I made dumb decisions, admits greatest investor

Legendary investor Warren Buffett has blamed himself for making certain “dumb” investment decisions last year, which cost his company Berkshire Hathaway billions of dollars.

In his annual letter to shareholders, which is considered a gospel on investing by millions, Buffett once again lavished praise on Ajit Jain, head of his reinsurance business empire.

Buffett has been praising Jain for the last couple of years in his annual letters, spurring speculation that he must be the first among equals to succeed him.

Warning that the downturn could continue for long, Buffett said the economy would be in a shambles this year.

“During 2008, I did some dumb things in investments,” he wrote. “I made at least one major mistake of commission and several lesser ones that also hurt.

“Furthermore, I made some errors of omission, sucking my thumb when new facts came in that should have caused me to re-examine my thinking and promptly take action.”

Praising Jain, Buffett noted that there is no one like him. “Ajit came to Berkshire in 1986. Very quickly, I realised we had acquired an extraordinary talent. So I did the logical thing: I wrote his parents in New Delhi and asked if they had another one like him at home. Of course, I knew the answer before writing. There isn’t anyone like Ajit.”