The spite acquisition that launched Warren Buffett
The Indicator from Planet Money
NPR
4.7 • 9.2K Ratings
🗓️ 22 December 2025
⏱️ 9 minutes
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Summary
With an unprecedented decades-long run of success, Warren Buffett is retiring on December 31, 2025. Buffett’s turning point began with the acquisition of a failing textile mill called Berkshire Hathaway. What began as a “terrible mistake” became the foundation for his empire. Today on the show, how did Buffett become this legendary figure?
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | NPR. |
| 0:01.6 | N-P-R. |
| 0:11.9 | 2025 will be remembered as the year Warren Buffett finally stepped away as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. |
| 0:19.4 | Buffett announced his plans to retire at his shareholder meeting in the spring of 2025, |
| 0:24.3 | and when he did announce it, 20,000 people rose to their feet applauding. |
| 0:29.6 | And Buffett responded with one of his self-deprecating jokes. |
| 0:33.2 | The enthusiasm shown by that response could be interpreted in two ways, but I'll take a surprise. |
| 0:39.2 | Okay, we wanted to take a look back at Buffett's career today and tomorrow, and not just because he got insanely rich. |
| 0:46.2 | Around $150 billion. |
| 0:49.0 | Yes, but because he changed the way people thought about investing and how public companies operate. |
| 0:55.2 | This is The Indicator from Planet Money. I'm Waylon Wong, and my co-host today is Robert Smith, |
| 1:01.1 | longtime Planet Money host and now host of the new podcast, Business History. |
| 1:05.9 | It's a show about the history of business. Get it? You probably know Warren Buffett as a grandfatherly figure |
| 1:12.2 | spouting wisdom, |
| 1:13.5 | investing in classic companies |
| 1:15.1 | like Coca-Cola and Dairy Queen. |
| 1:17.6 | But when Warren Buffett was a young man, |
| 1:19.7 | he was a shark. |
| 1:21.8 | Buffett spotted a critical flaw |
| 1:23.3 | in the public markets |
| 1:24.2 | and exploited that flaw |
| 1:26.1 | to become very, very rich. |
... |
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