When investing legend Warren Buffett wrote in 1995 that “a rising tide lifts all yachts,” he wasn’t celebrating prosperity, he was issuing a warning. In booming markets, strong results don’t necessarily mean strong skill. Sometimes they just mean everyone with a pulse is getting richer at the same time. Three decades later, in the midst of what many speculate to be a bubble within the artificial intelligence (AI) market, that line feels less like a clever paraphrase and more like a timeless diagnosis of how investors routinely confuse luck with genius.
Then-CEO Buffett used the phrase while discussing Berkshire Hathaway’s (BRK.A) (BRK.B) massive gains in 1995, a year when markets surged broadly. Berkshire’s net worth jumped 45%, a staggering result by almost any standard. But instead of taking a victory lap, Buffett downplayed it.
