Though legendary for his investing acumen, Warren Buffett will be the first to admit that he has made stupid decisions and dumb trades throughout his long career.
According to the Oracle of Omaha himself, his worst trade, and what he has called his ‘dumbest investment,’ was the purchase of Berkshire Hathaway, the company that would later make him a billionaire.
“The dumbest stock I ever bought uh was um – drum roll here – uh, Berkshire Hathaway. And uh, that may require a bit of explanation.”
Specifically, in a 2010 interview with CNBC, Buffett explained that his initial plan with the firm – then a struggling textile mill operator – was to take advantage of its downfall by loading up on shares before tendering them back to the company.
In 1964, Warren Buffett agreed with Seabury Stanton, the man running Berkshire at the time, to sell his stock at $11.50. Despite this, Stanton eventually offered a lower price, leading the now legendary investor to conclude that he got chiseled ‘for an eight.’
Buffett explained how the move made him angry, leading him to purchase more Berkshire Hathaway shares out of spite so that he could fire Seabury Stanton.
How a ‘dumb’ trade turned Buffett into a billionaire
Along with considering the purchase of Berkshire Hathaway a “dumb” move, Warren Buffett also revealed that his initial plan of keeping the company’s initial business of running textile mills was also a poor decision.
Indeed, ‘The Oracle of Omaha’ estimated that the firm would be worth twice as much had he only kept the insurance business from the get-go. Despite this, Buffett found staggering success in running the company from his takeover in 1965 to his handing over the reins to Greg Abel on January 1, 2026.
Over the course of the last 60 years, BRK.A shares have rocketed an incredible 3,950,000% to their latest closing price of $754,800, while Warren Buffett’s latest estimated net worth stands as high as $151 billion.
Warren Buffett’s final year as Berkshire CEO reviewed
Warren Buffett’s last year at the helm of Berkshire has shown that, despite his advanced age, he remained an excellent trader as BRK.A stock rose 11.74%.
Interestingly, the legendary investor was outperformed by the S&P 500 in 2025, though he may have willingly sacrificed performance for the sake of safety.
Specifically, Buffett’s final warning to traders seeking to learn from him might be that the stock market in 2026, despite its apparent rise, is far from stable, given that he has been noted for increasing Berkshire’s cash reserves to unprecedented highs in his last months as CEO.
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