Investing

Warren Buffett Story [Part 6] Favorite Childhood Game

In the previous article, we learned about the 6-year-old Warren Buffett’s outlook on business at a young age. We saw that Warren Buffett was able to buy and sell a variety of goods in order to generate income.

Let's look at the unique development of the young Warren Buffett over the next couple of years and get more insights about entrepreneurship and investment!

Although his father's company wasn't doing very well, he admired his father and wanted to grow up to have the same career and make a career in the stock market.

Buffett needed an appendectomy in the hospital when he was 7 years old. He wrote a long number on a piece of paper and showed it to his nurse, saying, "This is my future fortune!" Although the nurse was surprised, she did not take it seriously and thought it was just a daydream of the child. 

He said, "I just don't have money now, but one day when I am rich, there will be many reporters to interview me, and my picture will be published in many newspapers." The ambitions and goals that young Buffett set at the age of 7 came true when he grew up and were seen by people all over the world.

At the age of 8, Warren Buffett Jr. was no longer satisfied with just buying and selling things, so he began to read a lot of financial books, especially books about stocks and investments. They’re not usually of interest to children, but they were his favorites.

After a period of time, Buffett's knowledge of stocks grew, and he was able to draw his own charts of stock prices. Whenever his father asked his children what they wanted as gifts when he was going on a trip, Buffett never asked for a toy but for a ticker tape of the stock market. 

He was interested in researching the trends in stock price changes. He intended to use this information to research the laws governing changes in stock value. Howard never taught his son anything about stocks, which is why he was surprised to learn that his son could explain the complex quote symbols using the S&P index. 

Even in the modern age, it would be rare to find a child who’s interested in learning about such topics given the access to information we all have nowadays.

Warren and some of his friends collected all the bottle caps they could find on the streets and alleys, storing them in the basement and counting them together to determine which beverage was the most popular. He also worked as a ball boy at the golf course with his friends and was thrilled to earn a monthly wage of $3, which was a significant amount for a child at the time. As a result of his job at the golf course, he sold unused golf clubs, selecting ones that were still in good condition but low in cost, and set up a golf practice area in a park where he charged people for using it.

When he reached the age of 10, reading about the stock market was no longer enough for him, so he started visiting his father's office and assisting in the creation of debt and stock market analysis forms.

When he was 10 years old, Warren Buffett and his sister Dorothy worked on a farm near West Point during the summer, as his father wanted him to understand the value of hard work. However, Buffett believed that he could gain wisdom and knowledge through reading and didn't feel the need to work strenuously on the farm. As a result, the farm wife believed that it was mostly Warren's sister who did the work, while he spent most of his time reading.

He also enjoyed people watching and always wondered how he could make money from everyone. He shared his fascination with his mother, Leila, about how great it would be to earn and grow money quickly.

He was fond of reading books such as "1000 Ways to Make $1000," which included real-life entrepreneurial stories, nearly all of which began from scratch. These stories deeply influenced Buffett at a young age.

He was planning and imagining his future as an entrepreneur. The words of a book, "Act now! Whatever you choose, don't wait," made a strong impression on the young boy. He declared to his friends and family that he would earn his first million dollars before he turned 35.

Many psychologists say that every child is a genius until the age of 6. It just depends on whether or not parents are diligent in learning about their kids' interests and pastimes and offer the best possible environment to encourage and direct them. Parents in general do not see this, so they do not make special efforts to cultivate it. 

Fortunately, Warren Buffett's parents were willing to give him the freedom to develop and support him. We can see that Buffett's success is not an accident but rather a combination of a child’s natural interest and a nurturing environment.

From the ages of 6 to 10, Warren Buffett had extensive experience in business sales and had read numerous financial and stock market books, allowing him to develop his thinking and knowledge. This sets him apart from other children of the same age and raises the question: what did he further achieve by the age of 12?

So watch out for the next part of this story and see how Warren Buffett Jr. evolved to become a stock exchange prodigy!

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