Warren Buffett has spent nearly nine decades building an investing empire. But he mostly attributes his massive success to one thing: luck.<\/p>\n
The Berkshire Hathaway<\/a> chairman, whose net worth<\/a> now sits at roughly $147 billion, told CNBC in an interview<\/a> published Wednesday that chance, not just skill, has been a defining force behind his career.<\/p>\n \u201cOut of eight billion people, I may be one of the 10 luckiest in the world,\u201d Buffett said.<\/p>\n Ahead of his 96th birthday next month, Buffett pointed to his health and longevity as examples of that good fortune. \u201cI\u2019m losing marbles at this point. I accumulated marbles for a longer time than I deserved.\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s just a matter of luck.\u201d<\/p>\n The \u201cOracle<\/a> of Omaha\u201d has frequently argued that structural advantages matter as much as talent.\u00a0 In a 2024 letter<\/a> to Berkshire shareholders, Buffett credited<\/a> his success in part to being born in the U.S., as well as to the societal advantages of being a white male.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSo favored by my male status, very early on I had confidence that I would become rich,\u201d he wrote. <\/p>\n The investor has previously pointed<\/a> to what he calls the \u201covarian lottery\u201d\u2014a phrase he used in a 1997 Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting\u2014to describe how the circumstances of one\u2019s birth can outweigh individual effort, with hard work and ambition playing secondary roles.<\/p>\n Buffett\u2019s early exposure to investing also played a pivotal role. His father, Howard Homan Buffett, was a stockbroker who introduced him to the stock market at a young age. At just 11, Buffett purchased his first stock, buying three shares of Cities Service at $38 each.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cFortunately I got exposed, partly accidentally, to what I liked to do very early on, and that was just an accident,\u201d Buffett told CNBC. \u201cIf my father had been a plumber, I would not have.\u201d<\/p>\n Buffett currently ranks as the world\u2019s 10th-richest person, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index<\/a>. He stepped down<\/a> as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway late last year but remains actively involved. After a decades-long career that began with earning his first million<\/a> at age 32, Buffett tapped Vice Chairman Greg Abel <\/a>as his successor.<\/p>\n The end of a $47 billion partnership<\/p>\n One of the wealthiest people in the world, Buffett has long committed to giving his fortune away.<\/p>\n