In addition to Sleepy Dragon's very relevant comment, there are other differences between your high-dividend-yielding margined trade and Buffett's investment. (1) He's never going to get a margin call, because it's a long-term fixed-rate loan. But even if he violated covenants of that loan and had to pay it back at short notice, Berkshir…
In addition to Sleepy Dragon's very relevant comment, there are other differences between your high-dividend-yielding margined trade and Buffett's investment. (1) He's never going to get a margin call, because it's a long-term fixed-rate loan. But even if he violated covenants of that loan and had to pay it back at short notice, Berkshire has hundreds of billions of cash lying around, unlike most margined investors. (2) Buffett loves these Japanese companies and expects them to grow earnings and dividends and appreciate in value over time. The stocks you've listed (MO, PGR, etc.) are chosen purely because they are high yielding, and most will have high yields for reasons that are likely to be not good. So I think the differences between the two "trades" are greater than the similarities, and you should reconsider wanting to tear your hair out.
In addition to Sleepy Dragon's very relevant comment, there are other differences between your high-dividend-yielding margined trade and Buffett's investment. (1) He's never going to get a margin call, because it's a long-term fixed-rate loan. But even if he violated covenants of that loan and had to pay it back at short notice, Berkshire has hundreds of billions of cash lying around, unlike most margined investors. (2) Buffett loves these Japanese companies and expects them to grow earnings and dividends and appreciate in value over time. The stocks you've listed (MO, PGR, etc.) are chosen purely because they are high yielding, and most will have high yields for reasons that are likely to be not good. So I think the differences between the two "trades" are greater than the similarities, and you should reconsider wanting to tear your hair out.