1. Buffett predicted up to 6% growth in the market per year, but gave historical ranges of no growth, and the underlying math suggested that figure could be high. The 6% was a hedged bet.
2. S&P is Standard & Poor’s Industrial Average, the most widely used measure of the overall stock market’s performance. S&P includes reinvested dividends. Berkshire does not pay a dividend. All numbers are rounded.
3. “Toys ‘R’ Us vs. eToys, Value vs. Euphoria,” Century Management, http://www.centman.com/Library/Articles/Aug99/ToysRUsvsEtoys.html. In March 2005, Toys “R” Us agreed to a takeover offer from private equity firms Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., Bain Capital, and real estate group Vornado Realty Trust in a deal valued at $6.6 billion.
4. Interview with Sharon Osberg.
5. Buffett, speaking to the Oquirrh Club, “An Evening with Warren Buffett,” October 2003.