Moneywise and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commissions or revenue through links to the content below.
With an estimated net worth of around $147.5 billion, legendary investor Warren Buffett has built a massive financial empire – making him the ninth richest person in the world (1).
Now, at age 95, Buffett has finally retired from his longtime position as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, announcing the decision at the company’s annual shareholder meeting in early May. Vice Chairman Greg Abel took over the top job on January 1, 2026 while Buffett will remain as chairman.
Despite the upheaval, Buffett remains confident about Berkshire Hathaway’s legacy.
Buffett said in an interview with CNBC (2) that “any company I can think of has a better chance of being here 100 years from now.”
With a net worth like his, you can assume that Buffett will have a lavish retirement life.
But unlike the high-roller lifestyles of other super-rich celebrities and business people, Warren Buffett lives by smart — and surprisingly simple — investment philosophies that have positively influenced millions of investors around the world. One of his most famous rules is to buy and hold as long as possible.
“When you buy a stock, you should be prepared for it to go down 50% or more, and be comfortable with that … but some people really aren’t careful,” Buffett said at Berkshire Hathaway’s 2020 annual shareholder meeting (3).
“Some people are more subject to fear than others.”
Here’s how to fight fear and build a better future.
Market volatility is not exactly a foreign concept to the Oracle of Omaha. Buffett started investing in 1942 at the age of 11. Having survived several recessions, Buffett has time and again downplayed short-term market volatility.
“In the long run, stock market news will be good,” Buffett wrote in an Op-Ed for the NY Times in 2008 (4).
“In the 20th century, the United States endured two world wars and other painful and costly military conflicts; depressions; a dozen or so recessions and financial panics; oil shocks; flu epidemics; and the resignation of a disgraced president. But the Dow rose from 66 to 11,497.
Instead of trying to time the market, billionaires advocate developing skills.
Buffett said at the 2022 Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders meeting, “Whatever talent you have, you can’t take it away from you.”
“They cannot be kept away from you. The best investment by far is anything that develops yourself, and it is not taxed at all (5).”
This is not a traditional investment tip, Buffett firmly believes that by regularly investing in knowledge and self-improvement, you become an asset to yourself and can more easily access opportunities to grow your wealth.
Buffett said in a different interview with Forbes (6), “Address whatever weakness you perceive, and do it now.”
“Nobody can take away what you’ve got – and everyone has potential that they haven’t used yet. If you can increase your potential by 10%, 20% or 30% by developing your talent, they can’t take that away. Inflation can’t take it away from you. You have it for the rest of your life.”
Even now, Buffett has wise investment advice for investors looking to preserve their wealth and grow it while minimizing their tax liability.
Here are some of his top investment strategies.
Read more: Warren Buffett used 8 solid, repeatable money rules to turn $9,800 into a $150B fortune. Start using them today to get rich (and stay rich).
According to Buffett, real estate is generally a “good investment” in times of inflation.
“They are businesses that you buy once, and then you don’t have to continue to invest capital. So, you don’t have to deal with the problem of constant reinvestment involving more and more dollars because of inflation,” he said at the 2015 Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting.
But, while real estate can be a good investment, its barrier to entry can be difficult to overcome. Fortunately, there are many platforms that allow you to invest in real estate with ease.
First National Realty Partners makes it easy for accredited investors to diversify through opportunities in the grocery-anchored, need-based retail space.
After all, even in times of economic recession, people still need to buy bread. Even better, thanks to a triple net lease, tenants pay essential costs like property taxes, building insurance and common area maintenance — plus base rent.
With a minimum investment of $50,000, accredited investors can potentially collect quarterly cash flow through a diversified real estate portfolio while tapping inflation-hedging assets.
If you’re not an accredited investor, or just don’t want to invest thousands of dollars in a single property, new investment platforms like Arriv can help you tap into the real estate market for less than $100.
Backed by world-class investors including Jeff Bezos, Arrived allows you to invest in shares of vacation and rental properties, earning a passive income stream without the extra work that comes with owning your own rental property — no midnight maintenance and burst pipes.
To get started, simply browse through their selection of vetted properties chosen for their ratings and income-generating potential. Once you choose an asset, you can start investing and earn any monthly dividends.
Arriving also offers a secondary market, which means that, under the right circumstances, you can quickly cash out.
Buffett has been around the block a few times, experiencing many highs and lows. He has managed a stock portfolio through a period of double-digit inflation rates in the 1970s and has great insight into what to own when consumer prices rise.
Buffett prefers high-quality businesses with low capital requirements, such as Apple. The technology company boasts impressive financial metrics, which have enabled it to thrive during inflationary periods.
But you don’t always have to put away large sums of money to move toward your retirement goals. Ten dollars a week can make the difference of a lifetime — if you’re smart about what you do with your spare change.
That’s where platforms like Acorn can come into play. When you make a purchase with your credit or debit card, it is automatically rounded up to the nearest dollar. Coins in your pocket – automatically invested in a smart investment portfolio – if you were paying cash.
Let’s say you buy a donut for $2.30. Before you lick the sugar off your fingers, Acorns will round the amount to $3.00 and invest the 70-cent difference for you. Check out this math: $2.50 worth of daily round-ups adds up to $900 a year — and that’s before your savings make money in the market.
Plus, if you sign up now with a recurring monthly deposit of just $5, you can get a $20 bonus investment to kickstart your investment.
While Buffett is known for his lack of interest in gold investments — describing it in a 2011 letter to shareholders as an asset that “never produces anything” — other money mavens consider it a solid hedge against inflation because its purchasing power has remained relatively stable over time.
Ray Dalio, founder and former CEO of Bridgewater Associates, for example, has been a staunch supporter of precious metals.
“Gold is a very good diversification in a portfolio,” Dalio said at the Greenwich Economic Forum in October, “because it’s an asset that does very well when specific parts of the portfolio go down (7).”
And it played in 2025 and is going to 2026. A turbulent market pushed investors toward gold, pushing its value up nearly 70% over the past year (8).
Opting for a gold IRA gives you the opportunity to hedge against market volatility by allowing you to invest directly in physical precious metals instead of stocks and bonds.
If you want to convert an existing IRA to a gold IRA, companies usually offer a 100% free rollover.
One way to invest in gold that also offers significant tax benefits is to open a gold IRA with the help of Thor Metals.
Gold IRAs allow investors to hold physical gold or gold-related assets within a retirement account, combining the tax advantages of an IRA with the protective benefits of investing in gold, making it an attractive option for those looking to potentially hedge their retirement funds against economic uncertainties.
To learn more, you can get a free information guide that includes details on getting up to $20,000 in free metals on qualified purchases.
We rely only on vetted sources and reliable third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.
Forbes (1), (6); CNBC (2), (3), (5), (7); NY Times (4); Apmex (8)
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
