What Buffett and Munger Said in 2022

1. What did he buy? Occidental Petroleum, Chevron, and Hewlett-Packard—old-energy and tech stocks. In other words, he doesn’t think the price volatility brought on by the Russia-Ukraine war is temporary, and he believes a financial crisis may be coming.

2. Buffett says he holds a large cash stash and could step in to rescue the markets with it, just as the Federal Reserve would, in the event of a similar crisis—again pointing to the possibility of a financial downturn.

3. He advises young people against embracing digital currency. As the voice of old money, Buffett naturally doesn’t want the kind of money he defines to be redefined. The only reason young people are unhappy and want to flip the table is dissatisfaction with how wealth is distributed. That frustration comes from the wealth gap—from feeling there’s no hope, no chance in their lifetime that their wealth will outpace theirs. At its core, they’re unhappy with the gambling table itself.

4. So what’s the best inflation hedge for a young person with nothing? His advice is to invest in yourself and become a better version. If you’re poor enough, your assets can’t shrink—even in a financial crisis, because you have none to begin with. And if you’re foolish enough to make no money even when the economy is booming, how can you possibly expect to make money when it’s bad? My advice: face reality and work on improving yourself first.