Warren Buffett warns Generation Z about making a fortune: “It’s not just hard work”
Gen Z is grinding, but Buffett says that more is needed to get rich, and it may be a surprising solution for some.
If you’re part of Generation Z, chances are you’ve been told to hustle your way to success. Grind. Post. Monetize. Repeat.
But Warren Buffett – a man worth over $130 billion and famously frugal with everything but Coca-Cola – thinks that advice may be missing the mark. When asked recently how young people can become self-made millionaires, he didn’t talk about stocks, startups, or even savings. Instead, the 94-year-old investor gave a different kind of answer – one that might surprise anyone who thinks hard work is the full story.
What is Buffet’s advice to Gen Z?
In an interview with CBS News, Buffett said the foundation for fortune isn’t just effort. It’s about figuring out your strengths, picking the right people, and being willing to make mistakes. That last part may be the toughest ask of all – especially for a generation that entered the workforce during a pandemic and has faced constant uncertainty.
The kind of people you work with, Buffett warned, can make or break your future. He looks for three traits in a partner: intelligence, energy, and integrity – and insists that if one’s missing, the other two don’t matter. And don’t kid yourself into thinking you can change someone.
“Marrying someone to change them is crazy, and hiring somebody to change them is just as crazy,” he said in Fortune.
Buffett’s own longtime business partner, Charlie Munger, had all three traits, and their decades-long collaboration turned Berkshire Hathaway into a juggernaut. The flip side of that kind of success?
More from Warren Buffet:
Understanding the path to wealth
As you may know, Buffett sold Coke door-to-door as a kid. Then there’s Bill Gates who wrote software and more recently MrBeast posted video game clips. The hustle matters... but it’s not enough. Buffett’s real advice is to “invest in yourself.”
That’s the one bet he says always pays off. The rest – partners, mistakes, timing – is just part of the game.
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