Warren Buffett's $82.5 billion estimated net worth makes him the world's third-wealthiest man, behind Microsoft's Bill Gates and Amazon's Jeff Bezos. Unlike Gates and Bezos, however, Buffett's fortune came from investing in other companies. Since Buffett took control of Berkshire Hathaway in 1964, the price of Berkshire's A shares has increased at an annualized rate of 20.5%, compared with 18.7% for Standard & Poor's 500-stock index.

Like most wildly successful investors, Buffett makes it sound easy: Buy quality companies with great businesses, and try to buy low when the opportunity arises. Invest for the long term. Those rules--and a canny eye for opportunity--have led Berkshire to stocks as diverse as Apple, Coca-Cola, Costco and Visa.

Most stocks, even the ones Buffett loves, aren't cheap. "Prices are sky-high for businesses possessing decent long-term prospects," Buffett said in his 2018 shareholder letter. The eight stocks here embody virtues that Buffett loves. Not all are bargains, but all are high-quality stocks with rock-solid balance sheets, strong competitive advantages, prodigious cash generation or the power to raise prices, even in tough times.

T. Rowe Price

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