Warren Buffett is known as one of the best stock pickers of all time. So when he says that something is a great investment, people tend to listen.

Well, Buffett has called one specific investment the best thing most Americans can do to put their money to work. It's not Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A)(NYSE: BRK.B), the conglomerate he has run since 1964, and it isn't any other publicly traded company. And you might be surprised at what a simple investment it is.

Buffett has said several times that the best investment most people can make is a simple S 500 index fund. Buffett views an investment in the S 500 as a bet on American business, and that's a bet that has historically worked out very well. As Buffett said in his 2016 letter to Berkshire shareholders: "American business -- and consequently a basket of stocks -- is virtually certain to be worth far more in the years ahead." Buffett has even suggested that his own wife should invest her money in index funds if he dies first.

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Source Fool.com