Why world’s savviest investor, Warren Buffet, called gold a poor investment

Team TOI Plus
Feb 7, 2026 | 15:33 IST
(Photo: AI)

The 95-year-old billionaire has consistently expressed his dislike for gold as an asset class. In a letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders in 2011, he explained why people keep buying ‘sterile assets’ like gold and why it is such a bad idea

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett has long championed a patient, long-term approach to investing. He began investing at a young age and later studied under legendary value investor Benjamin Graham at Columbia University. Buffett’s philosophy centers on buying high-quality businesses at reasonable prices and holding them for extended periods, rather than chasing short-term gains.

His takeover of Berkshire Hathaway in the mid-1960s is often cited as a defining example of this strategy. What started as a struggling textile company was gradually transformed into a vast conglomerate with interests spanning insurance, railroads, consumer goods, and technology.
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