Never Give Up. An article in WIRED about Warren Allen Smith, the creator of the website Philosopedia, discusses how Smith has spent six decades writing people to ask if they believe in God. He’s received a variety of responses, and Buffett’s came back, scrawled on a postcard with a one word answer: “Agnostic.” “[Buffett] did not subscribe to his family’s religion. Even at a young age, he was too mathematical, too logical, to make the leap of faith. He adopted his father’s ethical underpinnings, but not his belief in an unseen divinity.”

Privilege Received. Acknowledging privilege when he sees it, Buffett has said, “My wealth has come from a combination of living in America, some lucky genes, and compound interest. Both my children and I won what I call the ovarian lottery. (For starters, the odds against my 1930 birth taking place in the U.S. were at least 30 to 1. My being male and white also removed huge obstacles that a majority of Americans then faced).”

Sustainable Government. Buffett is an advocate for a political system that is more sustainable. He says, “I could end the deficit in five minutes. You just pass a law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more than three percent of GDP [gross domestic product], all sitting members of Congress are ineligible for reelection.”