“The perspective I have is that, out of 8 billion people, I may be one of the 10 luckiest in the world,” Buffett said in an interview with CNBC on Wednesday.
The Berkshire Hathaway chairman has long attributed part of his success to fortunate circumstances, particularly early in life.
Buffett, whose net worth was estimated at $147 billion by Forbes – making him the 10th richest person worldwide, told Berkshire shareholders in 1997 that he had won the “ovarian lottery” by being born in the U.S. with relatively good health, both outcomes he described as matters of chance.
“I have been lucky and healthy to get to 95 … and, fortunately, I got exposed, partly accidentally, to what I liked to do very early on,” Buffett said, referring to the investing lessons he received through his father’s stock brokerage business.
“That was just an accident. If my father had been a plumber, I would not have had the same advantage I had. So I was incredibly lucky.”
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Warren Buffet in November 2025. Photo by Getty Images via AFP |
Buffett is widely regarded as one of the greatest investors in history. He built his fortune through long-term value investing and transformed Berkshire Hathaway from a struggling textile company into one of the world’s largest conglomerates.
He took control of Berkshire Hathaway in 1965, transforming the struggling textile manufacturer into a multinational conglomerate with businesses spanning insurance, railroads, energy, manufacturing, and consumer products.
Buffett built his fortune through a disciplined value investing strategy, acquiring companies and long-term stakes in firms such as Coca-Cola and American Express. Known as the “Oracle of Omaha,” he has consistently ranked among the world’s richest people while pledging to donate more than 99% of his wealth through philanthropy, including the Giving Pledge.
For the past two decades Buffet has contributed Berkshire Hathaway shares to the Gates Foundation. Those donations were worth nearly $48 billion when they were made and would be valued at about $159 billion today, according to CNBC calculations.
On Tuesday, Buffett announced in a press release that he plans to dispose of all of his Berkshire Hathaway shares by Dec. 31, 2034.
The plan would require annual donations of at least $17 billion to four family foundations after he donated a total of $7 billion in 2025.
He also confirmed that future gifts will no longer go to the Gates Foundation, with the funds instead directed to family foundations overseen by his three children, according to Forbes.
“As life has gone along, I have seen how unbelievably unlucky some people have been,” Buffett said. “The accidents of birth are just so extreme. And, I’ve seen people that use those accidents to justify positions that are just ridiculous, in my view. And, that’s the reason for encouraging philanthropy.”
Buffett said any decisions on distributing the remainder of his fortune must be made unanimously by his three children, who are currently between 68 and 72 years old, adding that he trusts them to manage the funds responsibly.
Sourcee.vnexpress.net
