Thoughts on Leverage and Compound Growth - by Kevin Lin

I recently read The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life by Alice Schroeder, a comprehensive 800+ page biography about "The Oracle of Omaha". Buffet is known as the most influential investor of our age - having amassed a personal net worth of over $100 billion through the principle of value investing.

My biggest takeaway from reading is the idea of leverage and compounding. When used together effectively, they create an engine for exponential growth.

Compounding is an investment strategy that can generate exponential returns. In financial investing, this involves using your assets (e.g. money) to create a positive return, and then reinvesting the "interest" back into your investment.

In terms of Warren Buffet, this is Berkshire Hathaway, a holding company that he grew from a failing textile business to one of the largest multinational conglomerates in the world.

But money isn't the only investment that can compound. Intangible “assets” like influence and reputation follow a similar trajectory. However, not all “assets” are equal, and many of them do not compound as easily (or at all) as financial assets.

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