TIP733: How Warren Buffett Became Warren Buffett

We Study Billionaires - The Investor’s Podcast Network

Stig Brodersen

Education, Investing, Business

4.6 • 3.6K Ratings

🗓️ 29 June 2025

⏱️ 70 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

On today’s episode, Kyle Grieve discusses how Warren Buffett evolved from a young entrepreneur with an intense fascination for numbers into one of history’s most disciplined and independent investors. The episode explores the key influences, early lessons, and defining choices that shaped his unique approach to business and capital allocation. IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN: 00:00 - Intro 03:04 - How Buffett showed business instincts as a young boy 03:44 - How Buffett used scuttlebutt early in his career 04:26 - The influence Buffett’s father had on his mindset 11:06 - Three timeless principles Buffett learned from Ben Graham 19:11 - The period Buffett compounded at over 50% annually 23:49 - How a “cigar butt” taught Buffett pricing power 29:33 - Why Buffett embraced concentrated investing from the start 45:14 - Why Buffett saw media companies as modern-day toll bridges 54:02 - Buffett’s core disagreement with efficient market theory 1:00:00 - What Buffett learned while rescuing Salomon Brothers Disclaimer: Slight discrepancies in the timestamps may occur due to podcast platform differences. BOOKS AND RESOURCES Join Clay and a select group of passionate value investors for a retreat in Big Sky, Montana. Learn more ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Join the exclusive ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TIP Mastermind Community⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to engage in meaningful stock investing discussions with Stig, Clay, Kyle, and the other community members. Buy a copy of Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist here⁠. Follow Kyle on ⁠⁠⁠X⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn.⁠⁠⁠ Check out all the books mentioned and discussed in our podcast episodes ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Enjoy ad-free episodes when you subscribe to our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Premium Feed⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. NEW TO THE SHOW? Get smarter about valuing businesses in just a few minutes each week through our newsletter, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Intrinsic Value Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Check out our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠We Study Billionaires Starter Packs⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Follow our official social media accounts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X (Twitter)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Browse through all our episodes (complete with transcripts) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Try our tool for picking stock winners and managing our portfolios: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TIP Finance Tool⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Enjoy exclusive perks from our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠favorite Apps and Services⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn how to better start, manage, and grow your business with the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠best business podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. SPONSORSSupport our free podcast by supporting our sponsors: SimpleMining Hardblock AnchorWatch Unchained Human Rights Foundation Vanta Indeed Fundrise Onramp reMarkable Shopify Abundant Mines River Financial The Bitcoin Way HELP US OUT! Help us reach new listeners by leaving us a ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠rating and review⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! It takes less than 30 seconds, and really helps our show grow, which allows us to bring on even better guests for you all! Thank you – we really appreciate it! Support our show by becoming a premium member! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to TIP.
0:02.8	Over the course of six decades while leading Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett has beaten the S&P 500,
0:08.2	including dividends, by more than 150 times.
0:11.5	It's a record that almost just defies belief.
0:14.5	But what makes it even more remarkable is just how he did it.
0:17.3	He accomplished this by utilizing minimal leverage and avoiding the whims of Wall Street
0:21.5	and their pursuits of short-term results, all while conducting business in an admirable,
0:25.8	transparent, and really well-aligned manner. He's one of the best examples in business of
0:31.1	patience, discipline, and a razor-sharp focus on intrinsic value. So today, we're going to explore
0:37.2	Warren Buffett in more detail
0:38.9	through the lens of one of his biographies that was written about him, which is Buffett,
0:43.0	The Making of an American Capitalist by Roger Lowenstein. The book does an exceptional job of sharing
0:48.5	the details on some of Buffett's legendary deals, but also showing the more human side of
0:53.0	Buffett, highlighting both his good
0:54.7	and not-so-good qualities.
0:56.7	We'll cover his early fascination with numbers, like counting soda bottle caps from a nearby
1:01.4	gas station, and how he delivered 500 newspapers a day as a teenager.
1:06.6	You'll hear about the profound influence of his father, Howard Buffett, and how the teaching of Ben Graham transformed Warren Buffett from a precocious entrepreneur into an investor with a winning system.
1:16.7	We'll also explore a period that interests me significantly, which was when Buffett achieved his most astounding results, compounding his personal account, at 56% per annum in the early 1950s.
1:29.8	We'll also analyze Buffett's journey from investing in low-quality cigar butts to his evolution to investing in high-quality businesses, and we'll
1:35.0	highlight why Buffett's philosophy kept him highly concentrated in his highest conviction positions.
1:40.8	So, if you've ever wondered why Buffett runs a public company while living an intensely private
	...

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