I think being born to a very well connected Congressman helped. Having the good luck of getting a job with Ben Graham helped a ton too. But yes, he used what he was given and what luck threw his way instead of wasting it and augmented it by being very smart.

These are updated figure, right? I thought there was a time when he avoided all tech stocks, claiming he didn't understand tech so he wasn't going to invest in it. I suppose if anything was going to change that belief, it would be Apple and their amazing turn around from, what, like 15 cents to whatever grand sum they are at now.