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Warren Buffett Once Fingerprinted Nuns Because 'Someday a Nun Would Go Bad'

MarketDash Editorial Team
20 days ago
In a Thanksgiving message to shareholders, Warren Buffett shared a childhood story about fingerprinting nuns during a hospital stay after an emergency appendectomy. The 95-year-old also announced a $1.34 billion stock transfer to family foundations and reflected on his approaching retirement from Berkshire Hathaway.

Warren Buffett has spent decades dispensing investment wisdom, but his latest shareholder message revealed something far more entertaining: as a child recovering from an appendectomy, he fingerprinted every nun who attended to him because he thought one might eventually turn to a life of crime.

The story emerged in a Thanksgiving message that accompanied the announcement of a substantial stock transfer. Buffett converted 1,800 Class A shares of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) into 2.7 million Class B shares for distribution to four family foundations: The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, The Sherwood Foundation, The Howard G. Buffett Foundation and NoVo Foundation. The transfer, executed on Nov. 10, was worth approximately $1.34 billion based on the A shares' closing price of $744,500 that day.

The Case of the Potentially Criminal Nuns

But the financial details took a backseat to Buffett's recollection of his 1938 hospital stay at St. Catherine's Hospital in Omaha, Nebraska. At just eight years old, what started as a severe bellyache turned into an emergency appendectomy and a three-week recovery period. The experience, he wrote, felt "like I was in a nunnery," though the nuns apparently "embraced" his talkative nature.

The turning point came when his Aunt Edie gave him what Buffett described as a professional-looking fingerprinting set. His response was immediate and methodical.

"I promptly fingerprinted all of my attending nuns," Buffett wrote. "My theory … was that someday a nun would go bad."

Young Warren apparently had grand ambitions for his fingerprint archive. He fantasized that FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, whom he revered at the time, would personally travel to Omaha to examine his collection and "apprehend the wayward nun." National fame, the young Buffett figured, was practically guaranteed.

"National fame seemed certain," he wrote, though he acknowledged the fantasy never materialized. With the benefit of hindsight, Buffett noted he should have "fingerprinted J. Edgar himself as he became disgraced for misusing his post."

Paying Tribute to Omaha

The message also served as an opportunity for Buffett to honor the Omaha community members who contributed to Berkshire Hathaway's success over the decades. He singled out two figures in particular: Charlie Munger and Stan Lipsey.

Munger, who served as Berkshire's vice chairman and was Buffett's "best pal" and colleague for over 60 years until his death in 2023, earned special recognition. Their partnership was remarkably harmonious.

"We had differences but never had an argument," Buffett said. "'I told you so' was not in his vocabulary."

Lipsey's contribution was more financial. After selling the weekly Omaha Sun Newspapers to Berkshire in 1968, he moved to Buffalo, New York to manage the Buffalo Evening News, owned by a Berkshire affiliate. His turnaround of the paper generated over 100% pre-tax returns annually on a $33 million investment.

"This was important money for Berkshire in the early 1980s," Buffett wrote.

Reflecting on 95 Years and What's Next

Now 95, Buffett used the message to reflect on what he called his "ridiculously long straw at birth" as someone who was "healthy, reasonably intelligent, white, male and in America." He also signaled a shift in his role at Berkshire, sharing that he will no longer write the company's annual report or "talking endlessly at the annual meeting."

Greg Abel, whose succession was announced last May, will formally assume the CEO role at year-end. Buffett acknowledged that while he still enjoys his work, time is catching up with him.

He closed with characteristic humor: "I have given up fingerprinting nurses. You can get away with many eccentricities at 95 … but there are limits."

Back to News

Warren Buffett Once Fingerprinted Nuns Because 'Someday a Nun Would Go Bad'

MarketDash Editorial Team
20 days ago
In a Thanksgiving message to shareholders, Warren Buffett shared a childhood story about fingerprinting nuns during a hospital stay after an emergency appendectomy. The 95-year-old also announced a $1.34 billion stock transfer to family foundations and reflected on his approaching retirement from Berkshire Hathaway.

Warren Buffett has spent decades dispensing investment wisdom, but his latest shareholder message revealed something far more entertaining: as a child recovering from an appendectomy, he fingerprinted every nun who attended to him because he thought one might eventually turn to a life of crime.

The story emerged in a Thanksgiving message that accompanied the announcement of a substantial stock transfer. Buffett converted 1,800 Class A shares of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) into 2.7 million Class B shares for distribution to four family foundations: The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, The Sherwood Foundation, The Howard G. Buffett Foundation and NoVo Foundation. The transfer, executed on Nov. 10, was worth approximately $1.34 billion based on the A shares' closing price of $744,500 that day.

The Case of the Potentially Criminal Nuns

But the financial details took a backseat to Buffett's recollection of his 1938 hospital stay at St. Catherine's Hospital in Omaha, Nebraska. At just eight years old, what started as a severe bellyache turned into an emergency appendectomy and a three-week recovery period. The experience, he wrote, felt "like I was in a nunnery," though the nuns apparently "embraced" his talkative nature.

The turning point came when his Aunt Edie gave him what Buffett described as a professional-looking fingerprinting set. His response was immediate and methodical.

"I promptly fingerprinted all of my attending nuns," Buffett wrote. "My theory … was that someday a nun would go bad."

Young Warren apparently had grand ambitions for his fingerprint archive. He fantasized that FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, whom he revered at the time, would personally travel to Omaha to examine his collection and "apprehend the wayward nun." National fame, the young Buffett figured, was practically guaranteed.

"National fame seemed certain," he wrote, though he acknowledged the fantasy never materialized. With the benefit of hindsight, Buffett noted he should have "fingerprinted J. Edgar himself as he became disgraced for misusing his post."

Paying Tribute to Omaha

The message also served as an opportunity for Buffett to honor the Omaha community members who contributed to Berkshire Hathaway's success over the decades. He singled out two figures in particular: Charlie Munger and Stan Lipsey.

Munger, who served as Berkshire's vice chairman and was Buffett's "best pal" and colleague for over 60 years until his death in 2023, earned special recognition. Their partnership was remarkably harmonious.

"We had differences but never had an argument," Buffett said. "'I told you so' was not in his vocabulary."

Lipsey's contribution was more financial. After selling the weekly Omaha Sun Newspapers to Berkshire in 1968, he moved to Buffalo, New York to manage the Buffalo Evening News, owned by a Berkshire affiliate. His turnaround of the paper generated over 100% pre-tax returns annually on a $33 million investment.

"This was important money for Berkshire in the early 1980s," Buffett wrote.

Reflecting on 95 Years and What's Next

Now 95, Buffett used the message to reflect on what he called his "ridiculously long straw at birth" as someone who was "healthy, reasonably intelligent, white, male and in America." He also signaled a shift in his role at Berkshire, sharing that he will no longer write the company's annual report or "talking endlessly at the annual meeting."

Greg Abel, whose succession was announced last May, will formally assume the CEO role at year-end. Buffett acknowledged that while he still enjoys his work, time is catching up with him.

He closed with characteristic humor: "I have given up fingerprinting nurses. You can get away with many eccentricities at 95 … but there are limits."