Christmas gifts fill homes with excitement at this time of year, and it is reasonable to think that in the home of a billionaire the gifts under the tree will be even more dazzling than in other homes. The truth is that this was so for a billionaire who gave his relatives $10,000 (more than 9,500 euros) every year until he discovered how they spent the money and decided to change the gifts.
Warren Buffett is a well-known American investor and businessman, and the story about his Christmas gifts is now history. As his own daughter-in-law explained for years, the legendary investor gave cash to his family.
In an interview with ThinkAdvisor he added that the family, As soon as he received his Christmas gift, he ran to spend it, something that his father-in-law did not like very much.. As he clarifies, if there is one thing that defines him, it is that he prefers long-term decisions and the idea of investing with a vision for the future, and that is exactly what he decided to do with his family.
The millionaire changed his strategy and left his family without his usual gifts of almost 10,000 euros
Being a lover of long-term and well-thought-out decisions, when he realized that his family was spending the money he gave them every Christmas without giving it much thought, decided to change tactics and offer something that would not only benefit in the short term, but would guarantee a prosperous future: investments in stocks.
Buffett broke with his traditional gift of cash and handed out envelopes containing shares of companies he had just acquired. That was a change that no one in the family expected. “Instead of cash, he had given us $10,000 worth of stock in a company that owned Coca-Cola.”explained her daughter-in-law.
The magnate made it clear to them that They could sell them if they wanted to make a profit or keep them to see how their value increased. And from that moment on, the custom of giving away shares continued every Christmas.
He carefully selected the companies in which he wanted to invest to benefit his family, and according to his daughter-in-law He was always right, because the shares he gave them continued to rise.
The press in his country claims that this magnate has often been criticized for his frugal lifestyle and his reluctance to leave large sums of money to his children, although his family has always defended Buffet’s generosity. His daughter explained in an interview that her father is not as “stingy” as some think, adding “I agree with your philosophy of not giving your children a lot of money. But my father has been much more generous than people think.”