Warren Buffett calls himself ‘one of the 10 luckiest people in the world.’ Here’s why that belief shapes his fortune
Warren Buffett has built one of the world’s biggest fortunes, but he doesn’t believe it is only the result of hard work or smart investing. Instead, the billionaire says luck played an enormous role in where he ended up. That belief, he says, is also the reason he has committed to giving away nearly all of his wealth.
In an interview with CNBC on Wednesday, Buffett explained on his life and said, “Out of 8 billion people, I may be one of the 10 luckiest in the world.” The Berkshire Hathaway chairman said he has been fortunate in several ways that were completely outside his control.
“I have been lucky and healthy to get to 95,” Buffett said. “Fortunately, I got exposed, partly accidentally, to what I liked to do very early on.”
A childhood advantage made a lasting difference
Buffett said his father owned a stock brokerage, which introduced him to investing at a young age and helped shape his future career. “That was just an accident,” he said. “If my father had been a plumber, I would not have had the same advantage I had. So I was incredibly lucky.”
Buffett has made similar observations before. At Berkshire Hathaway’s 1997 shareholders meeting, he famously said he had won the “ovarian lottery” by being born in the United States, with good health and opportunities that many people around the world never receive.
His outlook on luck inspired his giving
Buffett said recognising how much luck influenced his own life also changed the way he thinks about wealth and responsibility. “As life has gone along, I have seen how unbelievably unlucky some people have been,” he told CNBC.
“The accidents of birth are just so extreme,” he added. Buffett said he has also seen people “use those accidents to justify positions that are just ridiculous, in my view,” adding that this is “the reason for encouraging philanthropy.”
In 2010, Buffett pledged to donate 99% of his wealth during his lifetime. Over the past two decades, he has donated Berkshire Hathaway shares worth nearly $48 billion at the time they were gifted to the Gates Foundation. Those shares would now be worth roughly $159 billion.
Buffett has a new plan for his remaining fortune
Buffett announced this week that he plans to dispose of all of his Berkshire Hathaway shares by December 31, 2034. After donating around $7 billion in 2025, he expects future donations to average at least $17 billion a year. He also confirmed that future gifts will no longer go to the Gates Foundation. Instead, the money will be distributed through four family foundations run by his three children.
His children will decide how the money is used
Buffett said his three children, now between 68 and 72 years old, must unanimously agree on how the remaining fortune should be distributed. Their foundations support causes including early childhood education, food security, and health and economic programmes for women and children. “The money,” Buffett said, “is theirs, and it’s their responsibility to get it done well.”
Buffett hopes generosity inspires more giving
Buffett acknowledged that billionaire philanthropy is sometimes criticised, with some arguing that large charitable donations are driven by tax benefits or reputation.
Even so, he believes giving can encourage others to do the same.
“If you do things that appeal to people’s better instincts, they respond sometimes,” Buffett said.
He added that the “ultimate goal is to make life better for the people who get short straws,” noting that “there’s a lot more people who get short straws than we’ll ever be able to take care of.”