{
  "id": 14594607,
  "title": "Warren Buffett Wrote \"Buy American. I Am.\" 18 Years Ago This Week. Should You Still Follow His Advice?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/15/warren-buffett-wrote-buy-american-i-am-18-years-ago-this-week-should",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-10-15T02:14:02.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Motley Fool",
    "slug": "motley-fool",
    "url": "https://www.fool.com/investing/2026/10/14/warren-buffett-wrote-buy-american-i-am-18-years-ago-this-week-should-you-still-follow-his-advice/?source=iedfolrf0000001"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Eighteen years ago, on October 16, 2008, during the height of the financial crisis, Warren Buffett published an op-ed in The New York Times titled \"Buy American. I Am.\" At that time, the S&P 500 was at around 941, already down about 40% from its October 2007 peak. Over the following months, the index continued its decline, hitting a low of around 677 on March 9, 2009. However, investors who bought at the end of October 2008 and held on to their investments have seen substantial gains. For instance, $10,000 invested in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) at that time would now be worth approximately $115,600, with dividends reinvested. This represents a nearly 11.6-fold increase, or nearly 15% growth per year. Buffett's op-ed was a personal account of his own investment strategy, in which he had previously only owned U.S. government bonds. He emphasized the need to be fearful when others are greedy and vice versa, but he was clear that he couldn't predict the future direction of the market. The op-ed was written in the midst of the financial crisis, with the S&P 500 already down about 40% from its October 2007 peak. Despite the grim outlook, Buffett's advice to buy American stocks proved to be a wise decision for those who followed his lead.",
  "summary": "Following the Oracle of Omaha's advice meant seeing $10,000 drop to around $7,400 first.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Nasdaq Markets",
        "title": "Warren Buffett Wrote \"Buy American. I Am.\" 18 Years Ago This Week. Should You Still Follow His Advice?",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/15/warren-buffett-wrote-buy-american-i-am-18-years-ago-this-week-should-14609332",
        "published": "2026-10-15T02:34:02.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}