When you think of Warren Buffett, you probably imagine him as one of the richest men in the world, with billions in his bank account. But have you ever wondered what he was like as a child? Well, even at a very young age he thought like a mini mogul and had amassed an incredible $2,000 by the time he was 15 years old! That may not seem like much now, but in 1945 it was a small fortune.
Don’t miss:
To put it into perspective, that $2,000 would be worth almost $35,000 in today’s money! That’s more than many people have saved in their savings accounts and it’s certainly a lot more than most teenagers are carrying around.
Warren Buffett stood out from most teenagers. Even at that vulnerable age, he was already a smart entrepreneur who thought about investments, profits and optimizing his early business ventures.
Popular: This Jeff Bezos-backed startup lets you become a landlord in just 10 minutes, and you only need $100.
So what made young Warren successful? His family was certainly wealthy, but he was still busy in somewhat surprising ways, at least by today’s standards.
He sold chewing gum and Coca-Cola door-to-door in his neighborhood, delivered newspapers before school and even set up his business to sell used golf balls and stamps.
His greatest success came from turning a simple teenage job – delivering newspapers – into something more important and laying a foundation for bigger things. He found ways to be more efficient, deliver faster and even sell additional subscriptions and calendars.
Trending: Founder of Personal Capital and former CEO of PayPal redesigns traditional banking with this new high-yield account – start saving better today.
With the proceeds from this venture, Buffett was able to purchase a 40-acre farm in Nebraska for $1,200, which he rented out for a steady income.
Buffett, who just turned 94, has an estimated net worth of about $143.7 billion. He earns an average of about $4.18 million every day of his life! Of course, he didn’t make that much every day from the start; most of his wealth came later. But it’s still an incredible way to reflect on how much he’s accomplished over the years.
Despite all that, his definition of success goes beyond money or fame. In a 2019 interview, he explained that if you’re 65 or 70 and the people you care about really love you, you’re successful. He has seen incredibly wealthy people who are still miserable because no one loves them.