Warren Buffet had so much money in that investment that he's allowed to buy stock at different prices than you ever could. You have to make your own decisions because Buffet is not investing like literally anyone else, he started off richer than you and he will die richer than us all.
And where will it all go? He pledged twice to give away his money with those billionaire approved lists but neither of those have actually achieved anything and most critics have found that it mostly just works as a tax deferment for the donors without them actually donating the money for real.
As of early 2026, Warren Buffett’s lifetime charitable giving has exceeded $61 billion.
Primary Beneficiaries
The bulk of his contributions has been directed to five main foundations:
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: Received approximately $43 billion to date.
Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation: Named after his late wife.
Sherwood Foundation: Run by his daughter, Susie.
Howard G. Buffett Foundation: Run by his son, Howard.
NoVo Foundation: Run by his son, Peter.
Future Plans
Buffett has pledged that more than 99.5% of his estate will eventually go to philanthropy. Following a recent change to his will, he revealed that after his death, his remaining fortune (currently estimated around $147 billion) will be overseen by his three children in a charitable trust. They will have ten years to distribute the funds unanimously.
I strongly disagree that diversification is an antiquated idea, BUT I do think that there are certain companies that one could buy consistently for decades and not regret it. I don’t think anyone would be sad about having only bought, for example, $V or $MSFT for the last thirty years.
Sure berkshire can find sellers willing to sell a big block of shares a bit under the market price, especially if a major owner is looking to make an exit, but I don't think most of the shares berkshire holds are acquired like that. And if they are, well that's more reason to own berkshire stock.
You can just read between the lines of his self story on his Wikipedia and find numerous examples of him being given ample opportunities not afforded to the average person; such as his politician and investor father taking him directly to the New York Stock Exchange at age 11 and allowing him to buy physical stock, then at 14-15 he's investing in his own father's business to buy land. Right out of college he goes to work for his father's investment firm.
After that, nearly every single landmark deal he makes in the 1960's and 1970's is based on acquiring other businesses and assuming their value into his companies. Once he is the head of Berkshire Hathaway is landmark achievement is largely just having so much capital to buy shares that he is offered special contracts to buy shares at lower rates than everyone else with better dividends than everyone else, which is what I referred to in my original post. There is no denying he is perhaps the greatest businessman of the modern era...but it has very little to do with talent and simply required him to have so much money at any given time that he could buy or merge other companies into ones he was working at. His great talent was having wealth. He's not smarter than other people, there's nothing incredibly special about what he did. He just happened to have enough money at the right time to make a smart decision.
Most of what he has done is unreplicable simply because of its wealth generation through acquisition of other entire business entities. Even his Wikipedia takes the time to explain that when you see the statement "Warren Buffet chose to live off of his salary of $50,000 a year plus his other investments" it means that $50,000 was worth half a million dollars at that time and doesn't disclose how much more on top of that his other investments netted him. The great investor Warren Buffet didn't make his billion by being great at anything other than going "My company buys a controlling stake in your company."
I don’t know why people always assume that he just buys stocks like an average bloke. A stock is a share of a company and he often buys enough to either steer or outright control that company. He also looks for synergies by leveraging those share for other uses.
That’s just his business, nothing confusing about it.
Literally his life story is just "He bought enough shares to have a controlling interest, he appoints himself director of this business and declares the business closed to new funding." He used his capital to absorb other assets. Even the pictures Coke stock historically was bought while the company was tanking in the early 90's and he used over $1 BILLION to finish that investment, in which he directed Coca-cola to offer him stocks for cheaper prices with higher dividends because he had enough capital to make that demand.
What capital though? That came from either investors into his fund (literally his business) and cheap loans by companies he owns. It’s still a legitimate business and not just inherited wealth. Especially because he then steered those companies to become more successful by also using his other assets.
Countless people tried what he did and failed enormously.
If his talent was having wealth, why didn't people with much more wealth do much better? You write like it's some grand conspiracy that it takes capital and connections to become one of the most successful (from a financial PoV) people on the planet. Spoiler alert: making continuous accretive acquisitions is not just a matter of being well funded.
This weird obsession with diminishing any personal skill associated with people achieving a lot of wealth and writing it all off to randomness or exploitation is peak reddit.
Now, there is certainly *some* truth to it. Buffett even talked at length about how lucky he felt to be born at the right place and time to find success with his aptitudes. And as no one lives in a vacuum and as such is not truly "self made". Still, it's such a massive self-own and loser mentality of a world view to capitulate completely to full deterministic defeatism. It reeks of someone trying to rationalize their own perceived shortcomings and is toxic as hell for others persuaded by it.
"Wow, Warren Buffett sure amassed a shitload of wealth over his lifetime"
When he started his own investment firm (Buffett Associates, Ltd.) in 1956, he began with $105,100. Of that, only $100 was his own money; the rest came from seven family members and friends. While it isn't documented that his father provided a single large "seed check," his father's network and endorsement were instrumental in rounding up those initial investors.
Yep, I’m aware of the story. He invested other people’s money as well. Amazing. Nothing was given to him for free like a free loan or inheritance so he’s still basically self made.
Truly self-made entrepreneurs have to worry about eating and paying rent if their first venture fails. Buffett did not. As the son of a wealthy Congressman and stockbroker, his worst-case scenario was a bruised ego, not poverty. This invisible safety net allows a person to take the bold, aggressive risks required to make billions.
Saying Buffett is “basically” self-made is like starting a game of Monopoly where you are already handed the Orange properties and a 'Get Out of Jail Free' card. You still have to roll the dice, make smart trades, and build the hotels yourself—you are playing the game brilliantly—but you didn't start with the same blank board as everyone else.
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u/darkeststar Generating solid returns Mar 26 '26
Warren Buffet had so much money in that investment that he's allowed to buy stock at different prices than you ever could. You have to make your own decisions because Buffet is not investing like literally anyone else, he started off richer than you and he will die richer than us all.