The Buffett Acolyte Who Attended School with His Kids

Of all the books written about Warren Buffett, I am unaware of any authors who grew up in Omaha, Nebraska and went to school with his children. Todd Finkle is the author of Warren Buffett: Investor and Entrepreneur, a book that was fourteen years in the making. Even if you have read numerous books on investing, this one is full of gems from a unique perspective, including a chapter on Buffett’s investing missteps.

Interview Highlights

• Mark’s second impression was better than his first
• Buffett and the modern-day Benjamin Franklin
• His kids were not aware their dad was rich and famous
• Todd’s origin story that started in Omaha, Nebraska
• Revisiting Charlie Munger
• Once again, Buffett’s integrity and ethics stand out
• The reason you never see Buffett’s name on a building
• The best $100 Buffett ever spent
• The Davy Davidson story
• Todd’s definition of an entrepreneur
• Buffett’s Big Three Investment Approach
• Seriously, just 25 employees?
• The $1 million wager and who won
• An Adam Mead shoutout
• Should Berkshire Hathaway issue a dividend?

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Great Lines in Warren Buffett: Investor and Entrepreneur

Todd included numerous quotes that I highlighted in the book. Below are a few that stood out.

The first is in the context of Buffett’s $100 investment in a Dale Carnegie course:

I would recommend that you improve your oral and written communication skills. This will improve your pay by at least 50 percent.

Warren Buffett – Warren Buffett: Investor and Entrepreneur

The next line is a classic from Charlie Munger on reading:

In my whole life, I have known no wise people (over a broad subject matter area) who didn’t read all the time—none, zero. . . . You’d be amazed at how much Warren reads—and at how much I read. My children laugh at me. They think I am a book with a couple of legs sticking out.

Charlie Munger – Warren Buffett: Investor and Entrepreneur

Regarding Munger, he stated some of the worst business decisions he ever made was with detailed analysis. Additionally …

I have never used any fancy math in business, and neither did Ben Graham, who taught Buffett. Everything I have ever done in business could be done with the simplest algebra and geometry and addition, multiplication, and so forth. I never used calculus for any practical work in my whole *&#$% life.

Charlie Munger – Warren Buffett: Investor and Entrepreneur

Those of us who have read our fair share of books about Buffett, including those by Lowenstein and Hagstrom, I still enjoyed reading about his investing approach:

We want businesses to be ones (a) that we can understand; (b) with favorable long-term prospects; (c) operated by honest and competent people; and (d) available at a very attractive price.

Warren Buffett – Warren Buffett: Investor and Entrepreneur

Finally, I enjoyed the frig metaphor Todd Finkle’s used on entrepreneurship:

• “The standard definition of an entrepreneur is someone who creates their own business for the sake of profit. However … “Entrepreneurs are hungry. Their refrigerator is empty. I cannot teach students how to be hungry; they either possess that quality or they don’t.”
• “Put simply, entrepreneurs are hungry! Hungry for money, hungry for success, hungry for independence—however you couch it, all of them have an overweening hunger to chase down their goals.”
• “Above all, entrepreneurs are not followers.”

Additional Resources

As I was reading Todd’s book, I found myself researching the background of some of the stories told. Here are my favorites:

1. Buffett on meeting Lorimer Davidson is outstanding.
2. A Brief History of GEICO
3. The Psychology of Human Misjudgment

Important Links

1. Todd’s LinkedIn Profile
2. Todd’s bio page at Gonzaga
3. Todd’s website

Books Mentioned

• The Warren Buffett Way by Robert Hagstrom
• Snowball by Alice Schroeder
• Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist by Roger Lowenstein
• Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors by Piers Paul Read 

Episode Pairings