Warren Buffett's Life Lessons, From His First Stock Purchase At 11 To Why He Buys Companies Now, Not Stocks

Legendary investor Warren Buffett bought his first stock when he was 11 years old, and was fascinated with the stock market from an early age.

What Happened: The Berkshire Hathaway Inc CEO bought three shares of Cities Service preferred at the age of 11.

The legendary investor told Charlie Rose in an April 2022 interview that he spent every penny he had saved on the investment, which came after researching American companies.

“I knew more when I was 11 than I know now,” Buffett said, laughing.

Despite being 92 years old, Buffett recalls perfectly that he spent $114.75 on March 11, 1942, for the transaction.

Buffett later read “The Intelligent Investor” by Benjamin Graham and said it changed his thoughts on investing. Buffett from that point forward stopped buying stocks and instead bought companies. The investor has a 10-to-20-year long-term outlook on purchases.

Surprisingly enough, Buffett told Rose he hopes that stocks he buys go down in the short term, so he can buy more.

Related Link: Charlie Munger's 3-Word Piece Of Advice Helped Warren Buffett And Could Help You Too

What’s Next: As the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett says he has the most interesting job in the world. He told listeners that choosing what you do and who you work with are important.

He reflected on meeting investing partner Charlie Munger in May 1959. “We’ve never had an argument,” Buffett said.

Buffett added that while many think this is impossible, it’s true. The duo support each other whether they agree with a decision or not, he said. 

Buffett doesn’t plan on moving on from Berkshire Hathaway anytime soon and said there is a successor planned, but they’re not warming up yet.

Buffett gets up each morning a few minutes before 7 a.m. CT so he can catch the news and turn on CNBC.

The legendary investor said he looks at what prices are doing, including in Europe and Japan, before the market opens at 8:30 a.m. Omaha, Nebraska time.

“Time is the most precious thing you’ve got.”

Buffett said you can always look back and say you could have done better, but he has no regrets. Buffett praises being born in the United States and all the great opportunities he’s had in his life.

“It’s given me everything,” he acknowledged.

Read Next: How Warren Buffett's Fund Manager Grew $70K Into $264M: 'In A Perfect World, Nobody Would Know About This'

Photo: Created with an image from Fortune Live Media on Flickr.

Some elements of this story were previously published on Benzinga and it has been updated.