When Warren Buffett and Mark Cuban agree on something, it's worth paying attention. These two couldn't be more different in their approaches to building wealth, yet they've both landed on the same answer when asked about their best investment ever: themselves.
Buffett, whose net worth grew from $10 million at age 30 to roughly $147 billion today, doesn't mince words about where you should put your first dollars. "Investing in yourself is the best thing you can do. Anything that improves your own talents; nobody can tax it or take it away from you," he told ABC News. "They can run up huge deficits and the dollar can become worth far less. You can have all kinds of things happen. But if you've got talent yourself, and you've maximized your talent, you've got a tremendous asset that can return 10-fold."
It's a compelling pitch. Your skills won't get hit with capital gains taxes. Inflation can't erode them. No market crash will wipe them out. Buffett emphasizes that expanding your abilities, gaining experience, and building your network are investments that never depreciate.
Cuban, the Shark Tank personality known for backing startups and small businesses, echoes this thinking from a different angle. "Some of the best investments I've ever made were investing in myself, first and foremost," he explained to Men's Health. "When you're first starting, you may or may not have a job. You don't have any money. You're at a complete uncertainty about your career."
That's the point where most people feel paralyzed, but Cuban saw it as the perfect time to invest in himself. When you have nothing, betting on your own potential is actually your highest-probability play.
What makes this advice particularly interesting is that both billionaires agree you have more control over returns from self-investment than from almost anything else in your portfolio. The stock market does what it wants. Real estate has cycles. But your decision to learn a new skill or gain meaningful experience? That's entirely yours to manage.
Their shared perspective highlights something important about today's economy. In a world where AI is reshaping industries and career paths look nothing like they did a generation ago, adaptability matters more than ever. The investors who built massive fortunes in very different ways both concluded that the most reliable asset is the one you develop within yourself.
It's practical wisdom disguised as investment advice. And coming from two people who clearly figured something out about building wealth, it's worth taking seriously.




