Aswath Damodaran: It’s Better To Be Lucky Than To Be Smart Or Good

During his recent presentation, Aswath Damodaran explains why it’s better to be lucky than to be smart or good. Here’s an excerpt from the presentation:

Damodaran: Now, I’d like to start this session with a few confessions.

The first is a boastful one. Which is, my portfolio has held its own this year, but it’s because of two stocks that are in it.

One is NVIDIA, and the other is Microsoft. And as you know, if you’ve been following the markets, those two stocks have benefited from the AI story.

The second confession is that I’d be lying if I told you that I bought these stocks to benefit from the AI story.

I bought Microsoft in 2014 and NVIDIA in 2018, and AI wasn’t even a thought in my mind when I bought these companies.

Which I think reinforces what I’ve always believed: it’s better to be at the right place at the right time, to be lucky, than it is to be smart or good. And I just got lucky!

You can watch the entire discussion here: