Some Warren Buffett wisdom on his last day leading Berkshire Hathaway

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The advice that legendary investor Warren Buffett offered on investing and life over the years helped earn him legions of followers who eagerly read his annual letters and filled an arena in Omaha every year to listen to him at Berkshire Hathaway's annual meetings.

Buffett's last day as CEO is Wednesday after six decades of building up the Berkshire conglomerate. He'll remain chairman, but Greg Abel will take over leadership.

Here's a collection of some of Buffett's most famous quotes from over the years:

“Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful.”

That's how Buffett summed up his investing approach of buying out-of-favor stocks and companies when they were selling for less than he estimated they were worth.

He also urged investors to stick with industries they understand that fall within their “circle of competence” and offered this classic maxim: “Rule No. 1: Never lose money. Rule No. 2: Never forget Rule No. 1.”

“After they first obey all rules, I then want employees to ask themselves whether they are willing to have any contemplated act appear the next day on the front page of their local paper to be read by their spouses, children and friends with the reporting done by an informed and critical reporter.

“If they follow this test, they need not fear my other message to them: Lose money for the firm and I will be understanding; lose a shred of reputation for the firm and I will be ruthless.”

That's the ethical standard Buffett explained to a Congressional committee in 1991 that he would apply as he cleaned up the Wall Street investment firm Salomon Brothers. He has reiterated the newspaper test many times since over the years.

“You only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out.”

Many companies might do well when times are good and the economy is growing, but Buffett told investors that a crisis always reveals whether businesses are making sound decisions.

“Who you associate with is just enormously important. Don't expect that you'll make every decision right on that. But you are going to have your life progress in the general direction of the people you work with, that you admire, that become your friends.”

Buffett always told young people that they should try to hang out with people who they feel are better than them because that will help improve their lives. He said that's especially true when choosing a spouse, which might be the most important decision in life.

“Our unwavering conclusion: never bet against America.”

Buffett has always remained steadfast in his belief in the American capitalist system. He wrote in 2021 that “there has been no incubator for unleashing human potential like America. Despite some severe interruptions, our country’s economic progress has been breathtaking.”

FILE - Warren Buffett, Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, puts pen to paper during a game of bridge following the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting in Omaha, Neb., Sunday, May 5, 2019. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)

FILE - Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, opens a bottle of Cherry Coke during a game of bridge outside Berkshire-owned Borsheims jewelry store in Omaha, Neb., Sunday, May 6, 2018. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)

FILE- In this May 7, 2018, file photo, Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett smiles during an interview in Omaha, Neb.. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)

FILE - Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, gestures as he plays bridge outside Berkshire-owned Borsheims jewelry store in Omaha, Neb., Sunday, May 6, 2018. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)

FILE - Warren Buffett, Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, speaks to reporters before presiding over the annual shareholders meeting in Omaha, Neb., May 4, 2019. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)

U.S. stocks are slipping in afternoon trading Wednesday as Wall Street closes out a banner year for markets driven by both optimism and uncertainty.

The S&P 500 was down 0.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 159 points, or 0.3%, as of 12:22 p.m. Eastern time. The Nasdaq composite fell 0.3%. The stock indexes are coming off a three-day losing streak.

Trading is expected to be light ahead of the New Year’s Day holiday, when markets will be closed. With just one trading day left before the year ends, most big investors have closed out their positions for the year and trading volume has been very thin.

Even after their mini post-Christmas pullback, the indexes are on pace for strong gains for the year.

The S&P 500, which set 39 record highs in 2025, is up about 17% for the year, it’s third straight double-digit annual gain. The Nasdaq is up nearly 21% and the Dow has gained 13.3%.

Wall Street’s 2025 gains came as investors embraced the optimism surrounding artificial intelligence and its potential for boosting profits across almost all sectors. But the market had no shortage of turbulence along the way amid President Donald Trump’s on-again, off-again tariffs on imported goods worldwide and uncertainty over the trajectory of interest rates.

The S&P 500 plunged nearly 5% on April 3, it’s worst day since the 2020 COVID crash. It fell another 6% a day later, after China’s response raised fears of an escalating trade war. Worries also gripped the U.S. Treasury market.

Trump eventually put his tariffs on pause and negotiated agreements with countries to lower his proposed tariff rates on their imports, helping calm investors’ nerves.

Strong profit reports from companies and three cuts to interest rates by the Federal Reserve also helped drive markets higher.

Still, the AI frenzy that drove markets in 2025 did not come without concerns. Chief among them is the worry that artificial intelligence technology may not produce enough profits and productivity to make all the investment worth it. That could keep the pressure on AI stocks like Nvidia and Broadcom, which were responsible for much of the market’s gains this year.

And it’s not just AI stocks that critics say are too pricey. Stocks across the market still look expensive after their prices climbed faster than profits.

On top of concerns that stocks are overvalued, the ongoing impact of the wide-ranging U.S.-led trade war threatens to add more fuel to inflation in the U.S. Despite the Fed cutting rates over concerns about the labor market, inflation remains solidly above the central bank’s 2% target.

Wall Street is betting that the Fed will hold interest rates steady at its next meeting in January.

Traders got an update on the state of the job market Wednesday. The Labor Department reported that fewer Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week with layoffs remaining low despite a weakening labor market.

All of the sectors in the S&P 500 were in the red Wednesday, with technology stocks among the biggest drags on the market. Broadcom fell 0.7% and Micron Technology was 1.8% lower.

Restaurant chains and other companies reliant on discretionary consumer spending also weighed on the market. Starbucks fell 1.1%.

Treasury yields were mostly higher in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.14% from 4.13% late Tuesday. The yield on the two-year Treasury, which moves more closely with expectations for what the Federal Reserve will do, rose to 3.46% from 3.45%.

Trading in precious metals continued to be volatile as the year winds down. Silver swung back to a big loss, giving back 8.8% after Tuesday's gain of more than 10%. Following Friday's 7.7% jump, silver lost nearly 9% on Monday. It's still up more than 140% this year.

Gold was down 1.1%, but is still up about 64% in 2025.

Elsewhere, global stock markets including Germany, Japan and South Korea were closed Wednesday for the New Year's holidays, while trading was mixed in those that remained open.

U.S. benchmark crude slipped 0.2% to $57.85 per barrel. The price of Brent crude, the international standard, fell 0.2% to $61.23 per barrel.

Hajime Moriyasu, the head coach of Japanese national soccer team, rings the bell during a ceremony to mark the last trading day of the year on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)