Nebraska native Warren Buffett is an investing legend, business magnate and philanthropist.
When he was 11, Buffett already bought stock, and by 16 he had amassed more than $53,000 from various business ventures and investments. Although, like anyone else, he faced setbacks. From being rejected by Harvard Business School to getting told he would fail by his father-in-law, hard work and resilience pushed Buffett toward success. Today, he’s recognized for his achievements on stocks.
From using a Nokia flip phone to pledging 85 percent of his Berkshire Hathaway stocks to various charitable foundations, check out these 10 Things you didn't know about Warren Buffett.
1.
HE BOUGHT HIS FIRST STOCK WHEN HE WAS 11 YEARS OLD.
While most 11-year-old boys were playing and reading comic books, Buffett bought stocks. In the spring of 1942, at 11 years old, Buffett purchased shares of Cities Service Preferred for $38 a piece.2.
HE MADE $53,000 BY THE AGE OF 16.
Even since he was young, Buffett was an extremely hard worker. When his family moved to Omaha, Neb., Buffett delivered The Washington Post every morning and brought in about $175 a month, He also pursued a few side gigs such as selling used golf balls and collector stamps and buffing cars. By the time he turned 16, he had amassed the equivalent of $53,000.
3.
HE LIVED IN THE SAME HOUSE SINCE 1958.
When you think of a billionaire, you typically think of mansions, vacation homes and expensive cars. Well, Buffett has lived in the same Omaha house since 1958 that he originally bought for $31,500. The house is a simple five-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom house.
4.
PEOPLE WILL PAY MILLIONS TO HAVE LUNCH WITH HIM.
Since 2000, Buffett has held an annual fundraiser, auctioning off a charity lunch with him on eBay. In 2012 and 2016, people were so eager to sit down with Buffett they placed bids for more than $3.4 million. The money raised went to the San Francisco-based anti-poverty charity GLIDE, and the winner (who typically remains anonymous) gets to invite seven friends to lunch with Buffett at Smith and Wollensky steakhouse in New York City.5.
IN 2013, BUFFETT EARNED $37 MILLION A DAY.
By the end of 2013, Buffett had a net worth of $59 billion -- up from $46 billion at the beginning of the year. On average, Buffett made $37 million a day in 2013, which was fueled by rising stock prices.6.
NEARLY 94 PERCENT OF HIS WEALTH WAS EARNED AFTER HE TURNED 60.
Although Buffett was extremely successful before the age of 60 -- his net worth was a noted $376 million when he was 52 years old -- nearly 94 percent of his wealth came after he turned 60. At 60, he was worth more than $3.8 billion.7.
HE'S NEVER TWEETED BEFORE.
Although Buffett has a Twitter account (@WarrenBuffett) with more than 1.25 million followers -- it only has nine published tweets, and it turns out none of them were written by him.
“I have this friend that talked me into getting a Twitter feed. She's put up a couple things. But, the answer is I've never tweeted anything really myself,” he told CNBC.
8.
HE SPENDS 80 PERCENT OF HIS DAY READING.
From the moment he wakes up, Buffett has his nose in a newspaper. In fact, he estimates that he spends around 80 percent of his day reading.
When asked the key to his success, Buffett pointed to a stack of books and said, “Read 500 pages like this every day. That’s how knowledge works. It builds up, like compound interest.”
9.
HE USES A NOKIA FLIP PHONE.
In a 2013 CNN interview with Piers Morgan, Buffett shared his take on everything from politics to parenting to technology. Buffett even revealed that he was still using a Nokia flip phone. “This is the one Alexander Graham Bell gave me,” Buffett joked. "I don't throw anything away until I've had it 20 or 25 years."
10.
BUFFETT WILL GIVE AN EMPLOYEE $1 MILLION EVERY YEAR FOR THE REST OF HIS/HER LIFE IF THEY CAN GUESS THE NCAA'S SWEET 16 TERMS.
Since 2014, Buffett has held a contest among all of his employees, challenging them to guess who the sweet 16 teams will be during NCAA March Madness, he tells CNBC. If someone guesses all of the teams correctly, he promises to pay them $1 million every year for the rest of his or her life.
No one has ever won the $1 million prize -- the person who gets the closest will win $100,000. In 2016, two employees tied and each took home $50,000.