Source: Wikimedia

Dear Diary,

Yesterday, the DOW (DIA) and the S&P 500 (SPY) hit new all-time highs. The NASDAQ (QQQ) pushed over 5,000 for the first time since March 2000. And gold (GLD) lost $7 an ounce.

“Count no man happy until he be dead,” said Athenian statesman and poet Solon.

The man to whom Solon gave the advice was the richest man alive at the time (the 6th century B.C.) – the king of Lydia, Croesus.

Croesus considered himself to be the happiest man alive. But he discovered that fortune could turn against you, no matter how rich and powerful you were.

His son died in an accident. His wife committed suicide. And he was captured and burned alive by Cyrus, king of Persia.

And now, poor Warren Buffett must be feeling the heat. He's 84 years old and the most successful investor of all time. Respected. Admired. Beloved, especially by the thousands of people he has made into millionaires. And “as rich as Croesus” himself. Buffett celebrated the golden anniversary of his investment conglomerate, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A), last week. And what a success!

He turned every dollar invested in 1965 into $182,616 today. For 30 years, he never had a 10-year compound annual gain of less than 20%. Over 50 years his compound annual gain has been 21% – or just over twice that of the S&P 500, including dividends.

And now, Berkshire is worth $367 billion and has $195 billion in annual revenues.

If money were what really matters, Warren Buffett would have no peer. He has had unparalleled success in this world; surely he has a first-class ticket to the next.

And if his good fortune were of his own making, what would he have to fear?