“Warren Buffett announces plans to retire this year in shock to shareholders,” read the ABC headline.
Seriously?
The bloke is 95 years old! If I were his age, I’d be shocked if I could even get out of bed without sounding like a busted whipper snipper.
All jokes aside, this really is the end of an era: there will never be another Warren Buffett.
I’ve flown to Omaha, Nebraska, more times than I care to count for his legendary ‘Woodstock for Capitalists’ meetings. I’ve interviewed him. I’ve spent time with his kids.
And over the years he’s taught me three lessons that I still live by.
1. Investing My Money
I was in the crowd at Omaha in 2016, notebook in hand, when Buffett casually mentioned he’d instructed his estate to put his money into a simple Vanguard index fund when he dies.
Now, this is the greatest investor of all time. Since 1965, Berkshire Hathaway has grown in value by more than 5,500,000% (not a typo!). The index returned ‘just’ 39,000% in that time. Yet even he said it was smarter to bet on the index.
Why?
Because, as he got older, Buffett realised what most of us eventually do: that simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.
Rather than play the game, he set his family up with low-cost, no-fuss index funds.
That made me rethink everything. Over time I sold all my individual shares and moved to a set-and-forget portfolio.
More time with the kids, and less stressing over share prices. Best move I ever made.
2. Spending My Money
The media love talking about how much Buffett is worth (around $US169 billion).
But they always miss the real story:
He’s never sold a single share in his company Berkshire Hathaway, which doesn’t pay dividends.
In other words, he’s basically held a $180 billion lottery ticket in his pocket for decades … and never cashed it in.
That’s what Buffett’s done. He lives in the same modest suburban house he bought in 1958. Still drives himself to work. In fact, his son once told me that, as a kid, he didn’t even know his dad was rich.
Is that a bit weird?
Hell yes!
But, in a world obsessed with more, one of the richest men in the world chose enough.
3. Working for My Money
When I interviewed Buffett, I asked him the secret to a happy life.
He didn’t even pause: “Find a job that makes you want to tap-dance to work every morning.” And he meant it. While the world calls him the greatest investor of all time, he told me that he’s always seen himself as a teacher.
So, as my great teacher gets set to leave the classroom, let me ask you:
Could you see yourself doing your job at 95?
And if not … what could you be doing that would make you tap-dance to work?
Tread Your Own Path!