What an extraordinary career Warren Buffett has had. He built one of the greatest companies in American history, compounded capital for generations of shareholders and perhaps most importantly, earned a level of trust over a lifetime that very few business leaders ever achieve. Buffett and Munger made Berkshire’s annual meeting a place where shareholders could hear directly how they thought for hours at a time, year after year, whether times were good or bad. In many ways, it was the long-form shareholder communication model before we had a name for it, and I think that consistency was an important part of the trust they built.
That is something we have consciously tried to build on at Strive. We joke about leading in “podcasters per share,” but there is a serious principle underneath it: shareholders should have regular access to how management thinks, not just when things are going well. Berkshire understood that long before most companies did.
Buffett and I certainly do not see eye to eye on Bitcoin. But I really don’t care. Those of us building the next generation of Bitcoin-focused companies can learn an enormous amount from Berkshire about thinking in decades, allocating capital, building a lasting institution, and earning shareholder trust through both performance and a willingness to let shareholders understand how you think. We may be applying those principles within an entirely different monetary framework, but the principles themselves endure.
An extraordinary legacy and a life’s work worth remembering. Job well done.