Warren Buffett's Corporation: Reconnecting Owners and Managers

Abstract

Warren Buffett, for many years the wealthiest financier in the United States, is once again in the news, both for making money in the midst of the credit crisis, and as the subject of a major biography. Perhaps the best way to begin understanding Buffett's significance for American capitalism, however, is not through journalism or biography, but through Buffett's own thinking and writing about business. The recently issued THE ESSAYS OF WARREN BUFFETT: LESSONS FOR CORPORATE AMERICA, selected, arranged and introduced by Lawrence Cunningham, provides a marvelous introduction to Buffett's thinking on investing, corporate governance, and many other aspects of business life. This book review essay summarizes some of the major themes in Buffett's thought, and argues that, in a time of financial abstraction and shifting risk, there is much to be said for insisting on plain speaking and taking responsibility.

Keywords: Buffett, Cunningham, Business, Finance, Corporations, Berkshire, Accounting