First, let’s go to the data (via Bloomberg):
5,502,284%
That is the per-share market value increase of Berkshire Hathaway stock from 1964 to 2024. Compare that with the SPX total returns of 39,054%; BRK annualized returns are ~20%, about double that of the S&P over the same period.
Those mouthwatering returns have led to a cottage industry of imitators, analytical copycats, and flattering wannabes. But here’s the thing: You cannot do what Berkshire Hathaway accomplished across six decades. The world is very different today, and a truly unique set of circumstances created a unicorn.
We discussed this very topic 5 years ago:
“Out of curiosity, I entered the phrase ‘invest like Warren Buffett’ in a Google search. It yielded 78,600 hits. But Buffett has spent 60 years studying what makes for a great undervalued investment. He had patient investors who gave him space to prove himself. In Charlie Munger, he found a partner who complemented his decision-making process.”
You’re not Warren Buffett, and neither am I.
Statistically, the odds are overwhelming that you are not one of the world’s great investors. The odds are a staggering 100 million to 1.
And that’s fine. You don’t have to be the GOAT to do perfectly well in the stock market.
We have an “unhealthy tendency” to look at the most successful traders and investors with envy. Our desire to imitate their accomplishments is both compelling and dangerous. Some people are unicorns, with unique skills — you cannot simply imitate them. The same thing can happen when we watch elite athletes such as Roger Federer or Tiger Woods and think to ourselves, “I could do that.”
Their effortless talent makes it look easy. Except:
“it’s not and we can’t. The genius of the 1992 “Be Like Mike” Gatorade commercial speaks directly to that naive belief. You and I are about as likely to achieve 40% annual market returns as we are to win six National Basketball Association championships.
But remember, perhaps basketball’s greatest outside shooter, Stephen Curry, did not try to “Be like Mike.” Instead, he honed his skills and blazed his own, different trail. Today, kids want to Be like Steph. The aspiration is fine, but someday maybe they will realize the odds are better at succeeding on their own terms.”
What you should be is a student of Warren Buffett. Learn from his experiences and wisdom. Recognize why he was able to do what he did, and how incredibly difficult it was. And listen to the advice he poured forth for Mom & Pop investors:
1. Bet on America
2. Manage Your Own Behavior
3. Own Broad Indexes as a Core Portion of your Portfolio
That’s it!
You do not need to become a wizard in Graham Dodd, or learn how to value public companies as if they were private, or accumulate billions in cash to make acquisitions.
Don’t take the wrong lessons from Berkshire Hathaway’s incredible run. And you can bet that too many investors are going to take precisely the wrong lessons from Buffett’s many fantastic successes
Since neither you nor I are Warren Buffett, instead of imitating the GOAT, why not use the genius that is unique to YOU to become the best possible investor you can be? Work within your strengths, not somebody else’s. Figure out what advantages you have. Play to your own strengths. Come up with your own plan, style, and strategy that you can live with.
It’s simple, but hard. But hard means challenging, difficult, and requires work – it does not mean impossible. Being the next Warren Buffett? That’s all but impossible.
Instead . . . Be like you.
Previously:
You Are Not Jim Simons Neither am I. (Bloomberg, April 24, 2020) Bloomberg Mirror
Simple, But Hard (January 30, 2023)
See also:
Warren Buffett, Investing’s Philosopher King (Bloomberg, May 4, 2025)
How Warren Buffett Changed the Way Investors Think of Investing (NYT, May 4, 2025)
Buffett’s Astonishing Track Record in Five Charts (Bloomberg, May 5, 2025)
Be Like Mike:
