“I made my first investment at age eleven. I was wasting my life up until then.”
— Warren Buffett
A recurring line from Buffett's interviews and speeches, including appearances at Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholder meetings. He bought his first stock, Cities Service Preferred, in 1941.
1941. Omaha. I put $114 on the counter for three shares of Cities Service. I was eleven. The stock dropped to $27 and I felt sick before school every morning. But I held. Sold at $40. Five bucks profit. That tiny win taught me more than any degree. Whatever your version of those three shares is, buy it. Start now. You're already behind.