“Start Young“ is Warren Buffett's short answer to a question about how one could replicate his success and eventually reach a fortune of $30 billion. The question was posed at Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting of shareholders in May 1999, when the investor's personal fortune was estimated at $30 billion.
When asked what he would do if he were in his early 30s again, Buffett steered the conversation not to a specific stock but to time. He compared capital accumulation to a snowball rolling down a long slope. The earlier the movement begins, the more time accumulated returns have to turn into new returns.
Buffett would start at A
In another part of his answer, the investor explains how he would use $10,000 if he were starting over. “I would start at A,” he says, describing a methodical study of companies one by one. His focus would be on smaller companies because they are more likely to have opportunities that are out of sight of large investment funds.
The approach is related to Buffett’s basic principle: stocks represent small shares of real businesses. Therefore, according to him, an investor should look for good companies and buy them at attractive prices, instead of relying on market fads or other people's opinions.
“You can't look around for people to agree with you“, Buffett says. According to him, a person needs to understand what he knows, recognize what he doesn't know and make decisions on his own.
The First $100,000
Charlie Munger, Buffett's longtime partner, adds another practical part to the conversation. According to him, the first $100,000 is the hardest amount to accumulate, especially when you're starting from scratch.
Munger points to three habits that can speed up this process: making smart decisions, constantly being alert to opportunities, and spending significantly below your income. So the conversation about turning $10,000 into billions returns to the more prosaic basics of investing – saving capital and patience.
More than two decades after that conversation, Buffett is no longer CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. As of January 1, 2026, the position has been filled by Greg Abel, while Buffett remains chairman of the board. However, the basic principles that the investor described in 1999 remain the same: start early, do your own research, buy quality businesses at a reasonable price and take enough time to accumulate results.
Sources: thestreet.com, buffett.cnbc.com, investing.com