Warren Buffett Says Babies Born In The U.S. Are 'The Luckiest Crop in History' Amid 'Abundance of Capital'

Warren Buffett believes the U.S. market-based economic system has consistently generated wealth for centuries and will continue to create opportunities for future generations despite occasional setbacks.

In his 2016 letter to Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK, BRK.B)) shareholders, Buffett said that the country’s economic achievements have far exceeded the expectations of its forefathers, thanks to human talent, ambitious immigrants, and the rule of law. He called early Americans “venturesome pioneers” for creating a system that unleashed human potential and is expected to continue delivering because of innovation and “abundance of capital.”

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“This economic creation will deliver increasing wealth to our progeny far into the future,” Buffett wrote. “I’ll repeat what I’ve both said in the past and expect to say in future years: Babies born in America today are the luckiest crop in history.”

‘Our Nation’s Wealth Remains Intact’

Buffett acknowledged that Americans often rely on debt to buy homes, cars, and other assets, and some may lose if they cannot repay their loans. However, he believes the nation’s overall wealth continues to grow.

“Ownership customarily passes to an American lending institution that then disposes of it to an American buyer,” Buffett said. “Our nation’s wealth remains intact. As Gertrude Stein put it, ‘Money is always there, but the pockets change.'”

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Buffett said that since its founding, the U.S. has developed top universities, world-class medical centers, hyperproductive factories, millions of homes, and vast farmland. These achievements show the country’s economic system has worked.

“They all represent a net gain for Americans from the barren lands, primitive structures and meager output of 1776,” Buffett wrote.

‘America’s Abundance’

Buffett said that the country’s market system is the main driver of the country’s abundance because it efficiently directs capital and human resources to their most productive uses. He thinks that public support in the U.S. is often seen as benefiting only the elderly, but reminded that millions of babies born each year are entitled to a free public education, largely funded by local taxes.

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“Above all, it’s our market system – an economic traffic cop ably directing capital, brains and labor – that has created America’s abundance,” Buffett said. “This system has also been the primary factor in allocating rewards.”

Buffett said that despite economic divisions, the majority of wealth generated in the U.S. belongs almost entirely to Americans.

“Foreigners, of course, own or have claims on a modest portion of our wealth,” Buffett said. “Those holdings, however, are of little importance to our national balance sheet: Our citizens own assets abroad that are roughly comparable in value.”

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