The First Million

Getting Started is hard work. Warren Buffett’s right hand man, Charlie Munger is quoted, “The first $100,000 is a bitch”. Warren Buffett made his first $100,000 in the early 1950’s when he was still an individual investor, compounding his capital 50% annually over several years. $100,000 in 1950 is equivalent to about $1 million today. So perhaps Munger’s 2015 version would be, “The first $1 million is a bitch”.

In 1948, Ben Graham through his company Graham-Newman Corporation bought 50% of GEICO for $712,000. By 1972, this investment was worth $400 million, a 562 bagger. The gain in GEICO would contribute more profit to Graham’s partnership than all the gains from all other investments combined. The irony is that Graham rarely invested more than 5% of the firm’s capital in one company, but with GEICO he invested 20% of the firms capital. Graham’s most successful investment ever came when he broke his rules and made an educated concentrated bet.

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https://microcapclub.com/2015/01/the-first-million/