The IQ Score Warren Buffett Says You Need To Succeed (2024)
Billionaire investor of Berkshire Hathaway fame, Warren Buffett, believes the IQ score you need to be “successful” is no higher than 130 (via CNBC). But you’ll be relieved to hear that isn’t the sole trait that guarantees success. Especially considering the global average falls anywhere between 85 and 115.
So what is the secret ingredient?
The Oracle of Omaha largely attributes much of his own business wins to a steady temperament. Not intelligence.
“It’s a temperamental quality, not an intellectual quality, you don’t need tons of IQ in this business,” Buffett once explained when prompted about what makes a good investor.
“I mean you have to have enough IQ to get from here to downtown… but you do not have to be able to play three-dimensional chess or be in the top leagues in terms of bridge playing.”
“You need a stable personality, you need a temperament that neither derives great pleasure from being with the crowd or against the crowd because this is not a business where you take polls. It’s a business where you think.”
He added: “As Ben Graham would say, you’re not right or wrong because a thousand people agree with you; and you’re not right or wrong because a thousand people disagree with you.”
In the forward of his aforementioned mentor/godfather of value investing Benjamin Graham’s seminal finance book, The Intelligent Investor, Warren Buffett echoed similar sentiments:
To invest successfully does not require a stratospheric IQ, unusual business insights, or inside information. What’s needed is a sound intellectual framework for making decisions and the ability to keep emotions from corroding the framework.
Warren Buffett reportedly has an IQ of over 150 (anything past 140 is considered a genius), and while it has, no doubt, helped him become one of the world’s richest men, the lesson here is to value emotional intelligence (EQ) just as highly.
Warren Buffett, Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. While Washington, D.C. leaders fight over who's more intelligent, billionaire businessman Warren Buffett says there's a specific IQ score you need to succeed: 130.
“Investing is not a game where the guy with the 160 IQ beats the guy with the 130 IQ. Once you have ordinary intelligence, what you need is the temperament to control the urges that get other people into trouble in investing.”
IQ tests provide insight into an individual's cognitive ability. As mentioned earlier, Elon Musk's IQ score is believed to be between 155 and 160. Above-average IQ scores within this range are only reserved for the "Highly Gifted" IQ classification.
Scientists are constantly trying to answer why some people with high IQs become successful, and others don't. Nobel Laureate in Economics James Heckman explained that erudition and intellectual abilities make up only 1-2% of career and financial success.
Bill Gates' IQ is often estimated to be around 160.
It can be inferred from his early admission to Harvard University, his near-perfect SAT score, his achievements in creating and developing Microsoft, and his well-documented aptitude for mathematics and logical thinking from a young age.
"Steve Jobs likely had an IQ roughly 160 or above. Near the end of 4th grade Jobs was tested. Jobs said: 'I scored at the high school sophom*ore level. ' This means he was a 4th grader performing at the 10th grade level.
Taylor Alison Swift, an American singer-songwriter, is reputed to possess an IQ of 160 according to certain reputable sources. Notably, she holds a record in the Guinness Book of World Records as the youngest singer ever to sign a deal at the age of 11.
Most theorists peg Einstein's IQ score between 160-190. Because he never took any kind of test to measure his intelligence, the definite score is still a mystery. But without a doubt, he was a brilliant man with an incredible brain.
The average IQ of self-made deca-millionaires (over $10M net worth) is 118. The average IQ of self-made* billionaires is 133. The average IQ of self-made deca-billionaires (over $10B net worth) is 151. Of note, average incomes correlate well with IQ, however there is a much lower correlation between IQ and net wealth.
Intelligence appears to have no direct correlation with wealth. Key examples of this include famed NBA player Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. (who is wealthy) and Christopher Michael Langan, an American with a very high IQ (who is much less wealthy).
What is the average IQ of millionaires? The average IQ of self-made* millionaires is 118. The average IQ of self-made deca-millionaires (over $10M net worth) is 118. The average IQ of self-made* billionaires is 133.
Effectively tying for the title, though, is Marilyn Vos Savant. Her recorded IQ in the Guinness World Records was 228, awarded between the 1986-1989 editions until the record was discontinued in 1990, with IQ scores deemed too unreliable to document.
William James Sidis has the World's Highest IQ. Anywhere from 250 to 300 is his IQ score, almost twice the score of Albert Einstein. At the age of eleven, William famously entered Harvard University, becoming the youngest person to enter. He also claimed to be conversant in 25 languages.
Introduction: My name is Terrell Hackett, I am a gleaming, brainy, courageous, helpful, healthy, cooperative, graceful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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