From buying his first stock at age 11 to having his face on Cherry Coke cans in China, these Warren Buffett facts might surprise you.
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Often referred to as the 'œOracle of Omaha' — Nebraska native Warren Buffett is an investing legend, business magnate and philanthropist.
When he was 11, Buffett already bought stock, and by 16 he had amassed more than $53,000 from various business ventures and investments. From a young age, Buffett was bound for success.
Related: Warren Buffett: 5 Things You Can Learn From the Man Who Invested $1 Billion in Apple
Although, like anyone else, he faced setbacks. From being rejected at Harvard Business School to getting told he would fail by his father-in-law, hard work and resilience pushed Buffett towards success. Today, he's recognized for his achievements and uses his money for the greater good.
From using a Nokia flip phone to pledging 85 percent of his Berkshire Hathaway stocks to various charitable foundations, check out these 20 Warren Buffett facts that might surprise you.
Additional reporting by Nina Zipkin.
While most 11-year-old boys were playing T-ball and reading comic books, Buffett bought stocks. In the spring of 1942, at 11-years-old, Buffett purchased shares of Cities Service Preferred for $38 a piece.
Even since he was young, Buffett's not only been tactful, but also an extremely hard worker.
When his family moved to Omaha, Neb., Buffett delivered The Washington Post every morning and brought in about $175 a month (that's more than most teachers made during that time).
He also pursued a few side gigs such as selling used golf balls and collector stamps and buffing cars. By the time he turned 16, he had amassed the equivalent of $53,000.
After graduating from the University of Nebraska in three years, Buffett applied to Harvard Business School. But during a brief interview with the school that would determine his acceptance, the staff said to Buffett: 'œForget it. You're not going to Harvard.'
After much disappointment from the rejection, Buffett discovered that his idols Benjamin Graham ('œthe father of value investing') and David Dodd were professors at Columbia Business School.
'œI wrote them a letter in mid-August,” Buffett shares. “I said, ‘Dear Professor Dodd. I thought you guys were dead, but now that I found out that you’re alive and teaching at Columbia, I would really like to come.’ And he admitted me.”
Image Credit: Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Buffett's secret to staying young? Coca-Cola and ice cream.
In an interview with Fortune, Buffett claimed he is 'œone quarter Coca-Cola' — “If I eat 2,700 calories a day, a quarter of that is Coca-Cola. I drink at least five 12-ounce servings. I do it every day.”
Sometimes for breakfast, he eats a can of Utz potato sticks (yes — a can, not a bag) to accompany his soda. Other times he takes a sweeter approach and indulges in a bowl of ice cream to jump start his day.
When asked how he's managed to stay healthy with such a salty and sugary diet, he said, “I checked the actuarial tables, and the lowest death rate is among 6-year-olds. So I decided to eat like a 6-year-old.”
When you think of a billionaire, you typically think of mansions, vacation homes and expensive cars. That's never been the case for Buffett. (Perhaps that's why we're all so fascinated by him.)
Buffett has lived in the same Omaha house since 1958 that he originally bought for $31,500. The house is a simple five-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom house.
After proposing to his wife in 1951, Buffett's father-in-law asked him to come over for a 'œtalk.' Turns out, his father-in-law didn't have much faith in Buffett and his plans for the future. In fact, he was adamant that Buffett would fail.
Buffett recalled the words from his father-in-law during an interview with CNBC: “I just want to absolve you from any worries. You’re going to fail. And the reason you’re going to fail — my daughter may starve to death and you’re going to fail, but I’m not going to blame you because it’s because the Democrats are in and they’re all Communists.”
Image Credit: Matthew Staver | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Who wouldn't want to have lunch with the Oracle of Omaha? Without a doubt, there's a lot he could teach you. Some people are so eager to sit down with Buffett that they've bid up to $3.4 million to have lunch with him.
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Since 2000, Buffett has held an annual fundraiser, auctioning off a charity lunch with him on eBay. In 2012 and 2016, people were so eager to sit down with Buffett they placed bids for more than $3.4 million. The money raised went to the San Francisco-based anti-poverty charity GLIDE, and the winner (who typically remains anonymous) gets to invite seven friends to lunch with Buffett at Smith and Wollensky steakhouse in New York City.
The auction has raised more than $20 million in total.
By the end of 2013, Buffett had a net worth of $59 billion — up from $46 billion at the beginning of the year. On average, Buffett made $37 million a day in 2013, which was fueled by rising stock prices.
Success comes at any age. Although Buffett was extremely successful before the age of 60 — his net worth was a noted $376 million when he was 52-years-old — nearly 94 percent of his wealth came after he turned 60. At 60, he was worth more than $3.8 billion.
Although Buffett has a Twitter account (@WarrenBuffett) with more than 1.25 million followers — it only has nine published tweets, and it turns out none of them were written by him.
'œI have this friend that talked me into getting a Twitter feed. She’s put up a couple things. But, the answer is I’ve never tweeted anything really myself,' he told CNBC.
Image Credit: Johnny Nunez | WireImage | Getty Images
Buffett owns close to 20 suits, all made by the same designer — Madam Lee. There’s an interesting story here.
During a trip to China, upon arriving to his hotel, 'œTwo guys jumped in the room. '¦ They started sticking tape measures around me and everything, then they showed me a book with a whole bunch