Warren Buffett's Berkshire Compounded at 19.7% a Year for 61 Years, a 6,099,294% Cumulative Gain. Can Investors Still Learn From That Playbook Today?

At the end of 2025, Warren Buffett stepped down from his longtime position as the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRKA)(NYSE: BRKB). Over the 61 years he ran the company, the stock produced incredible returns for shareholders, rising by more than six million percent. Over the same span, the S&P 500 index (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) gained 46,000%.

Clearly, Buffett earned the nickname the "Oracle of Omaha." But can you still benefit from his investment wisdom now that the 96-year-old investor is no longer with Berkshire Hathaway? You sure can!

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What did Warren Buffett really do?

Buffett's investment approach is deceptively simple to explain. He liked to buy well-run businesses while they were attractively priced. Then he liked to hold for the long term, so he could benefit from the growth of the businesses in which he invested. That's something that any investor can do. And while all investment approaches go in and out of favor over time, this one has clearly proven itself to be a long-term winner.

That said, Buffett was also highly selective. He once described investing as a baseball game where they don't call balls and strikes. His point was that you don't have to swing at every pitch, even though you should have a diversified portfolio. The Motley Fool recommends 50 stocks as a good portfolio size, but there are thousands of investments you could choose from. Once again, Buffett's advice is very good: Be selective.

The key, however, is buying stocks that you want to own for the long term. Think decades, noting that Buffett owned stocks like Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) and American Express (NYSE: AXP) for an extremely long time. If you jump in and out of stocks, you can't really benefit from the growth of a business. It can be hard to stick it out through bear markets, but that's exactly what you need to do. Which brings up another bit of wisdom from the Oracle of Omaha: Having the right temperament is more important than being intelligent when it comes to investing. He advised investors to work on limiting the most common mistakes investors make.

Buffett's investment playbook is as good today as it was 61 years ago

Buffett never told investors specifically how to pick stocks, providing just vague guidelines. You need to find an investment approach that makes sense to you, preferably with a bias toward well-run companies, reasonable valuations, and long holding periods. But that could lead you toward growth, value, or dividend stocks, depending on how you prefer to invest.

That said, you should probably focus as much attention on controlling your emotions as you do on buying stocks, so you have the wherewithal to hold for decades and benefit from the growth of the select group of businesses you choose to own. It all sounds so simple, but in another 61 years, long after he is gone from Berkshire Hathaway, investors will still have as much to learn from Warren Buffett as they do today.

American Express is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Reuben Gregg Brewer has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends American Express and Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.