Buffett and Munger openly admit they left enormous amounts of money on the table by refusing to use leverage. They have zero regrets. Buffett's rule: he would rather be 100 times too cautious than 1% too incautious. That has not changed and will not change. Munger was more direct about what they gave up. If Berkshire had used the leverage that many other successful operators used, the firm would be a lot bigger. A lot bigger. A lot bigger. But they would have been sweating at night. And to Munger, that is the definition of crazy. Losing sleep over financial risk is not a sign of ambition. It is a sign that you took on more than you should have. The trade-off was never size versus caution. It was size versus sleep. They chose sleep. Every time.