If You Had $1 Trillion, How Many Companies Would You Buy?

I give you $1 trillion to invest. Yes, $1 trillion. That's roughly ₹83 lakh crore.

Let's put that into perspective. If you bought a 10% stake in every unicorn (a startup valued at $1 billion or more), you could theoretically own stakes in 10,000 unicorns. If you invested in smaller companies, you could own lakhs of businesses.

So here's my question: if you had $1 trillion, how many companies would you invest in?

If you're like most people, you'd probably say thousands. Why put all your eggs in a few baskets when you can spread the risk across thousands of businesses?

Now look at Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. Its publicly disclosed US stock portfolio had just 29 holdings in June 2026. And its ten largest positions accounted for almost 90% of that portfolio's value.

This reminds me of Sturgeon's Law, coined by science-fiction writer Theodore Sturgeon.

90% of everything is crap.

Think about it. Ninety per cent of business ideas may not be worth pursuing. Ninety per cent of opportunities may be distractions. Ninety per cent of the products you could launch may never make a meaningful difference to your business.

What separates a great entrepreneur from an average one? The ability to tell gold from crap.

An average entrepreneur and leader takes pride in being busy. Working 12 hours a day. Launching more products. Attending more meetings. Chasing more opportunities. And spending 90% of their time on things that barely move the needle.

A great entrepreneur does the opposite. They find the needle in the haystack. They know what matters, what doesn't, and what deserves their time. Then they have the discipline to focus on the few things that can make a disproportionate difference.

Sometimes, the secret to extraordinary results isn't doing more. It's having the guts to ignore the 90% and focus on the 10% that matters.

So here's a question worth asking yourself: what are you doing today that belongs in the 90%?