Investing legend Warren Buffett bemoaned the gambling culture that has taken over financial markets while continuing to preach his brand of patience.
In an interview with CNBC on Saturday as Berkshire Hathaway held its annual shareholders meeting, he noted that of the 60 years he’s been in business, only five of them were “really juicy” with opportunities. But when there are no good bargains to be found, the “oracle of Omaha” is fine doing nothing.
That’s largely been the case for years. While Berkshire has acquired some smaller companies, the lack of mega-deals has sent the conglomerate’s cash pile to nearly $400 billion.
Buffett stepped down as CEO at the end of last year, but he remains involved in the investment portfolio—and still doesn’t like the prices that he’s seeing.
That’s due in part to investors acting like they’re playing a card game. To be sure, he’s long compared financial markets to a church with a casino attached. But the casino has gotten very attractive, he told CNBC.
Buffett pointed to the growing popularity of one-day options, saying, “That’s not investing. It’s not speculating. It’s gambling, just totally.”
He also cited the example of a U.S. Army soldier who made $400,000 on a prediction market, knowing in advance about the military’s raid to capture Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro. Earlier this month, Justice Department charged him with insider trading.
Meanwhile, college and professional athletes have also been caught trying to manipulate prediction markets as online sports betting has exploded.
“And the quantity of those things is just incredible,” Buffett said. “So we’ve never had people in a more gambling mood than now. But that doesn’t mean that investing is terrible. It does mean that prices for an awful lot of things will look very silly.”
He has famously said the best time to buy is during steep downturns, urging investors to “be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful.”
Buffett, who is still Berkshire’s chairman, reiterated that advice Saturday and said the most likely time to buy is when nobody will answer their phones because the markets are collapsing.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also pushed back recently against the get-rich-quick mindset many Americans have, warning it often leads to more financial instability.
The billionaire former hedge fund manager has even made financial literacy a priority since joining President Donald Trump’s administration, driven by a childhood marred by poverty.
“There are a lot of young people, mostly young men, going to blue-collar construction jobs, playing the lottery. It drives me crazy,” Bessent said in an interview with the Associated Press.
”The best thing you can do is not play the lottery,” he said — rather, people should invest and “then watch it grow.”
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