Ovarian Lottery Quotes

systems work better when perceived as fair. Buffett launched into an intriguing thought problem he called “the ovarian lottery.” You are to be born in 24 hours. You are also to write all the rules that will govern the society in which you will live. However, you do not know if you will be born bright or retarded, black or white, male or female, rich or poor, able or disabled. How would you write the rules? Buffett

Warren generally shared his wife’s liberal views, if not her desire to work in a hands-on way to improve society. He strongly rejected the Horatio Alger view of success so popular among conservative-minded business types and instead talked often of how the “ovarian lottery” determined people’s fate. As he’s said: “For literally billions of people, where they are born and who gives them birth, along with their gender and native intellect, largely determine the life they will experience.

Warren Buffett has famously attributed much of his success to “winning the ovarian lottery”—that is, being born as a white male to middle-class parents in an America on the cusp of the postwar boom.

Most of the world’s seven billion people found their destinies largely determined at the moment of birth. There are, of course, plenty of Horatio Alger stories in this world. Indeed, America abounds with them. But for literally billions of people, where they are born and who gives them birth, along with their gender and native intellect, largely determine the life they will experience. In this ovarian lottery, my children received some lucky tickets. Many people who experience such good fortune react by simply enjoying their position in life and trying to ensure that their children enjoy similar benefits. This approach is understandable, though it can become distasteful when it is accompanied by a smug “If I can do it, why can’t everyone else?” attitude.

Buffett calls winning the ovarian lottery.