Warren Buffett amassed a net worth of over $130 billion, a figure made even more stunning by the fact that the vast majority of this wealth was built after his sixtieth birthday.

More than 2,000 books are dedicated to how Warren Buffett built his fortune. Many of them are wonderful. But few pay enough attention to the simplest fact: Buffett’s fortune isn’t due to just being a good investor, but being a good investor since he was literally a child. As I write this Warren Buffett’s net worth is $84.5 billion. Of that, $84.2 billion was accumulated after his 50th birthday. $81.5 billion came after he qualified for Social Security, in his mid-60s. Warren Buffett is a phenomenal investor. But you miss a key point if you attach all of his success to investing acumen. The real key to his success is that he’s been a phenomenal investor for three quarters of a century. Had he started investing in his 30s and retired in his 60s, few people would have ever heard of him. Consider a little thought experiment. Buffett began serious investing when he was 10 years old. By the time he was 30 he had a net worth of $1 million, or $9.3 million adjusted for inflation.16 What if he was a more normal person, spending his teens and 20s exploring the world and finding his passion, and by age 30 his net worth was, say, $25,000? And let’s say he still went on to earn the extraordinary annual investment returns he’s been able to generate (22% annually), but quit investing and retired at age 60 to play golf and spend time with his grandkids. What would a rough estimate of his net worth be today? Not $84.5 billion. $11.9 million. 99.9% less than his actual net worth. Effectively all of Warren Buffett’s financial success can be tied to the financial base he built in his pubescent years and the longevity he maintained in his geriatric years. His skill is investing, but his secret is time. That’s how compounding works. Think of this another way. Buffett is the richest investor of all time. But he’s not actually the greatest — at least not when measured by average annual returns.

If Warren Buffet made chocolate, I’ll bet it’d be really rich. And corrupt.

So here’s the kicker: with the state taxes we’re saving every year, we are literally paying off our entire new home in six years! Did you catch that? We’re paying for our entire home out of the tax savings we now get as residents of the Sunshine State instead of the Golden State. Kind of makes you think we should have done it sooner, huh? Better late than never.

Warren Buffett, one of the richest guys in the world, openly admits that his effective tax rate is lower than his secretary's. It's time to tell the billionaire class that if they want to enjoy the benefits of America, they have to accept their responsibilities, and they have to start paying their fair share of taxes.

We borrowed money, it helped us with bonds and what not, and the Federal Government backed it, but it was a guarantee, it was not a grant. And we not only paid it off, but we paid it off ahead of time.

whether your home costs $500,000 or $2 million. A 30-year loan on $270,000 at 6% requires an initial monthly payment of $1,618. With this technique, you would also write a second check for an extra $270 — next month’s principal balance — a very small number, relatively speaking. That second check of $270 is money you’ll never pay interest on. To be clear, you’re not paying extra money; you’re simply prepaying next month’s principal a touch sooner. Hold yourself to this pay-it-forward strategy each month, and, again, you’ll be able to pay off a 30-year mortgage in just 15 years — cutting the total cost of your home by close to 50%.

According to most estimates, he reached $1 million at age thirty, $25 million at age forty, $375 million at age fifty, and $1 billion at age fifty-six.

When you get rid of the estate tax,” he (Warren Buffet) said, “you’re basically handing over command of the country’s resources to people who didn’t earn it. It’s like choosing the 2020 Olympic team by picking the children of all the winners at the 2000 Games.

Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.” -Warren Buffet

We waste our time with short-term thinking and busywork. Warren Buffett spends a year deciding and a day acting. That act lasts decades.

The year 2015 marks the fiftieth anniversary of Berkshire Hathaway under Warren Buffett's leadership, a milestone worth commemorating. The tenure sets a record

Warren Buffett has a mantra: “Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful.

Risk comes from not knowing what you’re doing. — WARREN BUFFETT