While your investing choices are personal, there's one option that comes highly recommended by billionaire investor Warren Buffett: The S&P 500 index fund. Here's why it's such a fantastic investment, and how you could earn hundreds of thousands of dollars while barely lifting a finger.
1. Apple: $73.5 billion (24.8% of invested assets) Even though Buffett has overseen the sale of more than 615 million shares of Apple (AAPL -1.03%) between Oct. 1, 2023 and Sept. 30, 2024, the smartphone kingpin remains Berkshire Hathaway's largest holding by a significant amount in the new year.
Warren Buffett's investment strategy has remained relatively consistent over the decades, centered around the principle of value investing. This approach involves finding undervalued companies with strong potential for growth and investing in them for the long term.
Warren Buffett, one of the world's most successful investors, has shared plenty of advice over his long career. But one piece of advice stands out as his top rule: “The first rule of investment is don't lose money.” And if you ask about the second rule?
Despite being the sixth-richest person globally, Warren Buffett continues to drive a 2014 Cadillac XTS he purchased with hail damage. Although he can afford any luxury vehicle, Buffett prefers the practicality of his 10-year-old car.
Buffett and his investment managers bought more shares of Heico in the third quarter of 2024 and increased Berkshire's stake in Sirius XM. They also initiated new positions in Domino's Pizza and swimming pool supplies distributor Pool Corporation.
Warren Buffett says he'd give up an extra year of his life to be able to eat anything he wants. Famously a fan of junk food, the 92-year-old has said he drinks 5 cans of Coke a day and eats McDonald's daily. "I always tell people: I found everything I like to eat by the time I was six," he told CNBC.
A collection of houses and cars. 150 Margaritaville restaurants, casinos, cruises, and related business holdings. A yacht and several planes. Stock market investments, including shares in Berkshire Hathaway.
Musk's best investments include PayPal, SpaceX, DeepMind Technologies, Tesla, and The Boring Company. Elon Musk is an engineer, industrial designer, and technology entrepreneur known for disrupting multiple industries. Musk holds the distinction of being the world's richest person as of January 2025.
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust's top holdings are Microsoft Corporation (US:MSFT) , Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (US:BRK.B) , Waste Management, Inc. (US:WM) , Canadian National Railway Company (US:CNI) , and Caterpillar Inc. (US:CAT) .
The 90/10 rule in investing is a comment made by Warren Buffett regarding asset allocation. The rule stipulates investing 90% of one's investment capital toward low-cost stock-based index funds and the remainder 10% to short-term government bonds.
Junk Bonds
Junk bonds are high-yield corporate bonds issued by companies with lower credit ratings. Because of their higher risk of default, they offer higher interest rates, potentially providing returns over 10%. During economic growth periods, the risk of default decreases, making junk bonds particularly attractive.
Think Value, Not Price
Buffett adopted Graham's belief in buying based on a company's worth. He determines that worth based on how much money the company will generate for shareholders down the line — not how much he'll pay for it now. That advice applies to everything from Apple stock to iPhones.
In a 2017 HBO documentary called Becoming Warren Buffett, the billionaire revealed he stops at McDonald's every day for a $3.17 breakfast made up of one of three items: two sausage patties; a sausage, egg, and cheese; or a bacon, egg, and cheese.
Buffett worked with Christopher Webber on an animated series called "Secret Millionaires Club" with chief Andy Heyward of DiC Entertainment. The series features Buffett and Munger and teaches children healthy financial habits. Buffett was raised as a Presbyterian, but has since described himself as agnostic.
Top Warren Buffett Stocks
Bank of America (BAC), 766.3 million. Coca-Cola (KO), 400 million. Kraft Heinz (KHC), 325.6 million. Apple (AAPL), 300 million.
The world's most famous value investor is sitting on an enormous cash pile. Warren Buffett's conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway currently holds more than $325 billion in cash and equivalents, according to the firm's quarterly financial statements, most of it in U.S. Treasury bills. Everyone wants to know why.
Buffett's choice to leave his fortune to his children, while staying true to his philanthropic values, reflects his approach to life, family, and legacy. For his kids, this isn't just about money—it's about carrying forward the values he's lived by: hard work, responsibility, and giving back.
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett has sung the praises of Apple, but he's never been a fan of smartphones, preferring instead to use a $320 Samsung SCH-U20 that was given to him as a joke by Alexander Graham-Bell. Now, however, it has finally been upgraded to an iPhone 11.
Bezos also owns a car collection reportedly worth around $20 million. His collection includes several high-end vehicles such as a Cadillac Escalade, Land Rover Range Rover, Mercedes-Benz S450, Ferrari Pininfarina Sergio, W Motors' Lykan HyperSport, Bugatti Veyron Mansory and Koenigsegg CCXR Trevita.
Warren Buffett wears Rolex and not other luxury watches because of his pragmatic approach to choice. Rolex is a sign of timelessness, simplicity, precision, and durability.