Think You’re Too Old for Wealth? 4 Lessons To Learn From Warren Buffett Getting Rich After 50

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Warren Buffett is well-known for being one of the richest people on earth and arguably the most successful investor of the past half-century. Forbes estimates his net worth at about $146.1 billion, which ranks No. 10 on the list of the world’s wealthiest people.

Given Buffett’s status now, it’s easy to forget that the Berkshire Hathaway chairperson and legendary “Oracle of Omaha” didn’t become fabulously wealthy until later in life.

Buffett, who turned 95-years-old last August, didn’t become a billionaire until age 56, according to a 2024 report from Benzinga. He accumulated nearly all of his wealth (99%) after the age of 50.

Here’s a look at Buffett’s net worth as a younger man, per Benzinga:

• Age 21: $20,000
• Age 26: $140,000
• Age 30: $1 million

Becoming a millionaire at age 30 was a much bigger deal back then (1960) than it is now. But becoming a billionaire — which Buffett did in 1986 — is still a very big deal in 2025.

If you think you can’t build or accelerate your wealth after the age of 50, Buffett is proof that you can. To get there, here are four lessons you can learn from him.

Be Patient

Practicing patience in the stock market is easy when you’re younger because you have a lot more time to benefit from the compounding effect. But it’s also important when you’re past 50 — and maybe even more important.

If impatience leads you to make a costly investment mistake when you’re older, you won’t have nearly as much time to correct it. Don’t let your age convince you to abandon the principles of investing in financially strong companies for the long term.

As Morningstar noted, one of Buffett’s more well-known quotes is that the stock market “is a device for transferring money from the impatient to the patient.”

Learn New Skills

This is another important Buffett principle, whether it’s in the workplace or in the stock market.

He advised that you “invest in as much of yourself as you can because anything you invest in yourself, you get back tenfold.”

When you reach age 50, you must continue to develop your money management skills, research new investment strategies, embrace new technologies, and learn everything you can about how to maximize your returns.

Don’t Take Unnecessary Risks

Buffett learned the importance of “margin of safety” from his professor, mentor and one-time boss Benjamin Graham, Morningstar reported. That lesson carries additional weight when you reach an age when it’s harder to recover from bad bets.

“It’s far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price,” Buffett once said.

In practice, this means shying away from financial moves where the risk is greater than the potential returns. In Buffett’s case, he has largely avoided going deep into debt, investing in derivatives and putting himself in a position where you have to “depend on the kindness of strangers.”

Put Money Into Low-Cost Index Funds

Buffett recommends that all investors purchase index funds as a way to achieve solid returns with minimal risk. A good place to start is with a very low-cost S&P 500 index fund.

“If you invested in a very low-cost index fund — where you don’t put the money in at one time, but average in over 10 years — you’ll do better than 90% of people who start investing at the same time,” Buffett said at Berkshire’s 2004 annual meeting.

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