I first heard of Warren Buffett when I was 19 years old. I was in the army. One day in the bunk, a fellow army mate said: Warren Buffett is perhaps the only person on the Forbes top ten to have built his wealth without creating any physical products or services.
That planted a seed in me - about investing and the idea of passive income.
It wasn't until 21 or 22 years old that my obsession with investing started. My older cousin handed me a book called The Essential Buffett by Robert Hagstrom. I devoured it.
Since then, Warren Buffett has been a huge inspiration for me.
So flying to Omaha again for the Berkshire Hathaway AGM this year - after 14 years of investing - felt like coming full circle.
After 25 hours of flying, I met up with great friends from all over the world…
Connected with fellow Singaporeans… Yes met Chua Tian Tian, a good buddy at MoneyFM89.3.
Btw, she’s one very hardworking finance presenter on radio!
More importantly, I felt deeply renewed as an investor.
I'm glad I made it. Because this year was historic.
In the final minutes of the Q&A session of CHI Center, the crowd went silent and energy filled with anticipation. I personally witnessed the passing of a torch - Warren Buffett said he would step down as CEO. His Vice Chairman, Greg Abel, will take over by the end of this year.
There was a wave of emotions. I couldn't help but just stand there in awe.
At 94 years old, Warren Buffett was still mentally sharp. You could hear the strain in his voice. And this year's Q&A was shorter by nearly three hours. But his clarity of thoughts was as powerful as ever.
Warren Buffett shaped the way I approach investing, but also how I approach life itself.
This time, I left with 10 powerful lessons I'll carry with me forever.
1. Principles outlives wealth accumulation
Warren Buffett is one of the richest men in the world, with a net worth of US$160 billion - and continues to compound year after year. Yet his approach to life, investing and his worldview hasn't changed.
He still believes in staying humble, honest and investing what you know.
At 94 years old, he's willing to sit in front of tens of thousands of his shareholders and fans to talk about investing. That kind of consistency is rare.
2. The power of emotional discipline
Warren Buffett brushed off the April 2025 market sell-off as really nothing. Over the past 60 years, Berkshire Hathaway shares have fallen 50% three times. Warren Buffett didn't flinch.
He thought there was absolutely nothing wrong with the company and continued to stay the course.
He mentioned: The world makes big mistakes. The more complex the world, the more mistakes it makes. People have emotions. But we got to check them at the door.
It was a deep reminder in the chaos of things, it's about keeping your cool.
3. The passing of the Berkshire Torch
Warren Buffett said he will officially step down as CEO by the end of 2025. Vice Chairman Greg Abel would take over. It was a historic moment.
It taught me the quiet dignity of letting others take over what you've painfully built over the years. It's never easy.
I guess the cliche of leadership isn’t about holding on but letting go at the right time, stays true.
4. Good behaviour compounds too
What I noticed is Warren Buffett spoke a lot about human behaviour.
He said how the compounding of good intentions and good behavior goes a long way. That it happens with kindness, integrity and trust.
At 94 years old, Buffett isn't obsessed with creating enormous returns. It's living with the right intentions.
5. Surround yourself with the right people
This struck me a lot. Warren Buffett said: "You want to be with people who make you feel better than you are. And it's hard to appreciate this until you get older.”
Don't associate with people or enterprises telling you something you shouldn’t be doing.
Instead, he emphasizes how you want to associate with very smart people you can learn from, like what he did in his early days.
In other words, who we surround ourselves with shapes who we become.
One great pleasure is to have people trust you in working.
6. On gratitude and luck
Warren Buffett said the luckiest day of his life was the day he was born. That's because he was born in the United States - the world's biggest capitalist economy.
Warren Buffett was grateful toward life that he could put his strengths and talents in this life.
You win the game the moment you're born in a certain place (in my case, it’s Singapore).
7. Create your path - don't follow someone else's
One of my favourite takeaways is this: That you've to understand how your brain is wired. Different people have different talents. Every profession is suited for different types of people.
Putting in ten hours in one area yields different results for others.
Everyone is born different. It may not be good at the moment.
But you find your own path.
8. Setbacks are part of the game
Everyone gets setbacks. Some have more than others. Some have less.
Warren Buffett joked that everyone is guaranteed a setback in their lifetime — when they die. Having said that, life is still made so much better today.
He said if you look all the way through the history of China, when would you rather have been born? 100 years ago, 500 years ago, or now? Focus on the good things in life. Being alive today is just hands down - lucky.
9. Having curiosity and finding sympathetic teachers
Warren Buffett doesn't believe in spending 10,000 hours on something. He said he could spend 10,000 hours at tap dancing but still not be good at it.
However, if he spent just ten hours reading Benjamin Graham, it would have made a whole lot of difference for him.
We have to be curious about what works for us and that means having an open-mind, staying curious and seeking sympathetic teachers who understand your help.
10. Cathedral vs Casino mindset
Warren Buffett didn't say this outright. But this is one real good example of how to accumulate wealth: Some people build cathedrals - patiently and intentionally.
Some people chase the thrills at the casino. What Warren Buffett has done is created a massive cathedral called Berkshire Hathaway that compounds capital and creates tens of thousands of jobs through his subsidiary companies.
My final thoughts
I'd say Warren Buffett has shaped how I approach life, investing and success.
For me, I'm truly grateful for being able to spend the week in what would be my most electric event I’ve attended for the year.
Sometimes, investing can be simple.
Willie Keng, CFA
Founder, Dividend Titan
The post My 10 Big Life Lessons After Attending Berkshire Hathaway AGM 2025 appeared first on Dividend Titan.
