“If past history is all there was to the game, the richest people would be librarians” is one of the sayings of American investor Warren Buffett. It’s another way of stating the familiar investment warning that “past results do not guarantee future performance.”
 
Buffett’s saying has been cited in print from at least 1988.
 
       
Wikipedia: Warren Buffet
Warren Edward Buffett (pronounced /ˈbʌfɨt/; born August 30, 1930) is an American investor, industrialist and philanthropist. He is widely regarded as one of the most successful investors in the world. Often called the “legendary investor Warren Buffett”, he is the primary shareholder, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is consistently ranked among the world’s wealthiest people, he was ranked as the world’s second wealthiest person in 2009 and is currently the third wealthiest person in the world as of 2010.
 
Buffett is called the “Oracle of Omaha” or the “Sage of Omaha” and is noted for his adherence to the value investing philosophy and for his personal frugality despite his immense wealth. Buffett is also a notable philanthropist, having pledged to give away 99 percent of his fortune to philanthropic causes, primarily via the Gates Foundation. He also serves as a member of the board of trustees at Grinnell College.
 
17 April 1988, Washington (DC) Post, “Despite Setbacks, Drexel Still Calls Shots in ‘Junk Bond’ Revolution” by David A. Vise, pg. H1:
“If past history is all there was to the game, the richest people would be librarians.”
(Attributed to Warren Buffet—ed.)
 
Google Books
Let Go of Whatever Makes You Stop
By John Mason
Altamonte Springs, FL: Insight International
1994
Pg. 117:
Life can be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards. If past history was all that mattered, librarians would be the only successful people in the world.
   
Business Edge News Magazine
Legendary investor needs to get with the times
Berkshire shareholders missing technology train
By Gyle Konotopetz - Business Edge
Published: 03/02/2006 - Vol. 2, No. 5
(...)
SAGE WORDS: “If past history was all there was to the game, the richest people would be librarians.”
- Warren Buffett.
 
Google Books
The Tao of Warren Buffett:
Warren Buffett’s Words of Wisdom:
Quotations and Interpretations to Help Guide You to Billionaire Wealth and Enlightened Business Management
By Mary Buffett and David Clark
New York, NY: Scribner
2006
Pg. 152:
“If past history was all there was to the game, the richest people would be librarians.”