Legendary investor Warren Buffett brims with health and vitality even at the age of 95 making people wonder about the wellness secrets of the nonagenarian. Is it biohacking, a secret diet, or a fitness routine that drives his demanding routine and flawless decision making? Turns out, The Oracle of Omaha, the popular tag he has got from his loved ones, has a simple formula to live longer – ‘Eat like a six-year-old’ does’.
“I checked the actuarial tables, and the lowest death rate is among six-year-olds. So I decided to eat like a six-year-old,” he said in a 2015 interview with Fortune magazine, a quote that has gone viral since then, making people ponder on their own life choices.
Buffett doesn’t count calories or invest in longevity hacks, he eats and sleeps like a child does, and yet runs a trillion-dollar company with a sharp mind and a happy disposition. While his calorie-rich diet typically falls in the ‘wrong food habits’ bracket, it has kept him going so far.
A Coca-Cola lover
Buffett is a Coca-Cola fan and guzzles five 12-ounce cans every day. “If I eat 2,700 calories a day, a quarter of that is Coca-Cola. I do it every day,” he told Fortune.
The King-size breakfast
No superfoods or morning drinks, Buffett eats McDonald’s meals everyday with a few favourites that he alternates between. In his HBO documentary ‘Becoming Warren Buffett’, he revealed that he visits the fast food outlet everyday for a $3.17 breakfast which has one of the three items – two sausage patties; a sausage, egg, and cheese; or a bacon, egg, and cheese. He polishes it off with Coke.
More junk in lunch
The billionaire’s lunch is full of sugar and salt, the two sinful ingredients, wellness enthusiasts stay away from. But not Buffett. His love for junk extends to lunch times too as he is a frequent customer of Dairy Queen and loves to eat a chili-cheese dog and an ice cream sundae with cherry syrup and chopped nuts. He also snacks on See’s Candies.
Sleeping like a baby
While his eating habits cannot be termed as healthy, Buffett perhaps compensates it with the right sleep routine. Despite his hectic life, in a 2017 interview with PBS News Hour, he has professed his love for a sound sleep. “I like to sleep. So I will usually sleep eight hours a night,” he said. This is one longevity habit that the American College of Cardiology has also approved, and the institute notes that it does add more years to your life.
A game of Bridge
With age and responsibilities, people may forget to keep their inner child alive. But Buffett enjoys multiple games of Bridge with his friends. He told the Washington Post that “I play a lot”. “You are seeing a different intellectual challenge every seven minutes. It’s the best exercise there is for the brain,” he added.
He schedules ‘nothing on’ days
Bill Gates revealed in an interview with Bloomberg that there are days in billionaire’s calendar when “there’s nothing on”.
“I’m very fortunate in that…I’m pretty much in command of my own time, but I have a lot of fun doing it,” he said at the Berkshire Hathaway’s 2001 annual meeting.
A lot of reading
The legendary businessman is a heavy reader and spends at least five-six hours a day reading and thinking. “I find it enjoyable to think about business or investment problems,” he said in HBO’s documentary.
Happiness is what keeps him going
Apart from these unconventional habits, the entrepreneur feels it’s happiness that makes all the difference.
In his own words: “I think happiness makes an enormous amount of difference…in terms of longevity. I’m happier when I’m eating hot fudge sundaes or drinking Coke,” Buffett said in a 2017 CNBC interview.