Microsoft CEO Bill Gates and investing magnate Warren Buffett have been friends for decades so it's safe to say that they know each other pretty well. In fact, they even work together on 'The Giving Pledge' campaign giving away their wealth to various charitable causes.
Together and apart, the two friends are some of the richest businessmen in the world today with Buffett having an estimated net worth of over $88 billion. What more, he's considered as one of the greatest investors with a track record that his fellow billionaires can only admire.
But as Gates reveals, his buddy's secret to success is actually quite simple and a thing everybody could do.
Avid Reader
Buffett reading a newspaper in his office
Apparently, the 88-year-old is an avid reader spending around five to six hours pouring over newspapers and books every day. But Buffett doesn't just read anything. His priorities are set on mulling over 'business and investment problems' which, he says, are actually enjoyable for him to think about.
Still, he believes that everybody can also read the kind of things he reads and that that makes it an 'even playing field'. And it makes sense, knowing about current events and business news is an easy way of gaining a competitive advantage whatever line of work a person is in.
According to Buffett's late first wife, Susan, it's actually the competition which partly motivates the investor to stay for hours in his office reading and learning more about the field. 'He loves the idea that he's going to win', she said once in the HBO documentary, 'Becoming Warren Buffett'.
Warren’s Read List
Buffett first read the book when he was just 19 years old
According to Buffett, he used to read up to a thousand pages a day during the beginning of his investing career. Thus, it's safe to say that the legendary investor has probably gone through hundreds if not thousands of books over the years. And luckily, he's shared some of his most recommended titles in some of his interviews.
One of his most suggested ones is 'The Intelligent Investor' written by economist and investor Benjamin Graham. Buffett believes that only needs a proper framework when it comes to investing and that this book prescribes exactly that. He's even said that finding the book is one of the luckiest moments of his life.
He also recommends reading Graham's other book 'Security Analysis' which provided him a 'road map' for investing for the many decades he's been doing so.
Benefits of the Habit
Cuban is also the owner of the professional basketball team Dallas Mavericks
Further proof of the effectivity of Buffett's simple secret is that other successful businessmen have also tried and had positive results from it. One of them is American businessman Mark Cuban, who appears as one of the 'sharks' in the reality show 'Shark Tank'.
According to the 60-year-old, having the knowledge he got from reading helped him outperform his competitors. He currently has an estimated net worth of $4.1 billion.