They made their fortune in an era of high growth in U.S. economy, debt fueled consumption and rapid globalization. Even boring business do grow fast.They deliberately only invest in businesses they understand, they even said only they only invest when the odds are heavily in their favor and only go all in on those occasions, they are not risktakers, but their unwillingness to not jump on trends and ignore pressure but to basically wait it out for years and ignore the noise, I dont know there is something to be said about that. He admits though, that has been a mistake but investing in apple still reflected his philosophy which is investing in consumer company who have competitive advantages beyond "just having new cool stuff".
Its refreshing to me because the popular meme is a hard charging type a risktaker. I am a stubborn lazy mule, so I am happy there is a exception to the rule.
They have access to low cost borrowing and cheap leverage- through their insurance company ownership. If you read Buffett biography he started investment partnership to convince his rich network to park their money to him. That was how he started.
The problem is you will not make serious money just by investing in Apple today just investing your own money.
The world is struggling to find the next engine of growth, global assets are likely not going to get 30x in the the next 30 years, in real term.
Buffet being ranked the richest person in the world for being an investor could be a misleading role model for young people. In reality people get rich either through having an high income or owning a business. Smart investing is of the least importance.