Warren Buffett says he's among world's '10 luckiest people': 'If my father had been a plumber...'

Legendary investor Warren Buffett, one of the world's richest people with an estimated net worth of around $147 billion, says luck has played as big a role in his success as talent or hard work.

Speaking in an interview with CNBC, the Berkshire Hathaway chairman reflected on the circumstances that shaped his life and career, describing himself as one of the luckiest people on Earth.

"Out of eight billion people, I may be one of the 10 luckiest in the world," Buffett said.

The billionaire investor, who will turn 96 next month, also credited his longevity for allowing him to build wealth over decades.

"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.

"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 made his first stock investment at the age of 11, purchasing three shares of Cities Service for $38 each. The investment marked the beginning of what would become one of the most successful careers in the history of global investing.

Buffett popularised the term during Berkshire Hathaway's 1997 shareholder meeting and reiterated similar views in his 2024 letter to shareholders.

At the time, he acknowledged that being born in the United States and benefiting from the societal advantages of being a white male had contributed significantly to his success.

"So favored by my male status, very early on I had confidence that I would become rich," he wrote.

Currently ranked as the world's 10th-richest person according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Buffett earned his first million dollars at the age of 32 before transforming Berkshire Hathaway into one of the world's most valuable conglomerates.

This year, however, his annual stock donation marked a significant shift. For the first time in nearly two decades, Buffett did not allocate funds to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, ending a philanthropic partnership that began in 2006 and saw more than $47 billion donated to the foundation.

Instead, this year's donations 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 said he informed Bill Gates around 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 matter, Buffett said:

"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 added:

"I found nothing in there that was beyond what I could picture myself doing."

And concluded:

"No one bats a thousand in the business of choosing people."

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.

About the Author