How Warren Buffett Made His First Dime

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(Parade.com-Alice Schroeder) The first few cents Warren Buffett earned came from selling chewing gum. And from the day he started selling--at 6 years of age--he showed an unyielding attitude toward his customers that revealed his later style. "I remember a woman saying, 'I'll take one stick of Juicy Fruit,'" he says. "I said, 'We don't break up packs of gum'--I mean, I've got my principles." Making a sale was tempting, but not tempting enough. If he sold one stick to her, he'd have four sticks left to sell, not worth the work or the risk. He made two cents profit per pack.

Warren switched to selling Coca-Cola--he made a nickel for every six bottles--and copies of the Saturday Evening Post and Liberty magazines. By the time he was 9 or 10, he and a pal were selling used golf balls until the cops stopped them. When the police talked to his parents, Howard and Leila weren't concerned. They just considered their son ambitious.

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