Talking Billions with Bogumil Baranowski

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Robert P. Miles is an author, educator, and the world's foremost authority on Berkshire Hathaway's management culture. Robert has written three bestselling books on Warren Buffett, created the only graduate MBA course dedicated to Buffett's philosophies, and founded the Value Investor Conference in Omaha. His journey from an entrepreneur to a globally recognized Buffett scholar began with a single Berkshire annual meeting in 1996 — and Warren Buffett himself has been paying attention ever since.
Episode Sponsor: Fiscal AI is a modern data terminal that gives investors instant access to twenty years of financials, earnings transcripts, and extensive segment and KPI data—use my link for a two-week free trial plus 15% off: https://fiscal.ai/talkingbillions/
Notes:
3:00 – Bob Miles is introduced as the world's foremost Berkshire Hathaway culture scholar, author of three (now four) bestselling Buffett books and creator of the only graduate MBA course on Buffett's philosophies.
5:30 – His path began with Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich and a failed high school "movie day" venture. The lesson that stuck: "you got to understand what business you're in."
7:23 – His first 1996 annual meeting: Buffett tells a small shareholder, "between you and I we own half the company," and calls Wall Street "the legal pickpocket of the average investor."
14:24 – The Dairy Queen story: a self-published "101 Reasons to Own Berkshire Hathaway," a line around the block, and Buffett walking through the door — leading to a two-book deal with Wiley.
31:18 – On concentration: Buffett put 65% of his $20,000 net worth into Geico at 19, tied to his "star player" basketball analogy for conviction investing.
36:41 – The three unchanging lessons of The Intelligent Investor — stocks are businesses, your partner is a manic-depressive Mr. Market, and margin of safety — because "principles are principles because they don't change."
42:59 – A contrarian aside: private equity "has done more harm than good," with the Berkshire system as its inversion.
53:43 – On Berkshire's real edge: "I see the moat as cash," the roughly $400 billion war chest that lets Ajit Jain write insurance the day after disasters strike.
1:08:58 – On character over credentials: concentrating on admirable traits "there's no cost," regardless of background.
1:10:34 – Miles' definition of success: stay humble enough to be taught, and "go to bed a little bit smarter" every day.
Podcast Program – Disclosure Statement
Blue Infinitas Capital, LLC is a registered investment adviser and the opinions expressed by the Firm’s employees and podcast guests on this show are their own and do not reflect the opinions of Blue Infinitas Capital, LLC. All statements and opinions expressed are based upon information considered reliable although it should not be relied upon as such. Any statements or opinions are subject to change without notice.
Information presented is for educational purposes only and does not intend to make an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of any specific securities, investments, or investment strategies. Investments involve risk and, unless otherwise stated, are not guaranteed.

Find me on Substack, search for Bogumil Baranowski.

Marion Fogli, a Swiss digital banking pioneer who co-founded Switzerland’s first digital private bank, now teaches what she calls Finance Made Human, translating money into a language that real people can actually understand, use, and feel at peace with.
Episode Sponsor: Fiscal AI is a modern data terminal that gives investors instant access to twenty years of financials, earnings transcripts, and extensive segment and KPI data—use my link for a two-week free trial plus 15% off: https://fiscal.ai/talkingbillions/
3:02 – Growing up “rich in love, not money” — Marion’s father’s story shapes her definition of wealth.
5:29 – Building Switzerland’s first digital private bank taught her: “The math is visible, but the behavior is where everything actually happens.”
8:07 – The human touch problem: digital banks see anxiety in login patterns hours before a client ever picks up the phone.
13:03 – On AI and investing: technology can hand you 30 stock picks, but not the conviction to hold them.
15:18 – Money scripts, explained: childhood beliefs about money live in the body, not the words — “a shallow breath, tight shoulders, a nervous laugh.”
17:21 – Three questions to surface your own money script: your body’s reaction, the sentence you heard most as a child, and the gap between what you say and what you do about money.
20:38 – The surgeon who earned over half a million and had no idea where it went: “You have income, and you have financial peace, and they’re not the same currency.”
23:07 – The cash experiment: Marion paid her kids in physical cash for a month instead of transfers — they ended up saving more.
27:48 – Why money is the last taboo: “It actually reveals your vulnerability.” It exposes worth, achievement, and security all at once.
32:06 – Unequal help given quietly to one child can destroy a family once it surfaces after a parent’s death.
36:16 – The three-bucket system: Oops Fund, Projects Fund, Freedom Fund — “I called it the Oops Fund.”
39:41 – “It’s about giving each Franc a job so the person can finally rest.”
45:41 – Financial education starts with one question: what do you want your money to do, short, medium, and long term?
52:48 – Marion’s definition of success: “It’s not what you accumulate. It’s what you can give without losing yourself.”

Podcast Program – Disclosure Statement
Blue Infinitas Capital, LLC is a registered investment adviser and the opinions expressed by the Firm’s employees and podcast guests on this show are their own and do not reflect the opinions of Blue Infinitas Capital, LLC. All statements and opinions expressed are based upon information considered reliable although it should not be relied upon as such. Any statements or opinions are subject to change without notice.
Information presented is for educational purposes only and does not intend to make an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of any specific securities, investments, or investment strategies. Investments involve risk and, unless otherwise stated, are not guaranteed.

Find me on Substack, search for Bogumil Baranowski. See you there!
This month's Unfiltered Coffee finds me recording thoughts from the road after a few weeks of travel that pulled me away from daily news and toward ideas with a longer shelf life. I share reflections from Nir Eyal's book Belief, including the idea that successful people accumulate more losses simply because they try more things, and from Ray Madoff’s book Immortality and the Law, which traces how trusts extend the wishes of the dead into the lives of the living — a theme I see playing out more and more with clients and listeners alike.
I also revisit familiar ideas from new angles: why rules matter more than exceptions (even when someone's great uncle smoked and lived to 102), why liquidity makes stock ownership fundamentally different from owning a car or a private business, and why AI hasn't sped up the one thing that still can't be rushed in investing — waiting for conviction to pay off. I reflect on value as something constantly exchanged in daily life, not just in markets, and on how removing time constraints and billing pressure can free both investors and professionals to do their best work.
I close the episode with a round-up of recent standout conversations — Mike Nicoletti, Jack Schwager and George Coyle, Eric Pachman, and a rebroadcast of the Byron Tully episode on old money rules — plus a personal note on practicing receiving, not just giving, after a month of leaning on friends for help on a few occasions.
Podcast Program – Disclosure Statement
Blue Infinitas Capital, LLC is a registered investment adviser and the opinions expressed by the Firm’s employees and podcast guests on this show are their own and do not reflect the opinions of Blue Infinitas Capital, LLC. All statements and opinions expressed are based upon information considered reliable although it should not be relied upon as such. Any statements or opinions are subject to change without notice.
Information presented is for educational purposes only and does not intend to make an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of any specific securities, investments, or investment strategies. Investments involve risk and unless otherwise stated, are not guaranteed.

Reposted here is my interview on Anna Fata Shemin's wonderful podcast, the Gravitas Podcast. Sign up, follow her incredibly thoughtful work: https://open.spotify.com/episode/432S3SNi56e0njlHgjAa1B?si=nT910BvxRO6Y267cdG-IuA

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"Old money" is more than a TikTok aesthetic trend. There are real lessons to learn from the families who cultivate generational wealth, and they go far beyond the money.

This week I sit down with Bogumil Baranowski, a Polish-born investor who came to New York to live the American dream and has spent two decades managing wealth for families. He's the author of four books, a TEDx speaker, and the host of the podcasts Talking Billions and co-host of 100 Year Thinkers.

We talk about his childhood in communist Poland and how it influenced his career as an investor and Warren Buffett devotee. We discuss stewardship and how lasting family wealth has less to do with trust funds and more to do with family culture. He also discusses how money is not a prerequisite for living a truly rich life.

Links from this episode:
📚 Read Bogumil Baranowski's books and essays on managing money, wealth, and family legacy: 
🎙️ Listen to Talking Billions, Bogumil Baranowski's podcast on investing, generational wealth, and living a rich life: 
💼 Learn more about Blue Infinitas Capital, Bogumil's investment advisory firm: 
Connect with Bogumil Baranowski: Website: 
Connect with Gravitas: Instagram: @GravitasPodcast X: @annafatashemin Newsletter: http://annafatashemin.substack.com/
Write to me: anna@thegravitaspodcast.com

Podcast Program – Disclosure Statement
Blue Infinitas Capital, LLC is a registered investment adviser and the opinions expressed by the Firm’s employees and podcast guests on this show are their own and do not reflect the opinions of Blue Infinitas Capital, LLC. All statements and opinions expressed are based upon information considered reliable although it should not be relied upon as such. Any statements or opinions are subject to change without notice.
Information presented is for educational purposes only and does not intend to make an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of any specific securities, investments, or investment strategies. Investments involve risk and unless otherwise stated, are not guaranteed.

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This is a summer classic — a re-release of an enhanced audio episode that originally aired in 2023, now among the most listened-to Talking Billions episodes of all time. If you missed it, this is your moment. If you've heard it before, welcome back.
Over the years, I've had the pleasure of spending time with Byron Tully beyond this microphone — in person at a Parisian café, and on Zoom — and he joined the show a second time as well. His writing continues to find new readers around the world, and for good reason.
Byron Tully is the author of The Old Money Book — with over 700 five-star reviews on Amazon — a grandson of a newspaper publisher, son of an oil industry executive, and a Paris-based writer who has spent a decade translating the time-tested values of America's wealth-preserving upper class into an accessible, practical guide for anyone willing to embrace them. https://theoldmoneybook.com/
3:00 — Byron shares his upbringing outside Houston, TX: comfortable, only child, grandfather in newspapers, father in oil. Grandfather's early advice: "You're gonna have to learn how to manage your behavior."
5:30 — Byron meets his wife from Boston; gets "neck deep" in old money culture — three-plus generations of wealth, manners, education, and core values.
8:00 — The 2008 financial crisis revelation: L.A. friends who "looked rich" — Beamers, McMansions — lost everything. Boston friends? Unaffected. Flash vs. substance. His wife tells him to stop complaining and write the book.
12:00 — Key insight: you don't need money to adopt old money values. The irony — follow the values and you'll start accumulating money because you stop chasing the next product. "The real awakening is to see money as an option-generating... freedom to choose."
18:00 — On conspicuous consumption: old money views extravagance as "the fear of poverty." The question to ask — who are you dressing for? "Maybe nobody. Maybe I'll just dress discreetly and appropriately."
24:00 — Sudden wealth and inheritance: Byron's personal experience with four inheritances. His advice: blow 1% first to purge the urge to consume, then ask how this windfall can change your life with purpose.
34:00 — Old money values unpacked: health, education, politeness, modesty, financial independence, work ethic. "You can't borrow money and say I'll pay you back with time. You just can't."
40:00 — Delayed gratification and long-term thinking: Amazon Prime erodes patience; the most precious things in life take time and "cannot be taken away from you."
47:00 — Honoring inherited wealth: Byron reflects on his father working past 10pm. "It's the love that my parents had for me." Why can't he waste it?
52:00 — On time: "Tomorrow is a promissory note, and yesterday's a canceled check." Social media is the enemy of time. Walking through Paris, looking at your phone — "What are you doing?"
57:00 — Definition of success: being of service. Parents giving The Old Money Book to the groomsmen. "That's success to me."

Podcast Program – Disclosure Statement
Blue Infinitas Capital, LLC is a registered investment adviser and the opinions expressed by the Firm’s employees and podcast guests on this show are their own and do not reflect the opinions of Blue Infinitas Capital, LLC. All statements and opinions expressed are based upon information considered reliable although it should not be relied upon as such. Any statements or opinions are subject to change without notice.
Information presented is for educational purposes only and does not intend to make an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of any specific securities, investments, or investment strategies. Investments involve risk and unless otherwise stated, are not guaranteed.