5 Warren Buffett Principles for Building Wealth

Warren Buffett has made another major investment move. Berkshire Hathaway increased its stake in Alphabet, the parent company of Google and YouTube, making it one of the company’s largest equity investments.

Reuters reported on Friday (14/8/2026) that Berkshire increased its ownership in Alphabet by 83 percent in the second quarter of 2026. As of 30 June, Berkshire held nearly 106 million Alphabet shares worth approximately 37.8 billion US dollars, up from 57.8 million shares three months earlier. Alphabet is now Berkshire’s third-largest equity investment after Apple and American Express.

The investment attracted attention not only because of its sizeable value. Buffett, who handed over the CEO role of Berkshire to Greg Abel at the end of 2025 and now remains chairman, admitted that he was the one who first proposed the investment in Alphabet.

Buffett told CNBC in July 2026 that the Alphabet investment was his idea. Berkshire began building a position in the Google parent company’s shares in the third quarter of 2025. Buffett and Abel also continue to consult on how Berkshire’s capital is allocated.

The move shows that in his later years Buffett is still applying the principles that have shaped his investment journey for decades: seeking value, not rushing, and putting money into assets he believes can generate value over the long term.

However, the lessons from Buffett are not only relevant for people with billions of dollars to buy shares. The investor nicknamed the Oracle of Omaha has repeatedly given financial advice that is far simpler and can be applied in everyday life.

Here are five Warren Buffett principles for building wealth.

1. Settle Expensive Debt Before Busying Yourself Chasing Returns

Before thinking about which shares will rise, Buffett reminds us of the importance of settling high-interest debt. He once gave this advice at the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting on 2 May 2020 in Omaha. The meeting was held virtually due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

When answering a question about credit cards, Buffett told a story about a woman who asked him for advice. The woman had money, but also had credit card debt with an interest rate of around 18 percent. Buffett’s answer was straightforward:

“If I had debt with 18 percent interest, the first thing I would do every time I had money would be to pay off that debt.”

The statement is documented in the CNBC Warren Buffett Archive from the Berkshire annual meeting on 2 May 2020. Buffett even said he did not know how to consistently generate an 18 percent return, so paying off debt with that high an interest rate made far more sense than looking for new investment ideas.

The message is simple but important: do not chase investment returns while wealth continues to leak away paying high-interest consumer debt. Before buying shares, a person needs to know where their income is going, control spending, build a reserve fund, and reduce expensive interest-bearing debt as much as possible.