Warren Buffett credits luck for his $147 bn net worth: 'I may be one of the 10 luckiest'

Legendary investor Warren Buffett has spent nearly nine decades building one of the world's greatest investing empires. Yet the billionaire insists that his extraordinary success is due as much to luck as it is to talent or hard work.In an interview with CNBC, the Berkshire Hathaway chairman reflected on the role chance has played throughout his life and career, saying he considers himself among the luckiest people on the planet."Out of eight billion people, I may be one of the 10 luckiest in the world," Buffett said.The billionaire investor, whose net worth is estimated at around $147 billion, said his longevity has been one of the greatest factors behind his success as he approaches his 96th birthday next month."I'm losing marbles at this point. I accumulated marbles for a longer time than I deserved. That's just a matter of luck," he remarked.'If my father had been a plumber...'Buffett has often argued that success depends heavily on circumstances beyond an individual's control. One of the biggest turning points in his own life, he said, was being introduced to investing at a young age by his father, Howard Homan Buffett, a stockbroker."Fortunately I got exposed, partly accidentally, to what I liked to do very early on, and that was just an accident," Buffett told CNBC.He added, "If my father had been a plumber, I would not have."Buffett bought his first stock at the age of 11, purchasing three shares of Cities Service for $38 each, a decision that marked the beginning of one of the most remarkable investing careers in history.Buffett has long credited luck over talentThe "Oracle of Omaha" has repeatedly spoken about what he calls the "ovarian lottery"—the idea that the circumstances of one's birth often matter more than individual effort.During Berkshire Hathaway's 1997 shareholder meeting, Buffett popularised the phrase to explain how factors such as where a person is born, their family background and opportunities can outweigh talent alone.He echoed similar sentiments in his 2024 letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, where he acknowledged that being born in the United States and benefiting from the societal advantages of being a white male played a significant role in his success."So favored by my male status, very early on I had confidence that I would become rich," he wrote at the time.Buffett remains active after stepping down as CEOCurrently ranked as the world's 10th-richest person, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Buffett stepped down as Berkshire Hathaway's CEO last year after decades at the helm.He has handed leadership to Vice Chairman Greg Abel, although he continues to remain actively involved with the company.Buffett earned his first million dollars at the age of 32 and went on to build Berkshire Hathaway into one of the world's most valuable conglomerates. Philanthropy enters a new chapterBeyond investing, Buffett is also one of the world's most generous philanthropists.In 2010, he joined The Giving Pledge, promising to donate 99% of his fortune to charitable causes.However, this year's annual stock donation marked a major shift.For the first time in nearly two decades, Buffett did not allocate funds to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, ending what had become one of the largest philanthropic partnerships in modern history.Since 2006, Buffett had donated more than $47 billion to the foundation established by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates.Instead, this year's gifts will go to charities run by or associated with his family. The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, named after his late wife, will receive 9 million Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares, while the Sherwood Foundation, Howard G. Buffett Foundation and the NoVo Foundation will each receive 1 million shares.Buffett revealed that he informed Bill Gates about three weeks ago that he would no longer make donations to the Gates Foundation.The decision follows reports that Buffett had paused future donations while reviewing concerns surrounding Gates' past association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.Reflecting on the issue, Buffett said people can make mistakes when judging others."While it's distasteful, while he made mistakes, I made mistakes in hiring all kinds of people or choosing friends, and then finding out later that they weren't what I thought they were," he said."I found nothing in there that was beyond what I could picture myself doing."He added, "No one bats a thousand in the business of choosing people." Buffett wants his fortune distributed within eight yearsLast year, Buffett announced that the Gates Foundation would no longer receive donations after his death and that responsibility for distributing the remainder of his fortune would rest with his three children.More recently, he accelerated those plans, saying he hopes his wealth will be distributed within eight years."My children are unfortunately growing older. I have every hope that the three of them are able to carry out the disposal of my shares by December 31, 2034," Buffett said in a recent press release.Get the latest movie news, reviews, and celebrity updates. Download the TOI App.