In 1956, physics professor Homer Dodge trusted 25-year-old Warren Buffett with $120,000, the investment grew to tens of millions by 1983

In 1956, when Warren Buffett was just 25 years old, a physics professor named Homer Dodge made a decision that would turn into a remarkable investment story. Dodge entrusted Buffett with $120,000 from his family's savings. Over the next 27 years, that investment grew to tens of million of dollars.

At the time, Buffett was still building his investment career and had not yet become the globally recognised billionaire investor. Dodge's decision to place such a large sum in the hands of a young investor became an important part of Buffett's early financial history.

According to a 2010 academic paper published in the Journal of the International Academy for Case Studies, Dodge drove 1,500 miles to meet Buffett in Omaha, Nebraska, during the summer of 1956. His investment would remain connected to Buffett's story for decades.

Who was Homer Dodge?

Dodge was a physics professor who later served as president of Norwich University in Vermont. In 1956, he was 67 years old and had accumulated savings that his family could invest.

Dodge chose to trust Buffett, who was then only 25 at that time. The decision came as he had confidence in the young investor's ability to manage money.

Why did Dodge travel 1,500 miles?

Dodge's journey to Omaha was a big step in establishing his relationship with Buffett. In the summer of 1956, he travelled around 1,500 miles to entrust his family's money to the young investor.

Buffett was working to build his investment partnership at the time. Dodge's decision gave him access to outside capital and added to the pool of money he could manage.

How much was the investment worth when Dodge died?

Dodge died in 1983, 27 years after the initial investment. The academic paper reports that the money had grown to tens of millions of dollars by then.

This long-term growth is what makes the story unique. Dodge had invested in Buffett when the latter was still a young professional developing his investment business.

The reported outcome shows the potential impact of allowing a skilled investor to manage over an extended period.

What does Dodge's investment reveal?

In Dodge's case, the decision to trust a 25-year-old Buffett in 1956 became a long-term financial commitment whose reported value reached tens of millions of dollars by 1983.