Investing
Warren Buffett Story [Part 8] Twelve-year-old Stock Exchange Prodigy
In the last article, we saw that Warren Buffett Jr. faced strong discomfort and pain after moving to Washington, DC.
Let's continue his story and learn more about financial thinking and investment skills from him.
Warren Buffett's grades kept dropping due to the adjustment, so he found a job as a newspaper delivery boy. He sought to distract himself from the discomfort of adjusting by delivering newspapers, but his grades declined so drastically that his father, Howard, warned him that he would no longer be permitted to do so if the trend continued. Eventually, he slowly acclimated to life in Washington, D.C.
At the age of thirteen, Buffett Jr. was a publisher for the Washington Times, a job for which he became a U.S. taxpayer. Although Buffett's grades had always been average, he was very hardworking and had to get up early every morning to deliver 500 newspapers.
Leila, his mother, assisted him in distributing the newspapers. Buffett was already familiar with the idea of providing free gifts as incentives, so after recovering, he used his route for delivering newspapers to sell magazines. At the young age of 14, he invested directly and purchased a 40-acre parcel of land.
Buffett was even more powerful because not only did he deliver newspapers for the Washington Times but also delivered newspapers for its main competitor, the Washington Times Herald, and he had the concept of risk diversification at a young age.
At 14 years old, Warren Buffett made a monthly income of $175. Despite earning the same amount as an adult, he labored diligently to save his earnings, which eventually became one of the funds he invested in later. Buffett possessed a significant advantage: he always filed his taxes honestly and continues to do so today.
Warren Buffett had good foresight about the Washington Times Herald, which was eventually published by Katharine Graham’s father, Eugene Mayer.
Eugene Mayer, the father of Katharine Graham, bought the Washington Times and combined it with the Washington Times to create the most prestigious newspaper in the country.
What's even more remarkable is that decades later, Warren Buffett went from being a newspaper delivery boy to becoming a major shareholder and chairman of the board of directors of the Washington Times! It’s amazing how Warren Buffett Jr. ever thought of such a possibility when he was young. It's really an incredible achievement!
At the age of 12, young Warren Buffett made a profit on his first investment in stocks, and he was also proficient in horse racing and other industries. He used newspaper delivery and magazine sales to earn a salary that an average adult could earn at the age of 13.
The next part of Warren Buffett’s story will move on to his high school life, which is equally exciting.
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