I would prefer not to be born rich: Warren Buffett

Legendary billionaire investor Warren Buffett on Wednesday said he has been enormously lucky with his business ventures but added he would prefer not to be born rich.

When asked how much of luck had contributed towards his success, the world's third richest man admitted: "I have been enormously lucky. I had very, very lucky genes."

He was born in 1930, a "wonderful time" to be born in.

Had he been born in a different society and also as a black, "I would not have same chances", Buffett said at an interaction organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here.

"Personally, I would much prefer not to be born rich", he said responding to a question. He would like to be born with "certain talents" that are useful to the society so that he would lead to good life.

Buffett, the Chairman and CEO of conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway, said his two sisters - one elder and another younger - were smarter than him but "opportunities were not the same" for them. Expectations from the sisters were "different" then, he said.

According to Buffett, women were treated like second-class citizens in the US for 140-plus years, which meant that "half the talent and intellect" was set aside. "This is crazy," he said.