<description>&lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;With an unprecedented decades-long run of success, Warren Buffett is retiring on December 31, 2025. Buffett’s turning point began with the acquisition of a failing textile mill called Berkshire Hathaway. What began as a “terrible mistake” became the foundation for his empire. Today on the show, how did Buffett become this legendary figure? &lt;p dir="ltr"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Related episodes: &lt;br&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/07/29/1022440582/planet-money-summer-school-2-index-funds-the-bet"target="_blank" &gt;Planet Money Summer School 2: Index Funds &amp; The Bet&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2016/03/04/469247400/episode-688-brilliant-vs-boring"target="_blank" &gt;Brilliant vs. Boring&lt;/a&gt; For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at &lt;a href="http://plus.npr.org/"target="_blank" &gt;plus.npr.org&lt;/a&gt;. Fact-checking by &lt;a href="https://www.npr.org/people/1268825622/sierra-juarez"target="_blank" &gt;Sierra Juarez&lt;/a&gt;. Music by &lt;a href="https://dropelectric.bandcamp.com/"target="_blank" &gt;Drop Electric&lt;/a&gt;. Find us: &lt;a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@planetmoney"target="_blank" &gt;TikTok&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="https://www.instagram.com/planetmoney/"target="_blank" &gt;Instagram&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="https://www.facebook.com/planetmoney"target="_blank" &gt;Facebook&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="https://www.npr.org/newsletter/money"target="_blank" &gt;Newsletter&lt;/a&gt;.  &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Learn more about sponsor message choices: &lt;a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices"&gt;podcastchoices.com/adchoices&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy"&gt;NPR Privacy Policy&lt;/a&gt;</description>

The Indicator from Planet Money

NPR

The spite acquisition that launched Warren Buffett

DEC 22, 20259 MIN
The Indicator from Planet Money

The spite acquisition that launched Warren Buffett

DEC 22, 20259 MIN

Description

With an unprecedented decades-long run of success, Warren Buffett is retiring on December 31, 2025. Buffett’s turning point began with the acquisition of a failing textile mill called Berkshire Hathaway. What began as a “terrible mistake” became the foundation for his empire. Today on the show, how did Buffett become this legendary figure? Related episodes: Planet Money Summer School 2: Index Funds & The BetBrilliant vs. Boring For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.  Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy