Warren Buffett, the legendary investor, wasn’t always the success story we know today. Many assume his investing prowess came naturally, but in reality, his early attempts were far from fruitful.
At the 2002 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting, Buffett reflected on his early struggles. “From eleven to nineteen, I read every book on investing—Garfield Drew, Edwards and Magee, Gerald M. Loeb—and I didn’t do well at all,” he said. “I had no real investment philosophy and tried many things without making money.”
Everything changed in 1949 when Buffett read The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham while studying at the University of Nebraska. “It changed my whole view of investing,” Buffett noted. “It taught me to think about a stock as part of a business, which now seems obvious, but it was my Rosetta Stone.”
This shift in perspective laid the foundation for Buffett’s later success, proving that even the most legendary figures in finance have their learning curves.
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© 2024 David Mazor
Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.