financial weapons of mass destruction." He said it early, and we are reminded of it often.

16. In a glimpse of the nuance that some commentators call hypocrisy, Buffett usesderivatives himself. But he does so in a way that doesn't threaten the entire financial system and explains exactly why in his annual shareholder letters.

17. He doomed himself from ever holding public office: "A public-opinion poll is no substitute for thought."

18. I like juxtaposing these two quotes: (1) "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." (2) "Wall Street is the only place that people ride to in a Rolls-Royce to get advice from those who take the subway."

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

20. He has the ability to resist the allure of the quick fix or quick buck when longer-term dynamics are at play.

21. Not sure if this quote was before or after the Internet: "Let blockheads read what blockheads wrote."

22. For those hoping to become famous and respected, he's a testament that the challenges and doubts keep coming regardless of the length of the track record. He's publicly prevailed so far.

23. An investing truism: "Price is what you pay. Value is what you get."

24. The business side of that investing truism: "Your premium brand had better be delivering something special, or it's not going to get the business."

25. He uses colorful language and analogies when drab jargon could do the trick.

26. Boring example: moat vs. competitive advantage.

27. Not-so-boring example: sex.

28. "Look at market fluctuations as your friend rather than your enemy; profit from folly rather than participate in it."

29. Classic line: "Only when the tide goes out do you discover who's been swimming naked."

30. He backs up his saying, "Our favorite holding period is forever," by keeping past-their-prime subsidiaries others would "spin off to unlock value."

31. His Robin (Charlie Munger) can kick your Batman's butt.

32. He makes loophole-free handshake deals.

33. "Risk comes from not knowing what you're doing."

34. Keep it simple, stupid, quote No. 1: "The business schools reward difficult complex behavior more than simple behavior, but simple behavior is more effective."

35. Keep it simple, stupid, quote No. 2: "There seems to be some perverse human characteristic that likes to make easy things difficult."

36. The Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A  ) (NYSE: BRK-B  ) annual meeting is an unrivaled spectacle in investing, truly living up to its billing as the Woodstock for Capitalists.

37. One of the most succinct summations of why America is great: "There are 309 million people out there that are trying to improve their lot in life. And we've got a system that allows them to do it."

38. Trash-bin-diving caution No. 1: "It's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price."

39. Trash-bin-diving caution No. 2: "Time is the friend of the wonderful company, the enemy of the mediocre."

40. He's an eternal optimist in a sound-bite culture that often rewards pessimists.

41. His shareholder letters reveal an artisan-like craftsmanship only seen when the proprietor cares deeply about his creation.

42. The contrarian credo: "We simply attempt to be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy only when others are fearful."

43. Genius fails: "When a management with a reputation for brilliance tackles a business with a reputation for bad economics, it is the reputation of the business that remains intact."

44. Like so many great thinkers, Buffett is able to ignore noise and whittle a decision down to its core variables. After he explains those variables, the decision sounds elementary.

45. Why banking can be dangerous: "When you combine ignorance and leverage, you get some pretty interesting results."

46. He allows me to see the word "Buffett" without thinking of Jimmy.

47. Buffett maintains a high thought-to-speech ratio.

48. Buffett's librarian fantasy: "If past history was all there was to the game, the richest people would be librarians."

49. He converts a deadly sin into a virtue: "You do things when the opportunities come along. I've had periods in my life when I've had a bundle of ideas come along, and I've had long dry spells. If I get an idea next week, I'll do something. If not, I won't do a damn thing."

50. Averaging 20% returns for almost half a century results in beating the S&P 500 78:1!

51. Even as he has fewer and fewer meaningful investing options because of the size of Berkshire Hathaway, he continues to wow us.

52. On a chili-dog-and-onion-ring-flavored note, Berkshire Hathaway owns Dairy Queen, my favorite fast-food chain.

53. Many of Buffett's managers were wildly successful entrepreneurs before selling out to Berkshire. Convincing successful, often headstrong, boss-less superstars to voluntarily subjugate themselves and to keep those people motivated and happy is a feat.

54. On a related note, Buffett doesn't micromanage. Good thing, with an empire this large.

55. He gets doubted again and again and again and proves the doubters wrong most of the time. Yet, you never hear him say "I told you so."

56. Well, maybe sometimes he gloats. Harvard Business School rejected him, which led him to study under his mentors Benjamin Graham and David Dodd at Columbia. His "how do you like me now?" statement: "Harvard did me a big favor by turning me down," he said. "But I haven't made any contributions to them in thanks for that."

57. He has become America's de facto investing teacher. And he's done so willingly.

58. Perhaps my favorite Buffett line: "We like things that you don't have to carry out to three decimal places. If you have to carry them out to three decimal places, they're not good ideas."

59. Not that he can't be ruthless, but Buffett tends to look for win-win situations where possible. Contrast that with the Wall Street art of "ripping the face off" of clients.

60. He's often described as a "learning machine," extending his natural abilities and allowing him to make behemoth investing decisions over the span of just hours.

61. He added to Ben Graham's teachings with the help of that learning-machine ability and Munger's counsel.

62. Here's a good place to point out that available-to-all company annual reports are the primary fuel in his learning machine. He reads them voraciously to compare and contrast companies and build his business knowledge base. See the next point.

63. When asked what the most important key to his success was, Buffett answered, "focus." His biographer Alice Schroeder elaborates: He has "focus like you have never seen on anybody else." For good or ill, Buffett's entire life has been dedicated to investing. It's much harder than he lets on.

64. Plenty of business fish in the sea: "There are all kinds of businesses that I don't understand, but that doesn't cause me to stay up at night. It just means I go on to the next one, and that's what the individual investor should do."

65. How many people can pull off being a contrarian by buying shares of Coca-Cola?

66. Even with an investing world full of Buffett students and imitators, he manages to surprise.

67. He takes every legal, ethical advantage available in the current system, but lobbies for a better system. For example, he supports higher taxes for the rich, more severe estate taxes, and a level playing field. As he puts it, "I don't like anything where the bottom 20% keep getting a poorer and poorer deal."

68. He is grateful for the advantages he has had in life -- as many of us have, he won the "ovarian lottery."

69. When he talks, E.F. Hutton listens.

70. Like many geniuses, he is frequently the confounding exception to the rule. For example, Berkshire Hathaway has never paid a dividend and only started share repurchases recently. It also doesn't split the chairman and CEO roles. And we shareholders thank him for it.

71. Buffett buys what he knows (and frequently loves), but he doesn't overpay out of affection. He has the discipline to wait decades for the right opportunity.

72. He gives credit to his direct reports.

73. Not only is Buffett a great investor and manager, he's one hell of a writer. My jealousy grows.

74. He once picked up a date in a hearse he co-owned.

75. Before having his money work for him, he worked for his money early on with a series of jobs, schemes, and ventures. These included a paper route, selling chewing gum door-to-door, a pinball business, a sales job at J.C. Penney's, caddying, marking up refurbished golf balls, and founding a horse-racing tip sheet.

76. It's very possible the house you live in is worth more than the house Buffett lives in -- the house in Omaha he bought in 1958.

77. Over the years, he has relied on a similar set of answers to oft-asked questions. That his philosophy has stayed stable throughout that time is remarkable.

78. His wealth has bought him the ultimate trophy: He does whatever he wants to do just about every single day.

79. He's the outsized calming influence a lot of us need. From his biography Snowball: "If a tornado were barreling straight toward Kiewit Plaza [where his office is], Buffett would say that things were 'never better' before mentioning the twister."

80. Anyone who can make the hyper-opinionated Charlie Munger regularly utter "I have nothing to add" must be saying something impressive.

81. When his time to step down finally comes, it will take a village (a CEO, a chairman, and multiple portfolio investors) to perform his current responsibilities.

82. That said, he fully expects this list to one day reach well into the triple digits. And I look forward to adding those lines. Happy birthday, Mr. Buffett!