To compare Buffett's results to the S&P 500 is a bad start. Like many active managers he likes to use an inaccurate benchmark so his results can look better and he can tweak his comparisons when it benefits him. How much of Buffett's portfolio truly fits into the S&P 500 and how much drift away from the index does he incorporate? If you create an accurate composite to measure Berk-Hath to, how does he do then? And on a fully risk adjusted basis how does he do? Without that data I'm not sure that any worthwhile assessment of the Oracle is remotely possible.