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With an estimated net worth of around $147.5 billion, legendary investor Warren Buffett has built an extraordinary financial empire – making him the ninth richest man in the world (1).
Now 95, Buffett has finally stepped down from his longtime position as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, after announcing the decision at the company’s annual shareholder meeting in early May. Vice Chairman Greg Abel took over the top job from January 1, 2026, while Buffett will remain chairman.
Despite this change, Buffett is confident in Berkshire Hathaway’s legacy.
“I think I have a better chance 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 that Buffett is living a lavish retirement.
But unlike the high-flying lifestyles of other super-rich celebrities and businessmen, 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.
“You have to be prepared when you buy a stock for it to go down 50% or more and be comfortable with it … but some people aren’t really paying attention,” 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 fear and build a better future.
Market volatility is not exactly a foreign concept to the Oracle of Omaha. Buffett started investing at the age of 11 in 1942. After going through several recessions, Buffett repeatedly ignored 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 traumatic and costly military conflicts; the Depression; about a dozen recessions and financial panics; oil shocks; an influenza epidemic; and the resignation of a president in disgrace. Yet the Dow rose from 66 to 11,497.”
Instead of trying to time the market, the billionaire advocates for skill development.
“Whatever skills you have, they can’t be taken away,” Buffett said at Berkshire Hathaway’s 2022 annual shareholder meeting.
“They cannot be inflated away from you. The best investment by far is anything that grows you and is not taxed at all (5).”
While this isn’t traditional investment advice, Buffett firmly believes that by regularly investing in knowledge and self-improvement, you become an asset and can more easily access wealth growth opportunities.
“Address whatever you feel are your weaknesses and do it now,” Buffett said during a different interview with Forbes (6).
“No one can take away what you have inside of you – and everyone has potential that they haven’t used yet. If you can increase your potential by 10%, 20% or 30% by improving your talents, they can’t tax it. Inflation can’t take it away. You have it for the rest of your life.”
Even now, Buffett offers sage investment advice for investors who want to protect their wealth and even grow it while keeping their tax liabilities low.
Here are some of his top investment strategies.
Read more: Warren Buffett used 8 solid, repeatable rules to turn $9,800 into a $150 billion fortune. Start using them today to get rich (and stay rich)
Real estate is generally a “good investment” during times of inflation, according to Buffett.
“They’re businesses that you buy once, and then you don’t have to keep making capital investments afterward. So you don’t have the problem of continuous reinvestment involving ever-larger dollars because of inflation,” he said during Berkshire Hathaway’s 2015 shareholder meeting.
But while real estate might be a good investment, its barrier to entry can be difficult to overcome. Fortunately, there are plenty of platforms that can allow you to invest in real estate with ease.
First National Realty Partners facilitates the diversification of accredited investors through opportunities in the needs-based, grocery-anchored retail space.
After all, even during an economic crisis, 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 collect quarterly cash flows through a diverse real estate portfolio while accessing an inflation-hedging asset.
If you’re not an accredited investor or simply don’t want to invest thousands of dollars in a single asset, new investment 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 parts 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 calls for broken pipes.
To get started, simply browse their selection of vetted properties, each chosen for their appreciation and income-generating potential. Once you choose a property, you can start investing and earning any monthly dividends.
Arrived even offers a secondary market, meaning that under the right circumstances you can cash out early.
Buffett has been around the block a few times, experiencing many highs and lows. He has managed a stock portfolio during periods of double-digit inflation rates since the 1970s, and has a wealth of knowledge about what to own when consumer prices rise.
Buffett likes high-quality businesses with low capital needs, such as Apple. The tech company boasts impressive financials that have allowed it to thrive during times of inflation.
But you don’t always need to set aside large sums to reach your retirement goals. Ten dollars a week could make a lifetime difference – if you’re smart about what to do with your spare change.
That’s where platforms like Acorns can come into play. When you make a purchase with your credit or debit card, it is automatically rounded to the nearest dollar. The excess – coins that would end up in your pocket if you paid cash – is automatically invested in a smart investment portfolio.
Let’s say you buy a donut for $2.30. Before you finish the sugar off your fingers, Acorns will round up to $3.00 and invest the 70 cent difference for you. Look at this math: $2.50 of daily summaries adds up to $900 a year – and that’s before your savings make money in the market.
In addition, if you sign up now with a recurring monthly deposit of only $5, you can get a bonus investment of $20 to start investing.
While Buffett is known to be uninterested in investing in gold — describing it in a 2011 letter to shareholders as an asset “that will never produce anything” — other monetary experts see it as a solid hedge against inflation because its purchasing power has remained relatively stable over time.
For example, Ray Dalio, the founder and former CEO of Bridgewater Associates, was a staunch supporter of the precious metal.
“Gold is a very excellent portfolio diversifier,” Dalio said at the Greenwich Economic Forum in October, adding, “because it’s an asset that does very well when typical parts of the portfolio go down (7).”
And this happened in 2025 and into 2026. A tumultuous market drove investors to gold, pushing its price up about 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 rather than 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 advantages is to open a gold IRA with the help of Thor Metals.
The Gold IRA allows investors to hold physical gold or gold-related assets in 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 protect 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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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. Offered without warranty of any kind.
