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With an estimated net worth of about $147.5 billion, legendary investor Warren Buffett has built a tremendous financial empire — making him the ninth richest person in the world (1).
Now, at 95 years old, Buffett has finally retired from his longtime post as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, having announced the decision at the company’s annual shareholder meeting in early May. Vice-chair Greg Abel took over the top job as of Jan. 1, 2026 while Buffett will remain as chairman.
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Despite this shake-up, Buffett is confident about Berkshire Hathaway’s legacy.
“It has a better chance I think of being here 100 years from now than any company I can think of,” Buffett said during an interview with CNBC (2).
With a net worth like his, you might anticipate Buffett living out a lavish retirement.
But unlike the high-roller lifestyles of other extremely 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 for as long as possible.
“You’ve got to be prepared when you buy a stock to have it go down 50% or more, and be comfortable with it … but some people are not really careful,” Buffett said during Berkshire Hathaway’s 2020 annual shareholder meeting (3).
“Some people are more subject to fear than others.”
Here’s how to fight the fear and build a better future.
Invest in yourself
Market volatility isn’t exactly a foreign concept for the Oracle of Omaha. Buffett began investing when he was 11, back in 1942. Having lived through several recessions, Buffett has, time and again, shrugged off short-term market volatility.
“Over the long term, the 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 traumatic and expensive military conflicts; the Depression; a dozen or so recessions and financial panics; oil shocks; a flu epidemic; and the resignation of a disgraced president. Yet the Dow rose from 66 to 11,497.”
Rather than trying to time the market, the billionaire advocates developing skills.
“Whatever abilities you have can’t be taken away from you,” Buffett said at the 2022 Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders’ meeting.
“They can’t be inflated away from you. The best investment by far is anything that develops yourself, and it’s not taxed at all (5).”
While this isn’t a traditional investment tip, Buffett firmly believes that by regularly investing in knowledge and self-improvement, you yourself become an asset and can more easily access opportunities for growing your wealth.
“Address whatever you feel your weaknesses are, and do it now,” Buffett said during a different interview with Forbes (6).
“Nobody can take away what you’ve got in yourself — and everybody has potential they haven’t used yet. If you can increase your potential 10%, 20% or 30% by enhancing your talents, they can’t tax it away. Inflation can’t take it from you. You have it the rest of your life.”
Even now, Buffett has wise investment advice for investors seeking to shield their wealth and even grow it while keeping their tax obligations low.
Here are some of his top investing strategies.
Read More: Approaching retirement with no savings? Don’t panic, you’re not alone. Here are 6 easy ways you can catch up (and fast)
Real estate
Real estate is generally a “good investment” during times of inflation, according to Buffett.
“They’re the businesses that you buy once, and then you don’t have to keep making capital investments subsequently. So, you do not face the problem of continuous reinvestments involving greater and greater dollars because of inflation,” he said during the 2015 Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting.
But, while real estate might be a good investment, its barrier to entry can be difficult to cross. Luckily, there are plenty of platforms that can allow you to invest in real estate with ease.
Become the landlord of a Walmart
First National Realty Partners makes it easy for accredited investors to diversify through opportunities in grocery-anchored, necessity-based retail space.
After all, even during an economic downturn, people still need to buy bread. Even better, thanks to triple net leases, 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 diverse real estate portfolio while tapping an inflation-hedging asset.
Diversify your portfolio with residential real estate
If you’re not an accredited investor, or simply don’t want to invest thousands of dollars in one asset, new investing platforms like Arrived help you tap into the real estate market with as little as $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 being a landlord of your own rental property — no midnight maintenance calls over burst pipes.
To get started, simply browse through their selection of vetted properties, each picked for their appreciation and income-generating potential. Once you choose a property, you can start investing and earn any monthly dividends.
Arrived even offers a secondary market, meaning that, under the right circumstances, you can cash out early.
Stocks pricing power
Buffett has been around the block a few times, experiencing many highs and lows. He has managed a stock portfolio through periods of double-digit inflation rates in the 1970s and has plenty of insight on what to own when consumer prices spike.
Buffett likes high-quality businesses with low capital needs, such as Apple. The technology company boasts impressive financial metrics, which have enabled it to thrive during periods of inflation.
But you don’t always have to put away large sums to move toward your retirement goals. Ten dollars a week could make a difference over a lifetime — if you’re smart about what to do with your spare change.
Make your spare change count
That’s where platforms like Acorns can come into play. When you make a purchase on your credit or debit card, it’s automatically rounded up to the nearest dollar. The excess — coins that would wind up in your pocket if you were paying cash — is automatically invested in a smart investment portfolio.
Let’s say you purchase a doughnut for $2.30. Before you’re done licking the sugar off your fingers, Acorns will round the amount to $3.00 and invest the 70-cent difference for you. Look at this math: $2.50 worth of daily round-ups add up to $900 per year — and that’s before your savings earn 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 investing.
Gold
While Buffett is known for being uninterested in gold investing — describing it in a 2011 letter to shareholders as an asset “that will never produce anything” — other money mavens consider it to be a solid hedge against inflation because its purchasing power has remained relatively stable over time.
For instance, Ray Dalio, the founder and former CEO of Bridgewater Associates, has been a staunch supporter of the precious metal.
“Gold is a very excellent diversifier in the portfolio,” Dalio said at the Greenwich Economic Forum in October, adding, “because it is one asset that does very well when the typical parts of the portfolio go down (7).”
And this has played out in 2025 and going into 2026. A tumultuous market has driven investors towards gold, pushing its price up by about 70% in 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 rather than stocks and bonds.
If you’d like to convert an existing IRA into a gold IRA, companies typically offer 100% free rollover.
One way to invest in gold that also provides significant tax advantages 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, which combines 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 how to get up to $20,000 in free metals on qualifying purchases.
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Article Sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible 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.