Buffett doing bad things when he was younger?

[arbitragr]

Hi all,

 

I was watching this interview with Guy Spier the other day on Bloomberg: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aA7KzcE854zE, and he talks about Buffett doing bad things in his youth (stealing things) at about 3:25mins.

 

If anyone has read the Snowball or know where he or an author mentions this (what did he steal? is it just minor stuff?), could someone shed some light on it?

Just doing some research, and trying to get an idea of how 'imperfect' WEB is ... and how 'human' he is. :D :D

 

Cheers.

[JAllen]

Why not just read the book if you're doing research?

[arbitragr]

Why not just read the book if you're doing research?

 

Because the book is huge. And I don't have all the time in the world to wade through it right now. Might do so in future. But if someone who knows, and can point it out, then I won't have to do all that digging.  :)

[value-is-what-you-get]

If anyone wants to find something in a book quickly (especially a large and popular one like The Snowball) just go to Google Books, type in "Snowball Buffett stealing" for example and then on the left side of the page is a little box with a "GO" button next to it.  Type in "stealing" and it brings up all instances of the word in the book.  Turns out it was golf balls.  Elapsed time 3 minutes 25 seconds including this post.

 

Gotta love Google!

[rogermunibond]

He shoplifted.  He said not so much because he wanted it, but was very angry for being displaced from Omaha by his parents.

 

He did also sell his sister's bike once.  Without her consent.

[UhuruPeak]

He did also sell his sister's bike once.  Without her consent.

 

That cracks me up.  I wish I had thought of that when I was a kid!  :P

[arbitragr]

He shoplifted.  He said not so much because he wanted it, but was very angry for being displaced from Omaha by his parents.

 

He did also sell his sister's bike once.  Without her consent.

 

Shoplifting ... meh ... not that much of an issue when you're young. It might be if he did it repeatedly.

 

But selling your sister's bike ... now that's bad ... especially if the bike was all girly and pink, and his motive was to make money off it. :D

 

 

[Parsad]

Often when children or youth act out like that, they are distressed in some manner emotionally and aren't provided an outlet to vent their frustration.  Buffett had trouble in school as well...probably because the normal educational system didn't know how to let his intellectual capacity flourish in a manner that was conducive to his growth.  What he did as a child is somewhat irrelevant, but I guess Schroeder was trying to show how his emotional constitution today is a byproduct of his youth.  Cheers!

[brker_guy]

arbitragr, in this day and age of iphone/ipod, you can always get the "Snowball" unabridged edition in MP3 format and listen to it to and from work or wherever you may be. 

[twacowfca]

Hi all,

 

I was watching this interview with Guy Spier the other day on Bloomberg: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aA7KzcE854zE, and he talks about Buffett doing bad things in his youth (stealing things) at about 3:25mins.

 

If anyone has read the Snowball or know where he or an author mentions this (what did he steal? is it just minor stuff?), could someone shed some light on it?

Just doing some research, and trying to get an idea of how 'imperfect' WEB is ... and how 'human' he is. :D :D

 

Cheers.

 

 

Warren and his teenaged business partner reportedly stole a considerable amount of merchandise on a number of occasions, just for the heck of it, from a vulnerable area of the Sears store in Washington, DC during a time when he was apparently quite troubled emotionally, according to his account to Schroeder.