5 Stock Tips From Warren Buffett Worth Living By

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According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Warren Buffett is the only one in the top 10 whose net worth has increased in 2025 through April 4, up $12.7 billion.

The Oracle of Omaha has been selling stocks from Berkshire Hathaway’s (NYSE:BRK.B) massive equity portfolio for over a year, signaling to investors that the markets were overvalued and primed for a selloff. In 2024, Berkshire sold $134 billion, bringing the company’s cash hoard to $334 billion. 

Now that the markets are in freefall over the Trump administration’s tariff policies and the global trade war created by their implementation, Buffett looks almost prescient.    

Buffett is often considered one of the world’s greatest investors because of the long-term gains he’s generated for Berkshire shareholders over many decades. However, his caution regarding the current investment climate illustrates why the man is a legendary investor. 

If investors only study one person’s investment philosophy, Warren Buffett is the only name you must consider. He’s iconic for a reason. 

Given the economic turbulence Trump’s policies will cause the global economy in 2025 and beyond, here are five tips from Warren Buffett to get safely through it.  

Key Points About This Article:

• Billionaire investor Warren Buffett has become well known for his many quotes and wisdom and his long-term track record of investment success.
• Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.B) went to cash far sooner than most professional investors. Its shareholders have benefited from this conservative investment strategy. 
• These five tips from the iconic investor will help you weather the current market volatility and any future trends.
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Remember the First Rule of Investing

If investors follow only one of Warren Buffett’s investing rules, it is always to protect your capital. 

“The first rule of an investment is don’t lose [money]. And the second rule of an investment is don’t forget the first rule. And that’s all the rules there are,” MarketWatch quoted Buffett’s advice in April 2024. 

For most investors, this means diversifying their portfolios across asset classes and the number of securities held in each asset class. 

Buffett has often maintained that most retail investors are best served by putting 90% of their portfolios in a low-cost S&P 500 index ETF or mutual fund and the remaining 10% in short-term U.S. government bonds. 

With Buffett moving his holding company to cash, he’ll have plenty of dry powder to invest in much cheaper stocks once the correction bottoms. 

Patience Is a Virtue

Investors will watch Berkshire’s 13F holdings reports over the next two or three quarters to see when Buffett moves to invest some of its massive cash hoard. You might be waiting a while. The man is incredibly patient. 

“Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago,” Buffett is attributed to saying this.  

On the surface, this could mean that you should take action now. However, before taking action, it also could mean that you plan out your investment strategy, thinking about the next five, ten, or even 20 years. 

“Only buy something you’d be perfectly happy to hold if the market shut down for 10 years,” is another quote attributed to Buffett. 

If you make every investment decision based on a long-term plan combined with patience and understanding, you’ll do well in the long run, as Buffett has. 

Don’t Use Debt to Invest

Even though companies do it constantly to buy back shares, Buffett doesn’t recommend that regular investors use leverage to invest in the markets, especially during a market correction, as is happening now. 

Buffett said the following in Berkshire’s 2017 letter to shareholders:

“There is simply no telling how far stocks can fall in a short period. Even if your borrowings are small and your positions aren’t immediately threatened by the plunging market, your mind may well become rattled by scary headlines and breathless commentary. And an unsettled mind will not make good decisions.”

The recommendation to abstain from debt closely follows Buffett’s recommendation for patience. That is why many experts suggest in times of market turmoil, the best thing to do, counter-intuitively, is nothing.

Only Invest in Quality Businesses

It’s easy for regular investors to be attracted to penny stocks, which are low-priced stocks trading below $5, because you can buy more shares with your $1,000 investment than Berkshire shares, around $500.

However, the only thing that matters to Buffett is that he owns a piece of an excellent business, hopefully forever. 

“It’s far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price. Charlie understood this early; I was a slow learner. But now, when buying companies or common stocks, we look for first-class businesses accompanied by first-class managements,” Buffett wrote in Berkshire’s 1989 shareholder letter. 

While timing can’t always be perfect, Buffett believes you can’t go wrong if you focus on quality rather than quantity. 

Use Fear to Your Advantage

No Warren Buffett quote is repeated more often than one made in an October 2008 interview with the New York Times. 

“A simple rule dictates my buying: Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful. And most certainly, fear is now widespread, gripping even seasoned investors. To be sure, investors are right to be wary of highly leveraged entities or businesses in weak competitive positions. But fears regarding the long-term prosperity of the nation’s many sound companies make no sense,” Buffett said. 

The legendary investor said these words in the middle of the financial crisis. He was focused on reassuring investors that buying stocks in American companies would remain an excellent way to build passive wealth over the long haul. 

In hindsight, he was 100% right. I don’t imagine anything about what he said in 2008 has changed his tune. In the long run, fear will dissipate. 

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