1. Making money was an early interest for Buffett, who sold soft drinks and had a paper route.

When he was 14 years old, he invested the earnings from these endeavors in 40 acres of land, which he
then rented for a profit. At his father's urging, he applied to the University of Pennsylvania and was
accepted. Unimpressed, Buffett left after two years, transferring to the University of Nebraska. Upon
graduation, his father once again convinced him of the value of education, encouraging him to pursue a
graduate degree. Harvard rejected Buffett, but Columbia accepted him. Buffett studied under Benjamin
Graham, the father of value investing, and his time at Columbia set the stage for a storied career, albeit
one with a slow start. (Keep reading about value investing in The 3 Most Timeless Investment Principles
and What Is Warren Buffett's Investing Style?)

Buffett's investment philosophy become one based on the principle of acquiring stock in what he
believes are well-managed, undervalued companies. When he makes a purchase, his intention is to hold
the securities indefinitely. Coca Cola, American Express and the Gillette Company all met his criteria and
have remained Berkshire Hathaway's portfolio for many years. In many cases, he purchased the
companies outright, continuing to let their management teams handle the day-to-day business. A few of
the better-known firms that fit into this category include See's Candies, Fruit of the Loom, Dairy Queen,
The Pampered Chef and GEICO Auto Insurance.

2. Steve Jobs, founder of Apple Computer Corporation, was one of the most successful →
entrepreneurs. His success story is legendary.His unwed mother decided to put him for adoption
immediately after Steve was born because he was "an unexpected baby". He went to college but
decided to drop out because it was too expensive. Recalling his time there Steve Jobs said, "I didn’t have
a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends’ rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy
food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at
the Hare Krishna temple."

Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak started a company in a garage on April 1, 1976 after Steve saw a
computer Wozniak designed for himself. Jobs named their company – Apple in memory of a happy
summer he had spent as an orchard worker in Oregon.
Later that year, the duo debuted the Apple I at the Homebrew Computer Club in Palo Alto, California.
A local store offered to buy 50 machines and to finance the production, the duo had to sell their most
expensive possessions. Jobs sold his Volkswagen van while Wozniak sold his Hewlett-Packard scientific
calculator.2
3. Henry Sy’s story was a ‘rags to riches’ kind of tale. Born in China, Henry Sy was not born with a
silver spoon in his mouth. Wanting to escape poverty, Henry followed his father to the Philippines only
to find out his miserable state in a foreign country. Determined to become successful, Henry worked
hard day and night to provide for his needs. He started out a small sari-sari store business which has
helped them in their day-to-day life. Sy and his father used to live in a small space until the fruits of their
labor made them successful in the passing years.

He would buy goods from Divisoria flea market, carry them on his back and
sell them in his father’s small (sari-sari) store. When they close for the night,
they would both sleep inside that small space until all their hard labor
eventually earned them a better way of life.
Henry started his studies at Anglo-Chinese School in Quiapo at the age of
twelve where he also struggled to learn English. But everything else was
doing fine for him and his father until the Japanese came to take over
Philippines during the World War II. The economy collapsed, and all in 1946,
their store was burned down which made his father decide to go home to
China. Henry however decided to stay. He started his own business by selling
cheap shoes from Marikina.

4. Ayala’s story started in 1834 when entrepreneur Domingo Roxas and young industrial
partner Antonio de Ayala created a distillery, which is an agribusiness company that grew and
became popular as they started exporting products to Europe. They then garnered recognition
that made them a name in the international scene. From rural to urban, they brought with them
their bestselling brand that is Ginebra San Miguel.

Jaime Zobel didn't plan to start his career in the family business. However, after
completing a training program at the venerable Ayala Corporation—the largest
and most widely diversified conglomerate in the Philippines—and attending HBS,
he accepted a short-term position at Ayala and never left. Today, Zobel
embraces his role as the leader of the 173-year-old firm, where his innovative,
entrepreneurial style of management has benefited both Ayala and an island
nation that faces significant social and economic challenges.
5.