Warren Buffett On The 2008 Crisis

When the banks began to fail in 2008, executives turned to Warren Buffett in a plea for last-minute funding. He later called the events that followed an "economic Pearl Harbor."

Watch the premiere of the CNBC Original “Crisis On Wall Street: The Week That Shook The World” Wednesday, Sept.12 at 10pm ET/PT.

Ten years after the fall of Lehman Brothers, CNBC has produced the definitive televised account of the historic bankruptcy and cascade of events over a September weekend in 2008 that led to the worst financial crisis in generations. In this prime time original documentary, Andrew Ross Sorkin, CNBC anchor and author of the groundbreaking best-seller "Too Big to Fail," reports on how the nation and the world came as close as ever to a full economic collapse.

The story is told through gripping interviews with those at the highest reaches of the U.S. government as well as the CEOs of the nation’s largest banks who gathered to try to save Lehman Brothers from failure. Wall Street chiefs Jamie Dimon, John Thain, and others describe dramatic, around-the-clock negotiations. Former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Hank Paulson tells of the desperate moment when he realized that a Lehman bankruptcy could bring down the world’s financial system.

Could a financial crisis of this magnitude happen again? Sorkin puts that question time and again to the people gathered for this CNBC documentary, who shouldered the fate of the world’s finances and who recall the nightmare scenario they faced down ten years ago.

"It would be breadlines across the country for a generation,” former president of the N.Y. Federal Reserve Tim Geithner told Sorkin. “We did feel that we were making choices and faced with outcomes that would be devastating to the lives of hundreds of millions of people."

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Warren Buffett On The 2008 Crisis | CNBC

[DonaldMark-nese]

More and more people might face a tough time in retirement. Low-paying jobs, inflation, and high rents make it hard to save. Now, middle-class Americans find it tough to own a home too, leaving them without a place to retire.

[ChristopherAbelman]

The market trend can turn around very quickly. In fact, the indexes often switch from a bear market to a bull market when the news is at its worst and the mood of investors is at its lowest point. I read an article of people that grossed profits up to $150k during this crash, what are the best stocks to buy now or put on a watchlist?

[r.b.l.]

In 2007 a friend of mine called and suggested i buy a house in Arizona - i said i don't have the money for a down payment on a home like that. He said don't worry, they will add 10% to the cost of the house for you, and give you back the 10% so you do have the down payment. I said that doesn't make any sense to me, how will that work? he said it will work just fine since your house will go up in value in six months and you will be fine, you can even sell that house after 2 years and make a profit. Luckily i said NO i am not going to take that chance, he lost everything he had ever made a year later, and his marriage and his kids left with her. i still feel like i dodged a big bullet. Too good to be true is always a good guide.

[amitnagpal]

“Asset appreciation, it attracts everyone. You don’t understand it. But your neighbor who you think is dumber than you is getting rich so your spouse needles you to take part in it too.” - WB

My god. That is the essence of it.

[mtadams]

2008 was the worst year of my life, it started with my mother getting very ill, I broke the bones in my knee, my wife divorced me, I struggled to keep my home after hemorrhaging from my divorce, gas price were insanely high and all of my investment tanked. I felt like I was going to end up poor. My life is so much better today. I hope that never happens in my life time.

[Bmayo]

9:55 - “Yeah, when Goldman Sachs calls needing money, you’ll remember it.” - WB

[thomasdr]

“Confidence comes back one at a time. Fear is instantaneous.” 🤔

[warbongos]

2008- "the housing market only will go up"
2021- "stonks only go up"

sink or swim.

[kingkang]

One of the cool things about WB is that he's been pursuing stocks/businesses at 7 yrs of age....so he ha almost a century of experience and definite +10, 000 hours. And he remembers numbers easily. What I'm trying to say that with all that, no Wall street executive/mgmt can "trick" WB into buying anything b/c he knows the companies numbers better than they probably do. Crazy.

[fergusbyett]

"Back in 1929, if you remember..." 😂

[fjordike]

In 2005 I was in real estate. As I watched the market I wondered how in the heck could a young couple possibly purchase their first entry home at the prices of that day. I soon put my house up for sale. I had purchased it for 65K in 1994 and listed it for 187K. It sold for 186K. Then you- know- what hit the fan starting in 2007. FIVE years after I sold my house it was back on the market - as a foreclosure - (the buyer didn't make a single mortgage payment!) - listed at SIXTY -TWO THOUSAND!!! ....and it sold. NOW it's back up to 200K !!!

[mackman]

A man with intellect that the biggest brains and average persons can understand is truly generational. Mr Buffett is someone when you mature you never want to forget his simple explanations of how the financial system works. My brother in law went down to Omaha about 20 years ago for the annual meeting courtesy from the financial firm he worked for and said he was the most laid back friendly guy you could imagine. A Killer whale amongst sharks in a sea of predators.

[brutonano]

In essence and at it's TRUE foundation within this debacle Charlie Munger stated, "human folly".

[LordTrayus]

"Are you worried about another crisis?"

This guy clearly doesn't get Warren Buffet. Warren loves the idea of a crisis. It means he'll be the only guy with cash at a yard sale.

[SevenDeMagnus]

Greed, people lent to people with no way of paying them back coz: commission on quota

[rmiddlehouse]

“I’d love to have short sellers in Berkshire” - Warren Buffett

[JohnDemetriou]

More or like this. During a stock market bubble in my country, my mom asked my dad about it. She didn't needle him or something. Just asked. My dad who only finished high school and was a government employee, said that he does not know exactly what this is, how people are making money and why people are taking up loans in order to invest in the stock market. None of this makes sense and this is not for us. We do not have extra money to play with, and if we did, there are better ways to play with that I understand better and I would rather go there.
6 months later the stock market crashed, everyone lost their money, people lost homes (because they used them as collateral for investment loans) etc. We all of a sudden, where the "rich" family in the block. Because we just did not go following something we had no idea what it was.
Now, I know what stocks are, I know how to invest etc, but still, that stuck with me. I only use money I have to play with, nothing more, nothing less. Even if I see a huge and amazing opportunity (the crash of 2020) I will not put in more money I can afford to lose and "recover later". I lost on "possible profits" by doing this, but I also avoided "possible losses".
Either educate yourself on what you are doing, or don't do it at all.

[sruler]

Moral of the story - if Hank Paulson calls - hang up. Always enjoy interviews with Mr Buffet

[zdelacruz]

"confidence comes back one at a time...but fear is instantaneous" --that quote is so fitting especially with how the dow keeps dropping with the corona virus. lol...

[stormchasingirl]

Watching this in 2021 knowing this is going to happen any day again.