Defining 'long-term' investing: What is a safe period for investors?

From Charlie Munger's, "The big money is not in the buying and selling, but in the waiting" to George Soros's, "Good investing is boring", most heavyweight investors champion long-term investing to strike gold in the market. But the question remains: "How long is long-term?" Warren Buffett's story is both inspiring and intimidating. Inspiring because he has been investing since the tender age of 10 and has amassed a fortune worth truckloads of billions. Intimidating because the lion's share of the 93-year-old's wealth was built after four decades of investing. In fact, 99 per cent of his $113 billion empire was made after his 50th birthday. So,