A Look Back At The Highlights From Warren Buffett's Life On The Billionaire's 92nd Birthday

Ace investor, philanthropist and billionaire Warren Buffett turns 92 today. He was born on August 30, 1930, in Omaha, Nebraska (USA). The Berkshire Hathaway CEO has been an inspiration for millions of people around the world, especially the investors.

In his nearly eight-decade-long investment journey, there are numerous incidents and facts related to him that have become the highlights of his successful career. So let¡¯s look back at some of them on the billionaire¡¯s birthday.

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1. He bought his first stock at the age of just 11

Yes, you read that right. Warren Buffett was just 11 years old when he bought his first stock. In the spring of 1942, when he was yet to turn 12 years old Buffett reportedly purchased six shares of Cities Service Preferred (now known as CITGO) for $38 apiece. That's when the investment journey of one of the world¡¯s most successful investors began!

2. Buffett earned $37 million a day in 2013

By the end of 2013, Warren Buffett had a net worth of $59.1 billion, up from $46.4 billion at the beginning of the year. This implied that on average, Buffett made $37 million a day in 2013, which was fueled by rising stock prices, as per Wealth-X, a wealth research firm.

3. He has been living in the same house since 1958

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When you think of a billionaire such as Buffett, you imagine a life lived in mansions and with expensive cars. But that¡¯s never been the case for 92-year-old Buffett. Warren Buffett has lived in the same Omaha house since 1958 that he originally bought for $31,500. The house is reportedly a simple five-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom house.

4. He had already made $53,000 by the age of 16

Even since he was young, Warren Buffett was an extremely hard worker. He pursued many side gigs to earn money. At the age of 6, he earned his first few cents by travelling around his neighbourhood, selling sticks of gum in packs of five for a nickel each.

When Buffett's father became a congressman, his family moved from Omaha to Washington D.C. This is when Buffett used to deliver The Washington Post every morning and brought in about $175 a month. And that's not all. He also is said to have pursued a few other side gigs such as selling used golf balls and collector stamps and buffing cars. And by the time he turned 16, he had reportedly amassed the equivalent of $53,000.

Also Read: Warren Buffett Goes On A $51 Billion 'Stock Shopping' Spree

5. His million-dollar annual charity lunches since the year 2000

Who wouldn¡¯t want to have lunch with the great Warren Buffett? While it must be a dream for many, some lucky people do get to turn it into reality through Warren Buffett¡¯s annual charity lunches.

Since the year 2000, Buffett has been organizing an annual fundraiser, auctioning off a charity lunch with him on eBay. Over the last two decades, people have shelled out millions of dollars to grab this opportunity. But this year, this annual charity lunch is believed to be the last one. Earlier this year in June 2022, an anonymous bidder paid a record-breaking $19 million for this 'last' private steak lunch with the 92-year-old legendary investor.

This was part of the 21st annual auction for the lunch, produced in collaboration with eBay and the Glide Foundation, a San Francisco-based non-profit working on combating poverty, hunger, and homelessness.

6. A lost iPhone led him to invest in Apple

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A lesser-known fact about Warren Buffett¡¯s phenomenal Apple investment is that he partly owes it to a friend who was devastated by leaving his iPhone in the back of a taxi. That incident surprised Buffett and then he decided to take a closer look at Apple. He noticed how obsessed people had become with their smartphones, including his grandchildren. So, Buffett determined that the iPhone was indispensable to many people, and would remain so for a long time.

After that, he went on to invest in Apple stocks. In his latest annual letter of February 2022, he had even mentioned Apple as one of his company Berkshire Hathaway's "four giants". To know in detail about this iPhone incident which led to Warren Buffett investing in Apple shares, click here.

7. Awarded the ¡°Presidential Medal of Freedom¡± by Barack Obama

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Another feather in the cap for the great investor came on February 16, 2011, when Buffett was awarded the highest civilian honour, the Presidential Medal of Freedom by former US President Barack Obama. Due to his philanthropic donations, Buffett was chosen to receive such a prestigious award.

Mr Obama had described Warren Buffett as "not only one of the world's richest men but also one of the most admired and respected" who had "demonstrated that integrity isn't just a good trait, it is good for business."

8. Hide And Seek With Cryptocurrency

From calling bitcoin 'rat poison¡¯ in 2018, investing $1 billion in a ¡®crypto friendly¡¯ bank in February 2022, to calling bitcoin a non-productive asset at the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholder meeting in April 2022, it's all a part of Warren Buffett¡¯s hide-and-seek saga with cryptocurrency.

In that meeting, Buffett had also said ¡°Whether it goes up or down in the next year, or five or 10 years, I don¡¯t know. But the one thing I¡¯m pretty sure of is that it doesn¡¯t produce anything. It¡¯s got a magic to it and people have attached magics to lots of things.¡± He added, "If you told me you own all of the bitcoin in the world and you offered it to me for $25 I wouldn¡¯t take it because what would I do with it?"

Also Read: LinkedIn Founder Says Warren Buffett Doesn't Understand The Potential Of Cryptocurrency

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