Most people see Warren Buffett as one of the greatest investors the world has ever known. His decades of successful investing have made him a global business icon and one of the richest people on the planet.

But ask Buffett what made him successful, and his answer may surprise you. Instead of pointing to intelligence, discipline or years of experience, the investing legend says he owes much of his success to one simple thing, i.e., luck.

Speaking in a recent interview with CNBC, the Berkshire Hathaway chairman said he considers himself one of the luckiest people in the world.

Buffett said that, out of eight billion people, he considered himself to be among the 10 luckiest in the world.

Buffett, whose fortune is estimated at around $147 billion, believes that simply living a long life has played a major role in building his wealth.

As he prepares to celebrate his 96th birthday next month, the veteran investor joked that time has been one of his biggest advantages.

Buffett joked that he was "losing marbles" with age and said the length of his investing career, which allowed him to accumulate enormous wealth, was simply a matter of luck.

The comment reflects a belief Buffett has repeated for years that success is often influenced by factors people cannot control.

THE ROLE HIS FATHER PLAYED

One of the biggest turning points in Buffett's life, he said, was being introduced to investing by his father, Howard Homan Buffett, who worked as a stockbroker. That early exposure helped shape his future long before he realised how valuable it would become.

Buffett bought his first shares at the age of 11, purchasing three shares of Cities Service for $38 each. That small investment marked the beginning of a career that would eventually turn him into one of the world's most successful investors.

THE 'OVARIAN LOTTERY' THEORY

Buffett has often spoken about what he calls the "ovarian lottery" — the idea that the circumstances into which people are born can have a huge impact on their future.

He first popularised the term during Berkshire Hathaway's 1997 shareholder meeting. According to Buffett, factors such as family background, country of birth and early opportunities can sometimes matter more than talent or hard work.

He repeated the same view in his 2024 letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, where he acknowledged that being born in the United States and benefiting from the opportunities available to a white male gave him significant advantages.

Buffett acknowledged in his 2024 shareholder letter that the advantages he enjoyed as a white male gave him the confidence from an early age that he would become wealthy.

In other words, while hard work and smart decisions matter, Buffett says the opportunities people receive early in life, and the luck of being in the right place at the right time, can make all the difference.

- Ends

Published By:

Jasmine anand

Published On:

Jul 21, 2026 12:55 IST