Warren Buffett, Berkshire, and the Brick Building Nobody Notices

A chance conversation outside a grocery store turned into a reflection on Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway, and how true investors think long-term, even when the headlines get loud. In a world obsessed with fast gains and market drama, this post is about staying steady, trusting your strategy, and understanding why Buffett built something meant to last.

If you’re wondering what happens when he steps down, or passes on, this one’s for you

So I ran into this guy.

I’ve written about him before. He used to work at Safeway, and he always had something to say about stocks. Said he worked on Wall Street once upon a time. I’ve never known whether that was true or just the impression he gave, but he always knew just enough to keep a conversation going.

I had my Warren Buffett book with me, and I asked him if he’d been keeping up with the market lately. He said no. But then he asked me, “Do you read Peter Lynch?”

I was like, “Yeah, always. Which one?”

“All of them,” he said.

I told him One Up on Wall Street was the one I usually recommend. He brought up A Random Walk Down Wall Street. I said I haven’t read that one yet, but One Up is my go-to.

Then he looked at my book again. “You’re reading about Warren Buffett,” he said.

And then came his line:
“When he dies, the company’s going to crash.”

I told him Buffett’s retiring at the end of the year. Greg Abel is taking over. And yeah, Charlie Munger already passed. But I think with those two announcements, Munger’s death and Buffett’s retirement, we get to see how the market responds ahead of time. If anything, the market’s probably already pricing in that his death is coming, as sad as that is.

Still, he repeated, “It’s going to crash.”

And I said, “Then you buy more. Because really, come on. It’s Warren and Charlie. You don’t think they’ve planned for this transition for decades? With how they think?”

See, Berkshire isn’t the kind of company that stalks you when you’re trying to get rich quick. It’s not bait. It doesn’t show up in your feed hyped up by Jim Cramer or splashed across breaking headlines. Unless something huge happens, like Charlie Munger passing or Warren Buffett stepping down, there’s no spectacle.

And even then, those headlines are more about deterrence than anything else. Fear sells. Drama sells. Jim Cramer yelling “Buy buy buy” is just part of the noise. That’s Rome. That’s the Coliseum. It’s entertainment. But Berkshire?

That’s old money. You think gated neighborhoods. You think country clubs. You think fall leaves in crimson. You think Harvard. Yale. Ivy League.

You don’t think 7-Eleven and fast food. You don’t think microwave meals and get-rich-quick. And there’s nothing wrong with those things, but Berkshire isn’t built like that.

It’s the building you drive by every day and don’t even notice. The one with the chimney always smoking, a few cars always in the lot. No sign. No windows you can look into. No one rushing in or out. But the lights are on, and it’s been running for decades.

If it didn’t have Buffett’s name on it, you wouldn’t even know it was Berkshire Hathaway. It would just be that building. Quiet. Ordinary. Invisible. But solid.

So yeah, people who buy into that kind of company? They’re not in it for the dopamine. They’re not looking for a thrill. They’re preserving wealth. They’re thinking in 20-year spans, not 20-minute charts.

And if the stock does dip when Buffett passes, the people selling won’t be the ones who understand it. The ones who hold on, or buy more, will be the ones who get what Berkshire is.

That’s the thing: if there’s any shake-up in the stock, I think it’ll come more from how Greg Abel and Ajit Jain run the company. If they start to deviate from Warren and Charlie’s philosophy, then yeah, there could be consequences. But I also believe Warren and Charlie put protections in place. They didn’t just build something great. They built something durable. Something with fail-safes.

They didn’t spend their lives designing a castle just to hand it over without a moat.

So when people say “it’s going to crash when he dies,” I don’t jump to panic. I think: maybe. But maybe not.

Because Buffett didn’t build a spectacle. He built a system.

And if it drops? Then you buy more.

Disclaimer:
This post is a personal reflection and is for informational and educational purposes only. Any references to buying or selling stock (including phrases like “then you buy more”) are expressions of personal mindset or philosophy, not financial advice. This article should not be interpreted as a recommendation to invest in any specific security. Always do your own research or consult with a licensed financial advisor before making financial decisions.