At a time when global equities are tumbling and oil prices have surged past $100 a barrel, a decades-old lesson from two of the world’s most famous investors is suddenly circulating again.
In a video now widely shared on social media platform X, legendary fund manager Peter Lynch offers a blunt reminder about market volatility.
“What you learn from history is the market goes down. It goes down a lot,” Lynch says.
He points to a simple historical pattern: over roughly a century of market data, stock markets have experienced around 50 declines of 10 percent or more, meaning corrections happen roughly once every two years.
Oil up, Markets down, the chaos has officially arrived.Stop watching the red candles and start watching the legends. WATCH & SAVE the only strategy that survives a crash. pic.twitter.com/1Virr7uliN — StockMarket.News (@_Investinq) March 9, 2026
More severe downturns are also a regular feature.
According to Lynch, 15 declines exceeded 25 percent, the threshold typically considered a bear market, roughly once every six years.
“You need to know the market’s going to go down sometime. If you’re not ready for that, you shouldn’t own stocks,” he says.
Volatility as opportunity
Lynch’s broader argument in the clip focuses on how investors should react when markets fall.
Rather than trying to predict downturns, he suggests investors should understand the businesses they own and view declines as potential entry points.
“If you like a stock at 14 and it goes to 6, that’s great,” Lynch says, explaining that price declines can create better long-term opportunities if the company’s fundamentals remain intact.
To illustrate patience in investing, he points to Walmart’s early growth.
Even investors who waited ten years after the company’s 1970 IPO could still have made more than 30 times their money, he noted, a reminder that long-term gains often outweigh short-term timing decisions.
Buffett’s wartime argument
A second clip circulating online features Warren Buffett discussing markets during periods of geopolitical conflict.
Asked whether the prospect of major wars, even something on the scale of World War III, would alter his investment decisions, Buffett offered a clear answer.
Even if World War III broke out, Buffett would buy stocks because the stock market historically advances during war. He explains that owning a piece of the economy is far safer than owning "pieces of paper" that lose value. Watch and save this to stay prepared. https://t.co/HnvjtcwN20pic.twitter.com/za7d8hVqHB — StockMarket.News (@_Investinq) March 9, 2026
“If you tell me all of that’s going to happen, I will still be buying stocks,” he said.
Buffett’s reasoning rests on how inflation behaves during wars.
Historically, major conflicts have tended to reduce the value of money, meaning that holding cash can erode purchasing power over time.
“The last thing you’d want to do is hold money during a war,” Buffett said, arguing that assets tied to real economic activity, farms, real estate, or businesses, tend to retain value better over long periods.
He pointed to World War II, when the stock market advanced despite the scale of global conflict.
Why the remarks are resurfacing now
The renewed attention to these comments comes as markets face a fresh geopolitical shock.
The escalating US–Iran conflict has sent oil prices above $100 a barrel, triggering a sharp selloff across global equities.
The Indian stock market fell about 3%, while South Korea’s benchmark dropped 8.2 percent.
Japanese markets slid 7 percent, and China’s main index declined 1.7 percent.
The tensions show little sign of easing. Iran on Monday named the son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as its new supreme leader, signalling a potential continuation of the standoff.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said higher oil prices were “a very small price to pay” for “safety and peace.”
The combination of rising energy prices and geopolitical uncertainty has pushed investors into defensive positions.
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