Portrait of Warren Buffett
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Warren Buffett on Jeff Bezos

Admiring competitor (strong) Flip Head to head

TL;DR

Warren Buffett deeply admires Jeff Bezos's achievements, calling his success in multiple industries something close to a miracle.

Key Points

  • In 2017, he referred to his decision not to buy Amazon shares as "stupidity" during an interview.

  • He noted the remarkable feat of the Amazon CEO developing two major industries, e-commerce and cloud computing, simultaneously.

  • Buffett stated in 2018 that what Jeff Bezos accomplished was "something close to a miracle."

Summary

Warren Buffett holds Jeff Bezos in extremely high regard, frequently expressing awe for the scope and success of Amazon's business development under his leadership. He described what Bezos accomplished as "something close to a miracle," particularly noting the simultaneous development of two massive industries: e-commerce and cloud computing through Amazon Web Services. Buffett has acknowledged that he did not invest in Amazon stock early on, an omission he described with the word "stupidity" in hindsight, indicating regret over missing the massive growth opportunity.

This praise is tempered by a recognition of his own investment style; Buffett admitted he tends to avoid sectors he feels are too difficult to predict, such as complex technology ventures where an executive needs a significant lead time to succeed. He specifically mentioned that one should not give Jeff Bezos a seven-year head start in a competitive arena, demonstrating respect for his execution capability. Furthermore, Buffett’s famous warning during the dot-com bubble reportedly inspired Bezos to adopt a permanent sense of urgency to prevent complacency.

Frequently Asked Questions

Warren Buffett has a very positive view of Jeff Bezos, frequently expressing admiration for his business acumen and achievements. He considers Bezos's success in building both Amazon and AWS to be near miraculous. The investor views him as a highly effective executive whose relentless focus prevents complacency.

Buffett has stated that there are some people, implicitly including Bezos, whom you simply do not try to compete against. He mentioned that he avoids businesses he cannot fully understand, which is why he did not invest in Amazon stock initially. He respects Bezos enough to not engage in direct competition where the Amazon founder has a clear advantage.

The primary reason Warren Buffett cited for not purchasing Amazon shares was his tendency to stick to what he understands, often avoiding complex technology companies. He admitted that he never believed Bezos could pull off everything he eventually did, leading him to call his non-investment a mistake in retrospect.