It’s considered a treat when investors get to hear from the legendary Warren Buffett, so perhaps it makes sense that the internet has been eating up advice from a Twitter account purporting to be the Sage of Omaha.
It’s not Buffett, of course, but Twitter users nonetheless have been furiously sharing life lessons that @warrenbuffet99 keeps doling out. The account, which started in December 2016, really got the ball rolling with an Aug. 25 tweet offering “advice for young people,” with evergreen tips such as “don’t spend more than you make” and “read and write more.”
That tweet was shared 118,000 times, and although many appeared to catch on that the account was fake—note that missing “f” in Buffett, for one—it didn’t stop some from chatting as if the man worth $86.8 billion was at the helm:
Hmmmm... shouldn’t your #1 be: help fund corporate buyouts and then layoff gobs of people because giving the shareholders AND YOU SPECIFICALLY more money is most important.
— Screaming Pigtails (@JMS_3431) August 26, 2018Why are suddenly everywhere popping up quotes from this dubious, unverified Warren Buffet (@warrenbuffet99) account?
— ⭕ Bernie Hauser (@yesitsBernie) August 28, 2018The account at it again on Tuesday, offering up fresh advice on how to avoid time wasters and get out of scrapes so dire “you thought you’d never make it out.”
Some of the wisdom doesn’t even seem that far from the man himself, who has said: “The most important thing to do if you find yourself in a hole is to stop digging.”
The most popular of the more than 50 tweets from the unverified account, which carries a photo of the smiling Berkshire Hathaway BRK.A, +1.07% BRK.B, +1.22% chairman, is this one, shared more than 227,000 times. Sent Aug. 26, it lays out “what’s cool” — follow your dreams, be a mentor and learn and use people’s names:
Here's what's cool:
1 saying 'thank you'
2 apologizing when wrong
3 showing up on time
4 being nice to strangers
5 listening without interrupting
6 admitting you were wrong
7 following your dreams
8 being a mentor
9 learning and using people's names
10 holding doors open
Running a close second is a tweet that described the “smartest people” the would-be Buffett knows — they don’t get offended easily, surround themselves with intelligence, admit when they are wrong and read more than they speak:
The smartest people I know:
1 Don't get easily offended
2 Read more than they talk
3 Enjoy intelligent discourse
4 Quickly admit when they're wrong
5 Comfortable changing their opinion
6 Surround themselves w/ intelligence
7 Seek to understand every perspective on a topic
Social media also loved this “healthy list,” with that “read and write more” advice cropping up again, along with suggestions to drink more water and eat less sugar:
A Healthy List:
1 Wake up and smile
2 Meditate / Pray
3 Drink more water
4 Eat less sugar
5 Clean your living space
6 Read and write more
7 Remove clutter
8 Don't respond to nonsense
9 Spend quality time with family
10 Show gratitude
11 Forgive first
12 Exercise
As for the real deal, the blue-checked account of @WarrenBuffett seemed to completely lose interest in Twitter after April 2016, after a total of nine tweets.
"Be greedy when others are fearful and fearful when people try to explain the complexities of life in a list on Twitter."
- @warrenbuffet99
— Ben Carlson (@awealthofcs) August 27, 2018 Real advice from Warren Buffett:
