At 95, the 'master of investment' Warren Buffett's first stock investment was made at the age of 11.
In March 1942, during World War II, when the stock of the oil company Cities Service halved, he asked his father to buy 3 shares. The stock, bought at $38.25 per share, rose to $40 four months later, and Buffett sold the shares, earning a revenue of $5.25.
Buffett grew up under his father, who served four terms in the House of Representatives, but he invested without parental help. At age 7, he read a book titled '1000 Ways to Save $1000' borrowed from the public library, and he saved money by selling Coca-Cola, gum, and magazines in his neighborhood. He also worked at his grandfather's grocery store and delivered newspapers. The $1,200 he used for his first real estate investment at age 14 was also money he saved himself.
After graduating from high school, Buffett hoped to jump directly into business, but due to his father's opposition, he enrolled in the University of Pennsylvania before transferring to the University of Nebraska to earn a bachelor's degree in business administration.
In the 1950s, while attending Columbia University Business School, he worked as an analyst at the investment firm of his mentor, Benjamin Graham, who is called the 'father of value investing,' before leaving to be independent. Buffett built his wealth with a value investment strategy that selects stocks based on their intrinsic value and holds them long-term.
In his early 40s, having become a millionaire, Buffett began acquiring shares of Berkshire Hathaway, which was a textile company. He calculated that the intrinsic value of the company should be at least $19 per share, but the actual price was not even half that.
Ultimately, Buffett acquired Berkshire Hathaway and became one of the world's billionaires by focusing his investments on corporations related to the real economy, such as energy, banking, aviation, and food.
With assets of $168.2 billion (approximately 235.9 trillion won), Buffett ranked 5th on the Forbes list of billionaires compiled in the United States.
However, he is also known for pursuing simplicity, unlike other billionaires. He does not collect expensive art or own lavish mansions. He resides in a dwelling in Omaha that he purchased for $31,500 in 1958.
His eating habits are not much different from those of middle-class citizens. He eats McDonald's chicken nuggets more than three times a week and enjoys potato chips as snacks. He also drinks an average of 5 cans of Coca-Cola a day.
He has expressed his intention to donate 99% of his fortune to charity and is involved in fundraising with other billionaires, including Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft. Buffett, who has been married twice, has three children.