What's next in Ashwin Sanghi's '13 Steps' series? Lessons for good health & parenting

"Rule No. 1: Never lose money. Rule No. 2: Never forget Rule No.1."

“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”

In the everyday grind, we often get consumed by the mundane, and ennui sets in. And that's when it becomes imperative to remember that the right combination of passion and energy can make a difference to the efforts we put, in work and life. And hasty, impulsive acts can have repercussions.

“I always knew I was going to be rich. I don’t think I ever doubted it for a minute.”

"Of the billionaires I have known, money just brings out the basic traits in them. If they were jerks before they had money, they are simply jerks with a billion dollars."

You might expect a billionaire like Buffett to live in a sprawling mansion in some secluded location looking out to the sea or something.


Form is temporary, class is permanent, they say. And no one better than Buffett himself who lives by this rule of life. Nothing flashy works for the billionaire investor and philanthropist. He continues to live in the same house in the central Dundee neighborhood of Omaha that he bought in 1958 for $31,500.

Also Read: Warren Buffett’s life hacks: No smartphone, 5 bottles of Coke every day, and an old Cadillac

"You only have to do a very few things right in your life so long as you don’t do too many things wrong."

"It’s better to hang out with people better than you. Pick out associates whose behavior is better than yours and you’ll drift in that direction."

Even since he was young, Buffett’s not only been tactful, but an extremely intelligent and hard worker. While still in high school, he made money delivering newspapers, selling golf balls and stamps, and detailing cars, among other means.

By the time he turned 16, he had amassed the equivalent of $53,000.

Now if that's not inspiring enough...

"The rich invest in time, the poor invest in money."

"Wall Street is the only place that people ride to in a Rolls Royce to get advice from those who take the subway."

No one better than Mr. Buffett knows about the importance, and value, of money. And while it’s not unusual for billionaires to drive Rolls-Royces, Lamborghinis or Bentleys, it's not the same for the legendary investor.

Up until 2014, Buffett, who prefers vehicles by Ford and General Motors, drove an eight-year-old Cadillac.