When he was 14, Buffett spent $1,200 on 40 acres of farmland in Nebraska and soon began collecting rent from a tenant farmer. He and a friend also made $50 a week by placing pinball machines in barber shops. They called their venture Wilson Coin Operated Machine Co.

14岁那年, 巴菲特花了1200美元在内布拉斯加州购置了一片40公顷的农田, 然后开始从佃户那里收取租金。他还和一个朋友为理发店安装弹球游戏机从而每周赚得50美元。他们把自己的"企业"称作"威尔森钱币运作机器公司"。
 
Already a successful albeit small－time businessman, Buffett wasn't keen on going to college but ended up at Wharton at the University of Pennsylvania－－his father encouraged him to go. After two years at Wharton, Buffett transferred to his parents'alma mater, the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, for his final year of college. There Buffett took a job with the Lincoln Journal supervising 50 paper boys in six rural counties.

这时巴菲特尽管并不起眼, 但已是一个小获成功的商人。他对上大学并不感兴趣, 不过后来还是在父亲的敦促下去了宾西法尼亚大学的沃顿学院。在沃顿学习了两年后, 巴菲特转学到其父母的母校--林肯的内布拉斯加大学, 在那儿修完了大学最后一年的课程。这期间巴菲特还在《林肯日报》谋得了一份工作, 负责管理６个乡村地区的５０个报童。
 
Buffett applied to Harvard Business School but was turned down in what had to be one of the worst admissions decisions in Harvard history. The outcome ended up profoundly affecting Buffett's life, for he ended up attending Columbia Business School, where he studied under revered mentor Benjamin Graham, the father of securities analysis who provided the foundation for Buffett's investment strategy.

巴菲特曾申请哈佛商学院被拒, 这后来成为哈佛历史上最糟糕的录取决定之一。这个结果对巴菲特的一生产生了深远的影响, 他因此进入哥伦比亚商学院, 并从师著名的证券分析之父本杰明·格雷厄姆, 巴菲特从导师身上学到的东西为日后形成自己的投资策略奠定了基础。
 
From the beginning, Buffett made his fortune from investing. He started with all the money he had made from selling pop, delivering papers, and operating pinball machines. Between 1950 and 1956, he grew his $9,800 kitty to $14,000. From there, he organized investment partnerships with his family and friends, and then gradually drew in other investors through word of mouth and very attractive terms.

一开始, 巴菲特凭借投资来赚钱。他最初的资本来自卖苏打汽水、送报纸、安装弹球游戏机而攒下的积蓄。在1950到1956年期间, 他的原始资本积累由9800美元升至14万美元。此后, 巴菲特开始与家人和朋友结成伙伴投资关系, 后来又凭借口头游说和一些优惠条件拉拢其他投资者。
 
Buffett's goal was to top the Dow Jones Industrial Average by an average of 10% a year. Over the length of the Buffett partnership between 1957 and 1969, Buffett's investments grew at a compound annual rate of 29.5%, crushing the Dow's return of 7.4% over the same period.

巴菲特的目的是以每年平均10％的比率超出道琼斯工业指数。在巴菲特倡导的"合伙投资"模式下, 从1957到1969年间, 巴菲特的投资以每年29.5％的综合速度增长, 大大挫败了道琼斯在同一时期7.4％的回报率。

Buffett's investment strategy mirrors his lifestyle and overall philosophy. He doesn't collect houses or cars or works of art, and he disdains companies that waste money on such extravagances as limousines, private dining rooms, and high－priced real estate. He is a creature of habit－－same house, same office, same city, same soda－－and dislikes change. In his investments, that means holding on to "core holdings"such as American Express, Coca－Cola, and The Washington Post Co. "forever. "

巴菲特的投资策略可映射出他的生活方式和人生哲学。他没有囤积房屋、收集汽车和艺术品的嗜好, 他厌恶那些把钱花在高级轿车、私人餐厅和豪华地产这类奢侈品上的公司。他是个善于遵循习惯的人--住同一栋房屋, 在同一间办公室办公, 在同一个城市生活, 喝同一牌子的可乐--他不喜欢变化。用在他的投资理念上, 就是紧抓住投资"核心"不变, 如美国捷运公司、可口可乐、华盛顿邮报公司, 而且是"永远不变"。

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