Billionaire genius reminds us, “It’s never paid to bet against America”

24/7 Wall St. Insights

• Warren Buffett’s current net worth is $137.8 billion, making him someone you should listen to if you’re seeking financial stability.
• Buffett advises against making investments that you don’t understand, instead focusing on the “tried and true.”
• For people in their 50s looking to plan for retirement or prepare for the future, Buffett reminds you that everything will be okay and that you’re more resilient than you think.
• Also: Discover the “Next NVIDIA”

For years, businessman and philanthropist Warren Buffett has held 6.1 million shares of Snowflake, an AI data cloud company offering (as you might guess) cloud-based data storage and analytics. However, in August 2024, Buffett inexplicably sold all 6.1 million shares. Soon after, the stocks began trading lower, a testament to the respect and belief people have in Buffett. Warren Buffett has been a financial powerhouse for decades. In fact, his net worth now sits at a stunning $137.8 billion, making him someone to look up to if you’re hoping to strengthen your financial future. And when you’re in your 50s, what better time to get your savings and finances in order than right now? (Like Warren Buffett, nearly 30% of all billionaires live in the U.S. Here’s which cities have the most billionaires.)

But the great thing about Warren Buffett is that his lessons are actually broader and more applicable than just in the financial space. He also talks about what it means to live a fulfilling life. His practical advice for investing can apply not only to finances but to the way we use and multiply other resources such as time and energy, and who and what we spend them on.

While American culture idealizes youth, many people actually feel more confident and content in their midlife. With their education behind them, their career firmly established, a network of family friends, and their health intact, 50-somethings may feel they are truly at the prime of their lives. It’s also a time when empty nesters can focus on their own relationship after decades of centering the family around their children. At the same time, those in their 50s may be wondering about next steps. (If you’re in your 60s, though, here are 10 Warren Buffett quotes you need to hear.)

That’s why we at 24/7 Wall St. scoured the internet for quotes that might speak particularly to those who have officially achieved a half-century on Earth: a time when you realize you’re not immortal, but are still at the prime of your lives and have so many contributions to the world to still make.

Why We’re Covering These Instead of Watching the Clock

Although your 50s can be, truly, the time of your life, life also isn’t always rosy. This stage of life can be challenged by divorce, adult children returning home, and sometimes substantial responsibilities like raising your grandchildren. At this age, many individuals and couples are also playing catch-up on retirement savings after years when the contingencies of life prevented them from doing little more than living paycheck to paycheck. For some people, it can also be a time when some health issues might start to arise, reminding us of the need to take care of ourselves. These quotes may not be an exact roadmap forward, but they can help motivate and mobilize you to face challenges with a clear mind – and make sure you’re staying on track, personally and financially.

Here are the nine must-hear Warren Buffett quotes if you’re in your 50s: 

1. “Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.”

Why is this relevant?

• As you age, inflation can be frustrating and frightening, especially while planning for future financial needs.
• With a single-minded desire to save money, you might buy inferior products and services that must be redone later.
• You need to consider not only the financial costs but how much time you would have to sacrifice if taking a DIY approach.

You Get What You Pay For

Some people take great pride in doing household projects themselves: things like mowing the yard, doing repairs, and getting on the roof to clean the gutters. Sometimes, they might even be critical of neighbors and others who hire a lawn service or repair person to take care of those jobs for them. This attitude just considers the price, though, not the value received for it. The quality of the work will often be greater with a professional. But more than that, you’ve saved yourself time that can be spent with the people you love or doing more skilled and valuable labor; you’ve saved yourself wasted materials that have to be bought again when you inevitably mess up; and you’ve protected yourself from potential injuries that could set back all your priorities for a long time. All of those things go into the value you’re getting for the $50 you spent to have your yard mowed.

2. “Investment must be rational; if you can’t understand it, don’t do it.”

Why is this relevant?

• New technologies can be tantalizing, especially if you’re playing with the idea of getting in on the ground floor with the next Apple or Amazon.
• Other people, including your adult children, might try to get you to invest in new or unproven opportunities.
• In your 50s, you have a shorter timeframe for retirement investing and need to keep investments in areas that are tried and true.

Mama Didn’t Raise No Dummy

By midlife, you have enough experience to know that there are plenty of opportunities – and people – who are too good to be true. Sometimes you throw our healthy caution to the wind, though. Maybe you’re afraid of being left out of an amazing investment that could help compensate for lost time. Or maybe someone you know, love, and trust is so certain and insistent that you should get into it that you don’t want to disappoint them, so you make decisions against your better judgment. Buffett urges investing in things that might seem simple, boring, and conventional to others but will give you a reliable return on your hard-earned money.

3. “A very rich person should leave his kids enough to do anything but not enough to do nothing.”

Why is this relevant?

• At this age, many people are unduly stressed by the goal of leaving an inheritance for their children.
• A large inheritance can rob children of the knowledge and character-building developed through hard work and ingenuity.
• You and your children will likely benefit far more from meaningful time together than through generating more cold, hard cash.

Don’t Kill Your Kids with Kindness

You don’t have to look far to find examples of rich, entitled kids wasting a fortune passed down to them from more enterprising ancestors. Young people can be spoiled in more than one way by wealth, from not developing a work ethic and not appreciating the value of money, time, and possessions to refusing to interact with solid, salt-of-the-earth people of other social classes or expecting to buy their way out of bad behavior. One of the most valuable gifts to give your children is to allow them to get toughened by experiencing real life without the “bubble wrap” of a large inheritance.

4. “In the business world, the rearview mirror is always clearer than the windshield.”

Why is this relevant?

• Midlife is often a time when you take stock of where you’ve been and may regret some of your life choices.
• You may feel more secure judging your past actions than working through present decisions with unknown future consequences.
• Spending too much time ruminating can cause you to miss current opportunities that may be even more consequential than past mistakes.

Don’t Drive Looking Backwards

Remember that scary scene from Jurassic Park when the T-rex is chasing a jeep? You see it through the rear-view mirror, gaining at terrifying speed, while clearly printed on the mirror are the words, “Objects in mirror are closer than they appear.” Horrifying! That’s what the past can feel like. You think about how everything might have been different if you had only taken a different path at key junctures . Yes, hindsight is 20/20. But why not just consider what would be better in your life if you had made different decisions? Why not consider what would be worse? A healthier approach would be to realize that the past is outside your control, but the present is not. So, put your energy and ingenuity into crafting a life today that you can look back on with satisfaction tomorrow.

5. “I buy expensive suits. They just look cheap on me.”

Why is this relevant?

• We live in a youth- and appearance-oriented culture. It is not always a kind environment to people who are showing signs of aging.
• Culture might influence you to spend too much time and attention on external things that only give you marginal gains.
• In your 50s, you can be confident enough to buck social trends and focus more on practicality than popularity.

Who Are You Trying to Impress?

In the animal kingdom, young males need to compete with one another, posture for females, and go through a mating ritual that maximizes the possibility of strong offspring that will survive to repeat the whole process. Let’s be honest. Clothes, cosmetics, and cars all amount to feathers, fur, and fights to win the best mate we can find.

At that dating-and-mating stage, spending on those things might seem like a good investment to some people, though you might question what kind of person it attracts. And some people in their 50s may indeed divorce and seek to start a new family with a younger spouse. But if that’s not your case, then midlife is a time when you can let go of all that “dress to impress” stress and just be yourselves: comfortable jeans, worn boots, favorite hat, and all. And if anyone doesn’t like that, well, they can just move along.

6. “The best thing I did was to choose the right heroes.”

Why is this relevant?

• You may have set unrealistic goals earlier in life because of the role models you chose.
• Heroes whose examples helped you when you were younger may not be appropriate for your current stage of life.
• At midlife, you may have a more nuanced and perceptive idea of where heroes may be hiding in plain sight.

Time for New Heroes?

Comic book superheroes are larger-than-life in every way imaginable. They have superpowers you can only dream of, do world-changing feats that win them the admiration of the masses, and, of course, have some of the coolest duds and modes of transportation around. But they’re fantasy.

In the same way, the real-life “heroes” we choose for ourselves may also be less than meets the eye. Celebrities go through hours of hair and makeup work, and their photos are still photoshopped. Successful entrepreneurs exaggerate the truth about how much money they have and how much they enjoy their lifestyle. Meanwhile, real heroes live courageously, facing daily struggles others may know nothing about. Whether in business or in just living life, look for those unsung heroes who keep moving forward in life whether or not they are noticed.

7. “The smarter the journalists are, the better off society is.”

Why is this relevant?

• Today, there is real controversy over how much you can trust the media and how beneficial or harmful the media is.
• Without news media, our society would be left in the dark to sort through baseless rumors to try to understand the world around us.
• Buffett’s advice reminds you to seek out smart journalists who do their job well to get the clearest, most transparent information.

Check Your Sources

American culture changes extraordinarily rapidly, especially in this era of sprinting technological advancement. Nobody can keep up with all the changes. It’s easy to start feeling out-of-touch and nostalgic for a time of life when things felt less complicated. Life can feel even more overwhelming when you’re bombarded by sensationalist news stories; “clicks” and “likes” generate advertising revenue, often by scaring your socks off. You need some of the information media provides. This is how you can follow important stories, voting behavior, and investment strategies. But you can choose to limit your exposure only to sources that are reputable and responsible.

8. “When you get to my age, you’ll really measure your success in life by how many of the people you want to have love you actually do love you.”

Why is this relevant?

• For some people, midlife can feel lonely due to the “empty nest” or divorce.
• Some individuals find they have over-committed to career goals and life feels unbalanced.
• Financial success can leave you wondering whether people value you for who you are or what you can give them.

Do You Love What Can Love You Back?

Weddings are a good illustration of how people often invest in the wrong things for long-term happiness. Couples spend tens of thousands of dollars and countless hours getting the details of one day right. But do they invest equally in therapy to work through the issues that can undercut the relationship? Often, people invest more in the wedding than the marriage.

Similarly, money is always a means to an end, not an end in itself. You’ve heard the expression “time is money.” So, making money efficiently allows you to buy time from other people and get more done. Hiring a personal assistant, a housekeeper, or just going out to eat rather than cooking at home are ways of using money to leverage other people’s time. But if you just use that time to make more money, you have to ask, “what’s the point?” And how do your relationships atrophy from neglect while focusing on the wrong thing?

9. “It’s never paid to bet against America. We come through things, but it’s not always a smooth ride.”

Why is this relevant?

• In a rapidly changing world, it’s easy to feel unsettled about what life will be like for your children and grandchildren.
• You might look back with nostalgia and selective memory on an earlier era you think was better.
• Taking a broader perspective can reassure you that our country and the American people are highly resilient in new and challenging circumstances.

Just Breathe. It’s Gonna Be OK!

If you’re in your 50s, you remember a childhood with no microwaves, cell phones, computers, flat-screen TVs, ATMs, bar codes, GPS, or online shopping. It’s easy to romanticize that as a simpler time. That’s especially the case if thinking about the social changes that have happened and created controversy and division. But if you step back and look at the whole history of the country, the people who lived during the Revolution, the Civil War, and the World Wars had no certainty that the country would survive. And in the postwar era, you’ve lived with the real possibility of a global conflict that could end all life on the planet.

And yet you go on, living your daily lives, finding joy in your relationships and whatever pleasures you experience along the way. And you leave the country to the next generation to handle as they see fit and live with the consequences of their choices for good or bad. For your part, you can refuse to be easily alarmed and continue steadily on the course you have set for yourselves. And this is part of the wisdom that comes with having lived for half a century in a stable, prosperous country.

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