Warren Buffett, the former CEO and chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, held nothing back in his criticism of a market that, in his view, has come to resemble a casino — one where investors throw themselves into gambling-style bets, preferring to wager rather than to reason with a long-term horizon.

Speaking to CNBC’s Becky Quick, Buffett took aim at a stock market that he believes is increasingly driven by speculation. It is, he noted, difficult to find value when everyone would rather gamble, said the Oracle of Omaha.

“A church with a casino attached”

The founder and chairman of Berkshire Hathaway had already voiced harsh judgments on equities earlier this year, when he compared the market to «a church with a casino attached», singling out the boom in zero-day options — contracts that expire the same day they are traded — as a fitting example of speculation.

At 95, Buffett reiterated that, in this environment, investment opportunities have become increasingly rare. A lifelong champion of the philosophy known as value investing, he insisted that a true investor must stay patient and disciplined.

Buffett on the markets: the opposite should be true

Again to CNBC: «There are periods when opportunities come at you one after another at incredible speed. And then there are other times when you are very, very lucky if you manage to find a single good opportunity in a couple of years.» The point, he argued, is that «it should always be this latter situation that prevails.»

The problem, in his view, lies in human nature itself — with results that are plain for everyone to see: «Since human beings love to gamble so much, you make more money cultivating gamblers than training investors.»

The Oracle has returned to the spotlight in recent days with a series of statements, including his personal decision to exclude the Gates Foundation, for the first time in 20 years, from the annual donations his Berkshire Hathaway makes each year.

Buffett’s big regret: buying Alphabet too late

In the CNBC interview, Buffett also offered a mea culpa over an investment he believes he should have spotted far earlier: Berkshire Hathaway’s position in Big Tech name Alphabet, the holding company behind Google and a member of the so-called Magnificent Seven.

It was he himself, he clarified, who decided to start building the Alphabet position — not Greg Abel, Berkshire’s current CEO and his designated successor. Berkshire’s stake in Alphabet is currently worth around $31 billion.

Buffett’s regret? Not having bought the shares sooner: «I made a mistake», he said. Still referring to Alphabet, Buffett said he believes the giant has «much more probability of being a winner, based on its history and its track record, than probably 90% or 95% of what is promoted and sold on Wall Street.»

Berkshire Hathaway has, in fact, continued to load up on Alphabet shares — so much so that the position was the most significant investment the holding company made over the past quarter, growing to account for 6% of the conglomerate’s total portfolio.

Editor’s note

This article was originally published in Italian on money.it by Laura Naka Antonelli on July 16, 2026 as «Warren Buffett contro la Borsa-casinò, Mercati da gioco d’azzardo. E ammette il rimpianto su Alphabet». It has been translated and adapted for an international audience by the Money.it International desk.