Dear Mr. Buffett, 

I am writing to you with a mixed sense of joy and lament after reading your recent and final chairman’s letter to Berkshire Hathaway’s (BRK-A) shareholders. 

First, thank you for all that you have done for so many investors, businesses, and plain individuals like me in ways that you could never fully know or comprehend. You and Charlie Munger combined to create one of the greatest wealth-building teams in modern times. 

For full disclosure, I am not a Berkshire Hathaway shareholder; no doubt you will hear from many of them whose lives and personal fortunes have been enriched by investing in BRK A or B or following your advice. But like so many others around the world, I sincerely appreciate your influence in my life by just watching and learning from afar. Not only have you accomplished much through your personal investing, but you have openly and transparently educated so many others along the way in finances, economics, and stewarding resources well. 

It would be such an honor and joy if my letter finds its way into your hands because, like Alfred Nobel, whom you mentioned had a 2nd chance to recast his legacy, I believe you, too, can correct a sentiment expressed in your final letter before “going quiet.” More about that to come. 

The Big One That Got Away 

My dad, who is now 92, often repeated the story to us of the time when his friend convinced him to buy a share of BRK-A stock in 1986, when “Mr. Market” (as you have referred to it) valued a share at $2900. At that time, Dad thought the stock was overvalued or just too expensive for his liquidity! His friend, who encouraged him to buy the share, jumped in by purchasing a whopping 10 shares. Dad got cold feet and sold his single share for a $500 gain. His friend, on the other hand, decided to hold on to his stock. The rest is history. “Mr. Market” says that a single share of BRK-A is valued at over $753,000 today! 

When you began the “Lunch Auction,” the opportunity to sit with you for a private lunch, more than 20 years ago, I tracked the first auction with daydream-like interest. It was a brilliant idea and a winsome means to generate funds to support a meaningful charitable cause. I watched as the price quickly left the stratosphere. My understanding is that every winner bid more than $1,000,000 to be invited to the steak dinner with you! This simple gesture raised more than $34 million for an organization that provides services to the poor and homeless. These bids did not come from foolish people. They were successful business leaders wanting to learn from your wisdom. 

World’s Best Investor 

While we do not know each other, I teach others about Biblical financial principles and often refer to you (and Charlie) as the “world’s best investors,” a well-deserved accolade and respect earned, not just from the result of your financial achievements but also from the way it was earned. Starting from a very young age, you saw and took opportunities to invest and make money grow. Few people that I have ever read about were so mature and forward-thinking as an adolescent. Certainly, I was not one of them. To the contrary, I was very foolish with money well into my young adulthood. 

There is little doubt that your fortunes were accumulated through a unique gift combined with diligent study, brilliant analysis, common sense, self-control, and virtue. A very special combination of intelligence and humility always guided you. Your success did not come from an inheritance, luck, or random chance. In my frame of reference, this is summarized as wisdom. 

Many have studied and chronicled the lessons in life and investing learned from you. One of my favorites is University of Berkshire Hathaway: 30 Years of Lessons Learned from Warren Buffett & Charlie Munger at the Annual Shareholders Meeting. It is only appropriate to add here that Charlie Munger was cut from the same cloth, and the two of you modeled friendship, wisdom, and humility in the way you sought and listened to each other’s counsel. Author Daniel Pecaut described his book as a summary of the “lessons, wisdom, and investment strategies handed down personally from Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger to shareholders during 30 years of their closed-door annual meetings.” He never mentioned you being lucky. 

Like many of your annual letters, the final one was filled with wit and practical insights gleaned from real life. It was heartwarming to read of your heartfelt fondness for Omaha, Nebraska, as you recounted your gratitude for Dr. Hotz, a family physician with high personal attentiveness to your childhood maladies; for the friends who shared your midwestern values; for your education; for your first and only home; for good neighbors; and for the many highly accomplished fellow Nebraskans who became significant business leaders. 

In pondering your personal life reflections, my mind was pulled to the redemptive story in Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life. You are like George Bailey, a hometown boy who did well for others by sacrificially saving the bank from the evil, greedy Henry Potter. He never left Bedford Falls, but by doing well for his depositors and remaining true to his values, he blessed everyone around him. The celebration in the closing scene reminds us all that character matters more than money or power. That simple story is considered one of the “Top 100 Greatest Movies of All Time.” 

Now at age 95, you, the “Oracle of Omaha,” have stated that you are “going quiet.” I will miss your updates and your plain-spoken wisdom. Had I been able to attend an annual meeting or win my very own Lunch Auction and sit face-to-face, I would make one appeal for your consideration.  

Your final letter makes significant reference to “dumb luck,” “luck,” and “Lady Luck.” The term is intentionally used while making self-deprecating comments about your long life and disproportionate share of financial rewards. I understand you are deflecting credit and humbly acknowledging it was not all about you. That is true; we Americans were advantaged to be born during a time of increased life spans, tremendous economic opportunity, and unprecedented global expansion. But I believe we can identify the source of all good fortune. 

My worldview is that God controls our destiny, and some are set apart through wisdom.  Solomon, the wisest and richest man to ever walk the Earth, said it this way, “By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures” (Proverbs 24:3–4 NIV). This statement closely resembles another: “The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding He established the heavens” (Proverbs 3:19 NIV). 

I don’t, for a minute, believe your life story is attributed to Lady Luck, good fortune, karma, or random chance. God gave you the health, intelligence, and wisdom to accomplish so much. King David summarized his worldview about wealth and success like this:

“Everything in the heavens and earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as being in control of everything. Riches and honor come from you alone, and you are the ruler of all mankind. Your hand controls power and might, and it is at your discretion that men are made great and given strength.”

1 Chronicles 29:11–12 (TLB)

God gave you the riches and the honor, Mr. Buffett. He deserves it in return. I pray that you will consider giving credit to the real Author of your remarkable life story. 

This article was originally published on The Christian Post on November 21, 2025.