8 Strategies for Women from Warren Buffett, the Feminist Capitalist

6) Selling your integrity for short-term gain guarantees a long-term loss. Martha Stewart’s name will be forever connected to two things: building a multi-million dollar business empire, and serving prison time for insider trading. She may have avoided losing $45,000 in the transaction, but she lost far more: she was forced to resign her position on the board of the New York Stock Exchange, sentenced to federal prison, fined $30,000, and paid penalties of nearly $200,000. Leona Helmsley, another multi-million-dollar business mogul, was convicted of tax evasion, assisting in the filing of false corporate and partnership tax returns, and mail fraud. Sandra Jackson, wife of former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., recently pled guilty to knowingly understating joint income on their tax returns. Buffett sums up it up succinctly: “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”