Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett announced at the company’s annual shareholder meeting on May 3 that he will step down as chief executive at the end of this year. He will stay on as chairman.

Since taking over what was once a struggling textile company in 1965, Buffett has turned Berkshire Hathaway into one of the largest conglomerates in the U.S. Under his leadership, Berkshire hit a market cap of $1 trillion in 2024. The legendary investor is also one of the richest people in the world, worth an estimated $160 billion.

With such a storied career under his belt, it’s no surprise investors of all ages attend Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder meeting year after year to hear the Oracle of Omaha speak. This year, an attendee asked Buffett about the “pivotal lessons” he learned early in his career.

“Who you associate with is enormously important,” Buffett responded. “Don’t expect that you’ll make every decision right on that, but you are going to have your life progress in the general direction of the people that you work with, that you admire, that become your friends.”

While studying a lucrative trade and landing a job in a high-paying field can certainly help you build wealth, the people you surround yourself with may play a similarly important role in your success, Buffett said.

“Don’t worry too much about starting salaries and be very careful who you work for because you will take on the habits of the people around you,” he said at the shareholder meeting. “There are certain jobs you shouldn’t take.”

Buffett emphasized the importance of finding a job that you actually like, along with working for people you respect and can learn from. While it may seem wise to try to mimic the steps of someone like him who has already found wealth and success, you’ll be better off identifying your own passions and smart people in your orbit, he said.

“I’ve had five bosses in life and I liked every one of them — they were all interesting. I still decided that I’d rather work for myself than anybody else. But if you find people that are wonderful to work with, that’s the place to go,” he said.

Buffett said he sees opportunity for young people to create something as successful as Berkshire Hathaway, but warned against taking too many risks to get there. 

“If very stupid things are happening around you, you do not want to participate,” he said. “If people are making more money because they’re borrowing money or participating in securities that are pieces of junk … you have to forget that. That’ll bite you at some point.”

Buffett has famously championed a long-term strategy of buying and holding stocks, rather than trying to time the market or get rich quickly on newer, more speculative investments like cryptocurrency. 

“If you aren’t willing to own a stock for 10 years, don’t even think about owning it for 10 minutes,” he wrote in his 1996 letter to shareholders.

From there, stay the course and trust that you’ve created a diversified portfolio that will stand the test of time. Investors need “an ability to both disregard mob fears or enthusiasms and to focus on a few simple fundamentals,” Buffett wrote in his 2018 letter to shareholders.

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After 17 years of delays, the REAL ID deadline is finally here.

The Department of Homeland Security’s long-delayed policy requires that all Americans have an ID with REAL ID’s telltale star marking in the top righthand corner in order to board a domestic flight, access certain federal facilities or enter a nuclear power plant.

The REAL ID Act was introduced in 2005 in an effort to tighten the nation’s air travel security in the wake of the September 11 attacks.

For now, travelers who have yet to update their identification will still be able to fly, albeit only after facing extra scrutiny. In an “Ask Me Anything” thread on Reddit discussing REAL ID, the TSA recommended that travelers who don’t have REAL ID give themselves extra time at the airport.

“We have other ways to verify your identity if you don’t have a REAL ID or acceptable form of ID but know that this process may take longer, so you’ll need to arrive at the airport early, and you should be good to go,” the agency wrote.

Secretary of homeland security Kristi Noem said this week that the goal is for travelers to still have a “seamless” experience whether they have REAL ID yet or not.

“We will make sure that it is as seamless as possible and that travelers will get to stay on their intended itinerary,” Noem told a congressional panel.

Here’s what you need to know about REAL ID.

Failure to produce a REAL ID-compliant identification at airport security will result in you having to undergo extra screening at the airport. Alternatively, you can still show your U.S. passport or an Enhanced Driver’s License issued by Washington, Michigan, Minnesota, New York or Vermont to get through security.

For a full list of alternative ID accepted by TSA, visit this link.

You can sign up for REAL ID at your local DMV. The DHS includes a helpful map on its website with links to the DMV for every U.S. state and territory where you can set up an appointment.

Each state’s driver’s licensing agency lists the documentation you will need to bring in order to get a REAL ID. The DHS website states that applicants must bring documentation showing the following:

• Full legal name
• Date of birth
• Two documents bearing your address
• Lawful status

To see if your current ID is REAL ID-compliant, check the top right corner. Depending on which state issues your ID, the REAL ID marking will show up in the form of a yellow or black star in the top right corner on the front of your ID.

You can see example photos on the DHS website.

Yes. The REAL ID requirements will only impact air travel.

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While going to college tends to mean better pay, not all degrees guarantee high salaries — especially if you study liberal arts.

That’s according to a new analysis from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, which shows that graduates who major in education, social work or the arts tend to earn the lowest median incomes within five years of finishing school. The analysis includes only full-time workers with a bachelor’s degree and excludes those still enrolled in school.

The salary figures are based on 2023 data, the most recent available, and show early-career pay in these fields falls below the U.S. median wage of $48,060 for that year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

While engineering majors can make upward of $80,000 early in their careers, many liberal arts and education majors earn closer to $40,000. The median salary of all majors examined was $50,000.

Here’s a look at the 10 majors linked to the lowest median salaries for full-time workers ages 22 to 27.

While learning a foreign language is a valuable skill, a degree in the subject doesn’t always lead to high-paying roles. That’s likely because language can be learned outside a formal education and many graduates tend to go into relatively low-paying fields, like education, translation or public service.

Liberal arts majors also tend to earn less than graduates in technical fields like engineering or math, largely because there’s less demand for their skills in higher-paying industries like technology and finance.

Unfortunately, many liberal arts majors don’t fare much better as they get older, especially those in education. Here’s a look at the 10 lowest-paying majors for full-time workers between ages 35 and 45.

Early childhood education majors earn the least of all mid-career graduates, with a median income of $49,000 — just $8,000 more than what they earned five years after graduation.

By contrast, engineering majors typically break into six figures by mid-career.

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In 2020, right in the thick of the pandemic, I decided to put a tiny home in my backyard. 

At the time, I was operating several short-term rentals in Atlanta, including rooms within my three-bedroom primary home. But Covid-19 made renting safely a challenge. I figured the best way to keep passive income flowing — and myself safe — was to move into a smaller structure and list my main home on Airbnb.

So I started designing an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) — a self-contained structure on the same lot as a single-family or multifamily home. The 296-square-foot home was converted from a lofted shed and hooked up to my main home’s utilities. It cost about $35,000 to build, including the prefabricated structure, labor, and materials. 

As with many big ideas, things didn’t go as planned — and that turned out to be a blessing. Here are four ways I’ve used my ADU over the last five years: 

I finished building the tiny house in March 2021. After going over budget and falling behind schedule, I decided to list it as a short-term rental to recoup costs, charging between $89 and $129 per night. 

It quickly became one of the most popular units in my portfolio — thanks in part to my docuseries “Going Tiny,” which documented the entire build from sketch to rental.

Guests ranged from construction workers to couples and solo travelers looking for a more unique, personal experience than a hotel. It was rewarding to see people find joy in something I had envisioned and brought to life from scratch.

In 2022, I stepped away from Airbnb completely. As I shared more in my TEDx talk, “Why We Need to Rethink Housing Insecurity,” I felt torn, offering beautiful spaces to travelers while many locals lacked access to stable, long-term housing.

DON’T MISS: How to successfully change careers and be happier at work

So I shifted to mid- and long-term rentals, offering the ADU to grad students, travel nurses, and other professionals for about $1,300 a month. These were people who needed a home base near the city, but were often priced out of the market. 

During this phase, the ADU still generated income, but now it aligned with my values.

By early 2023, I was in a transitional season. I’d just ended a long-term relationship and I was craving solitude and a reset. That’s when I moved into the ADU myself.

For six months, I fully embraced tiny living in my own backyard, while renting out rooms in my main home to college students for a total of about $2,725 a month. It lowered my expenses and gave me a new appreciation for the space I’d once seen purely as an investment. 

It became a sanctuary — supporting both my finances and my healing from the breakup.

When my younger sister moved to Atlanta with her fiancé later that year, they were expecting their first child. I invited them to stay in the ADU, giving them a peaceful space to transition into parenthood without the pressure of paying high rent. They stayed rent-free the first few months, and then started contributing $1,200 a month.

It was the first time in nearly a decade that I’d lived in the same city as any of my family. Since leaving for college and moving to Atlanta solo, I had made friends and built community, but having my sister nearby was grounding in a way that nothing else had been. 

Our setup isn’t traditional, but it’s deeply fulfilling. We share meals, look out and show up for each other, and truly live in community. When I’m working long startup hours, it’s my sister making sure I eat. And in the quiet moments — late nights by the fire pit, spontaneous movie nights, or just checking in on each other — it feels like the best version of growing up together, but now as women building stability, sisterhood, and a sense of home side by side.

In 2024, our youngest sister moved to the city to attend Spelman College. Though she doesn’t live on the property, that makes two sisters, a nephew, a brother in law — who’s now like a brother to me — and a whole lot of joy and support in town.

Today, the ADU still houses my sister and her family. But more than that, it’s a symbol of what’s possible when we reimagine how we use the space we already have.

At a time when loneliness is a common problem and housing costs keep climbing, ADUs offer a powerful solution. They create flexibility, support multigenerational living, and can generate income when needed. 

I’ve seen firsthand what one small structure can do. And now, through my company Gather ADU, I help others do the same. Most of our builds so far have been in California. But just this month, we broke ground on our first ADU in Georgia for a close friend of mine who lives just a few blocks away. 

Five years ago, when I built my backyard tiny home, I had no idea it would lead to a business helping others create the same kind of space and community. But more than anything, I’ve learned ADUs aren’t just about housing — they’re about possibility, connection, and room to grow.

Precious Price is a TEDx speaker, real estate entrepreneur, and co-founder of Gather ADU, a startup helping homeowners and investors build backyard tiny homes and accessory dwelling units (ADUs) to create more housing and maximize their property value. She holds both a bachelor’s and master’s degree from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business. Follow her on Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.

Want a new career that’s higher-paying, more flexible or fulfilling? Take CNBC’s new online course How to Change Careers and Be Happier at Work. Expert instructors will teach you strategies to network successfully, revamp your resume and confidently transition into your dream career. Start today and use coupon code EARLYBIRD for an introductory discount of 30% off $67 (+taxes and fees) through May 13, 2025.

Relationships don’t fall apart overnight. More often than not, they crumble under the weight of small missteps that quietly accumulate — until they become too heavy to manage.

As a psychologist who studies couples, I’ve seen many versions of this. Partners come into my office thinking their problem has something to do with frequent fights or arguments. But when we dig deeper, we often find the same root cause: what they say to each other in their arguments.

There’s one phrase I’ve seen come up in these exchanges that’s more damaging than you think: “Why can’t you be more like [insert other person’s name]?”

If you use this toxic phrase, your relationship is in trouble.

At first glance, it might seem like a throwaway line or a sigh of frustration in the middle of an argument.

What couples fail to recognize is that the person named is actually irrelevant, whether it’s an ex, a best friend’s girlfriend, or even “how you used to be.” The real message will always remain the same: “You’re not enough, and someone else — anyone else — could do a better job at being my partner.”

Over time, this kind of comparison can give rise to irreparable insecurity issues. Rather than feeling loved for who they are, the person on the receiving end will start questioning their worth and constantly wonder if they’re living up to expectations.

DON’T MISS: How to successfully change careers and be happier at work

Relationships can’t thrive when we ask our partner to be someone they’re not. Happiness can only be achieved when we communicate what we need clearly, without shame or comparison.

That’s why this phrase itself isn’t the real problem. It’s usually a symptom of a much deeper dysfunction: the fear of openly speaking up.

Research helps explain why some partners might not express their frustrations openly — at least, not at first. According to one study, when a partner feels uncertain about the relationship, or unsure of how their partner will respond, they’re more likely to hold back. 

Rather than just saying outright, “I feel disconnected when we don’t spend quality time together,” they compartmentalize it. These moments only pile up over time, until the day comes that they inexplicably blurt out something like, “Why can’t you be more like Sarah’s husband? He actually plans dates.” 

It’s not necessarily that they want a different partner; it’s that they don’t feel safe enough to voice their needs plainly. The more secure and emotionally close a person feels in their relationship, the more likely they are to communicate directly. 

Instead of pointing to someone else as a model, turn the spotlight inward. What are you really asking for? And why are you so afraid to ask it plainly?

If you catch yourself about to say, for instance, “Why can’t you be more like Alex? He never blows up over small things,” give these a try instead:

• “I know we both get frustrated sometimes, but it would mean a lot to me if we could speak to each other kindly, without yelling.”
• “It’s hard for me when our arguments escalate so fast. I’d love for us to work on staying grounded together during tough moments.”

Notice how these versions are rooted in your own experience, not someone else’s behavior. This makes them bids for connection, instead of a sweeping accusation of failure.

Relationships require the willingness to love each other as real, flawed, irreplaceable humans — not as comparisons to someone else. Similarly, they require the courage to speak openly, as well as the trust that your openness will be met with respect.

Mark Travers, PhD, is a psychologist who specializes in relationships. He holds degrees from Cornell University and the University of Colorado Boulder. He is the lead psychologist at Awake Therapy, a telehealth company that provides online psychotherapy, counseling and coaching. He is also the curator of the popular mental health and wellness website, Therapytips.org.

Want a new career that’s higher-paying, more flexible or fulfilling? Take CNBC’s new online course How to Change Careers and Be Happier at Work. Expert instructors will teach you strategies to network successfully, revamp your resume and confidently transition into your dream career. Start today and use coupon code EARLYBIRD for an introductory discount of 30% off $67 (+taxes and fees) through May 13, 2025.