Buffett is the first to admit he had a leg up being born male, white, upper middle class, and at a time where he was just a little too young to get drafted into World War II but not too young where there were a lot of value-oriented Ben Graham-types to compete with when he was starting his career. Buffett goes so far as to say he won the "ovarian lottery," and is a large part of why he's decided to give most of his money away.
He's an incredible teacher for those willing to listen. He volunteers a lot of time with college students and his annual letters to shareholders are great, often timeless, lessons in business and investing.
I think MMM said as much that, no matter what the subject of an article, these days the comments section is invariably filled with jaded-sounding, often anonymous naysayers.
Mike