CNBC News Releases

CNBC Excerpts: Billionaire Investor Warren Buffett on CNBC's "Squawk Box" Today

WHEN: Today, Monday, March 3rd 6AM-9AM ET

WHERE: CNBC's "Squawk Box"

Following are excerpts of the unofficial transcript of a CNBC interview with Berkshire Hathaway Chairman & CEO Warren Buffett today on CNBC's "Squawk Box." The full transcript will be available at buffettwatch.cnbc.com.

All references must be sourced the CNBC.

BUFFETT ON HIS WILL

MY WIDOW WILL NOT BE AN EXPERT ON STOCKS. I WANT TO BE SURE SHE GETS A DECENT RESULT. SHE DOESN'T NEED TO GET A SENSATIONAL RESULT. SINCE ALL MY BERKSHIRE SHARE ARE GOING TO PHILANTHROPY, THE QUESTION BECOMES WHAT DOES SHE DO WITH THE CASH THAT'S LEFT TO HER? AND PART OF IT GOES OUTRIGHT, PART OF IT GOES TO A TRUSTEE. BUT I'VE TOLD THE TRUSTEE TO PUT 90% OF IT IN A S&P 500 INDEX FUND AND 10% IN SHORT TERM GOVERNMENTS.

BUFFETT ON U.S. ECONOMY

WE'VE HAD THIS MODERATE BUT CONSISTENT GROWTH NOW FOR 4 AND A HALF YEARS. AND EVERY NOW AND THEN WE GET EXCITED ABOUT IT SPEEDING UP. AND EVERY NOW AND THEN WE GET WORRYING ABOUT A DOUBLE DIP AND ALL THAT. AND YOU'VE HEARD ALL THIS DIFFERENT COMENTARY OVER THE 4 AND A HALF YEARS. IT'S BEEN REMARKABLY CONSISTENT. AND THE GDP FIGURES MAY BOUNCE AROUND A LITTLE. IN TERMS OF WHAT WE SEE, I WOULD SAY THAT IT'S BEEN ALMOST A STRAIGHT LINE, BUT NOT AT THE KIND OF SLOPE THAT PEOPLE WOULD LIKE, BUT NOT FLAT, EITHER.

BUFFETT ON BEING STEADY

WE HAVEN'T GOTTEN WILDLY OPTIMISTIC AND WE HAVEN'T GOTTEN WILDLY PESSIMISTIC. BUT OVER THAT PERIOD, WE'VE SEEN THESE SMALL WAVES OF OPTIMISM AND PESSIMISM. AND REALLY, IT'S JUST BEEN PRETTY DARN STEADILY IMPROVING.

BUFFETT ON HOUSING

IT'S OKAY. I MEAN, AND THE PRICES HAVE REALLY BEEN QUITE STRONG. BUT YOU ALWAYS IN THE WINTER HAVE LESS ACTIVITY IN REAL ESTATE. BUT WE BOUGHT SEVERAL REAL ESTATE BROKERAGE FIRMS LAST YEAR. WE'VE ALREADY BOUGHT ONE THIS YEAR AND WE'LL KEEP BUYING THEM. I LIKE THE BUSINESS.

BUFFETT ON 3G

WARREN BUFFETT: WE'VE TALKED ABOUT GENERALLY. WE DON'T HAVE A NAME, BUT BOTH JORGE PAULO LEMANN, WHO IS MY PARTNER IN THAT, AND I WOULD LOVE TO DO ANOTHER ONE. AND THEY HAVE AN APPETITE FOR MAKING ACQUISITIONS. AND THEY HAVE AN APPETITE FOR MAKING BIG ACQUISITIONS. AND--

BECKY QUICK: AND SO DO YOU.

WARREN BUFFET: YEAH. WE'RE A GOOD PAIR THAT WAY. AND THEY ALSO DO THE WORK AND WE DO THE FINANCING. AND THAT'S AN ARRANGEMENT THAT I CAN GET USED TO.

BUFFETT ON IBM CEO ROMETTY

SHE GOT HANDED THE COMPANY AT A TIME OF REAL TRANSITION IN THE BUSINESS. AND HER RECORD -- I FEEL FINE WITH HER AT THIS POINT, BUT HER RECORD, WILL BE JUDGED 5 YEARS FROM NOW. THERE'S A LOT GOING ON IN THAT BUSINESS, AND I THINK THEY'RE DOING WELL, BUT THE FINAL SCORE WILL BE 5 YEARS OR 10 YEARS FROM NOW.

BUFFETT ON TRANSPORTING OIL

WITH A DIFFERENT COMPANY, MARMON, WE'RE IN THE TANK CAR MANUFACTURING BUSINESS. AND THERE WILL BE CHANGES MADE AND THERE SHOULD BE CHANGES MADE. IT'S FAIR TO SAY THAT WE HAVE FOUND IN THE LAST YEAR OR SO THAT IT'S MORE DANGEROUS TO MOVE CERTAIN TYPES OF CRUDE, CERTAINLY, THAN WAS THOUGHT PREVIOUSLY. AND THERE IS NO QUESTION ABOUT IT. WE'RE GONNA DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

BUFFETT ON DERIVATIVES

YEAH, OUR-- WE'VE HEARD ABSOLUTELY NOTHING FROM THE PEOPLE IN CHARGE OF WHAT'S CALLED SIFY. AND OUR LAWYERS, I'VE CHECKED THAT. AND I WOULD NOT THINK WE WOULD BE UNDER -- OUR DERIVATIVES AS A -- WELL, A) THEY'RE WINDING DOWN TO BEGIN WITH. BUT—AND NOMINAL VALUE, THEY'RE-- WELL, LET'S SEE-- DEUTSCHE BANK HAS $60 TRILLION, SO THEY'RE LESS THAN 1/10 OF ONE PERCENT OF DEUTSCHE BANK FOR EXAMPLE. AND WE HAVE LOADS OF LIQUIDITY. WE HAVE ALL THESE DIFFERENT STREAMS OF EARNING POWER. I THINK IT'S VERY UNLIKELY.

BUFFETT ON INCREASING JOBS

FURTHER FISCAL STIMULUS WOULD INCREASE JOB GROWTH, BUT YOU PAY A PRICE FOR THAT. I THINK THE MARKET SYSTEM WILL GROW JOBS OVER TIME AS IT HAS BEEN THE LAST FOUR YEARS, ITS JUST THAT WE HAD SUCH A SHOCK TO THE SYSTEM 5 YEARS AGO, WE WERE REALLY IN THE EMERGENCY ROOM, AND THE RECOVERY HAS BEEN SLOW. AND I THINK MOST PEOPLE EXPECTED THAT, BUT THEY'RE STILL DISAPPOINTED WITH IT AS IT HAPPENS.

BUFFETT ON OBAMA VS. MOYNIHAN

WELL THEY BOTH HAVE TOUGH JOBS AND THEY SETTLED DOWN TO DO THEM. YOU DO THINGS ONE THING AT A TIME. BRIAN MOYNIHAN TOOK SOMETHING THAT WAS A BIG, BIG MESS WHICH HE INHERITED AND THE SIZE WAS ALMOST OVERWHELMING. AND HE JUST METHODICALLY HAS WORKED ON ONE PROBLEM AFTER ANOTHER. BUT HE DID NOT HAVE TO GET THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS TO AGREE WITH HIM.

BUFFETT ON KEYSTONE PIPELINE

BECKY QUICK: YOU KNOW JIM CRAMER HAS BEEN WATCHING THIS MORNING AS WELL, WARREN. AND HE WRITES IN A QUESTION TOO. HE SAYS THAT IN YOUR SHAREHOLDERS LETTER, YOU ALWAYS SPEAK SO POSITIVELY ABOUT FABULOUS WAYS TO TRANSPORT GOODS. DO YOU THAT THINK KEYSTONE SHOULD BE APPROVED?

WARREN BUFFETT: I'D VOTE YES.

BECKY QUICK: YOU WOULD VOTE YES FOR THE KEYSTONE. HE ALWAYS WONDERS ABOUT CREATION OF JOBS, TOO. SO ENERGY AND JOB CREATION IS REALLY – PIPELINES AND ENERGY RENAISSANCE IS WHAT JIM IS POINTING OUT.

WARREN BUFFETT: WELL, BUT I DON'T BELIEVE IN THE KEYSTONE PIPELINE BECAUSE OF THE JOBS YOU MAKE BUILDING IT. I MEAN, YOU CAN BUILD ANYTHING AND CREATE JOBS. BUT I BELIEVE IT'S A USEFUL PIPELINE.

BUFFETT ON BITCOIN

IT'S NOT A CURRENCY. IT DOES NOT MEET THE TEST OF A CURRENCY. I WOULDN'T BE SURPRISED IF IT'S NOT AROUND IN TEN OR TWENTY YEARS. IT'S NOT A DURABLE MEANS OF EXCHANGE, IT'S NOT A STORER OF VALUE.

BECKY QUICK: AND YOU SAID YOURSELF, YOU WOULDN'T BE SURPRISED IF IT'S NOT AROUND IN 10 YEARS?

WARREN BUFFETT: I WOULD NOT SURPRISED. I DON'T KNOW THAT, BUT IT'S INTERESTING TO ME. I MEAN, IT'S BEEN A VERY SPECULATIVE A KIND OF BUCK ROGERS TYPE THING. PEOPLE BUY AND SELL THEM, BECAUSE THEY HOPE THEY GO UP OR DOWN, JUST LIKE THEY DID WITH TULIP BULBS A LONG TIME AGO.

BUFFETT ON ASSET GATHERING

LAST YEAR THEY STARTED WITH ABOUT $5 BILLION EACH. IF THEY'D PUT IT UNDER THE MATTRESS UNDER THE STANDARD HEDGE FUND ARRANGEMENT, THEY EACH WOULD HAVE MADE ABOUT $100 MILLION. I MEAN, THAT SHOWS YOU HOW NUTTY THE ARRANGEMENT IS. BUT THEY WOULD HAVE LITERALLY MADE $100 MILLION BY STICKING IT UNDER THE MATTRESS. IF THEY HAD PUT IT IN AN INDEX FUND AND GOTTEN THE 2 AND 20, THEY EACH WOULD HAVE MADE OVER $300 MILLION. ALL THEY HAD TO DO WAS BUY THE VANGUARD INDEX FUND AND THEY EACH WOULD HAVE MADE OVER $300 MILLION. THEY ALSO WOULD HAVE GOTTEN MORE FAVORABLE TAX TREATMENT ON IT THAN THEY GOT BY GETTING A SALARY FROM BERKSHIRE. SO IMAGINE, I MEAN YOU CAN RETIRE FOREVER ON $300 MILLION. SO ONE YEAR YOU GO AND PUT THE MONEY IN AN INDEX FUND. SO IT JUST SHOWS THAT THE HUGE AMOUNTS YOU GET BY ASSET GATHERING RATHER THAN ASSET MANAGING.

BUFFETT ON PERFORMANCE PAY

SO, ONLY IF THEY DO BETTER THAN I CAN DO BY STICKING THE MONEY IN AN S&P FUND, DO THEY GET PAID A DIME OF PERFORMANCE. AND IT SEEMS TO ME THAT'S QUITE LOGICAL, BUT IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT THE HEDGE FUND COMMUNITY IS OUT THERE PUSHING HARDER FOR.

BUFFETT ON ACTIVIST FUNDS

THE MONEY IS FLOWING INTO ACTIVIST FUNDS, BECAUSE THEY'VE HAD GOOD PERFORMANCE LATELY. AND THAT MONEY WILL GET PUT TO WORK. SO I THINK YOU'RE GOING TO SEE A LOT OF ACTIVITY IN THAT FIELD.

About CNBC:

With CNBC in the U.S., CNBC in Asia Pacific, CNBC in Europe, Middle East and Africa, CNBC World and CNBC HD, CNBC is the recognized world leader in business news and provides real-time financial market coverage and business information to approximately 371 million homes worldwide, including more than 100 million households in the United States and Canada. CNBC also provides daily business updates to 400 million households across China. The network's 16 live hours a day of business programming in North America (weekdays from 4:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. ET) is produced at CNBC's global headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., and includes reports from CNBC News bureaus worldwide. CNBC at night is the all new CNBC Prime featuring a mix of new reality programming, CNBC's highly successful series produced exclusively for CNBC including "American Greed" and "Crime Inc." and a number of distinctive in-house documentaries.

CNBC also has a vast portfolio of digital products which deliver real-time financial market news and information across a variety of platforms. These include CNBC.com, the online destination for global business; CNBC PRO, the premium, integrated desktop/mobile service that provides real-time global market data and live access to CNBC global programming; and a suite of CNBC Mobile products including the CNBC Real-Time iPhone and iPad Apps.

Members of the media can receive more information about CNBC and its programming on the NBC Universal Media Village Web site at http://www.nbcumv.com/mediavillage/networks/cnbc/