With a net worth of nearly $170 billion, Warren Buffett is one of the envied investors in the world. But as a young person, he wasn’t the star student most would have expected..
Buffett first enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School in the late 1940s—an Ivy League institution heralded as one of the best business schools in the world. However, he was not so impressed; two years into his studies, he transferred back home to the University of Nebraska in Lincoln because he wanted insight he couldn’t find.
While studying accounting at the University of Nebraska was something he said was “vital” to the rest of his career, he credited the connections built getting a master’s at Columbia Business School as sources of inspiration.
“I was interested in what they [my professors] were saying and they found it entertaining that I was so interested,” Buffett said last weekend. “So I would look around at what really fascinates you.”
“I think having curiosity and finding sympathetic teachers is very useful,” Buffett added.
As two billionaires overcame challenges together, Buffett said he was inspired by Munger’s constant drive to learn.
“Charlie was never satisfied with just superficial things about any subject,” Buffett said. “He really wanted to understand it and he always would tell me that you shouldn’t take a position on anything until you can describe the arguments against it better than the person who is arguing with you—that you should be able to argue their case better than they can.”
Munger was a “remarkable teacher,” Buffett reminisced—something he echoed even when his business partner was still alive.
Moreover, even billionaires themselves look up to Buffett for inspiration.
