Warren Buffett bought three shares of Cities Service Preferred for his first stock investment.
He made the purchase in 1942, at age 11, using money he had saved. The shares cost about $38 each, and he also bought three shares for his sister, Doris. The purchase was made through his father Howard Buffett, who worked as a stockbroker and encouraged Warren’s early interest in markets.
Buffett initially sold his shares after the price rose to about $40. He was disappointed when Cities Service later climbed to roughly $202, an experience he often describes as an early lesson in patience and the benefits of long-term investing. The episode helped shape the investment philosophy for which he later became famous.
A common mix-up is counting the six shares bought for Warren and Doris together. Warren personally bought three; the other three belonged to his sister. Cities Service was a utility and natural-gas company, not Berkshire Hathaway, which Buffett did not begin acquiring until the 1960s.