Oct 18, 2024
A former owner of a pet shop and mahjong parlors in Japan has invested his way to eight figures — and earned the nickname Japan’s Warren Buffett.
At 88, Shigeru Fujimoto of Kobe is photographed clad in unassuming pullovers while he sits before three computer monitors. But don’t be fooled. This octogenarian, much like the Oracle of Omaha, has invested for decades: since age 19, according to The Asahi Shimbun, a Japanese newspaper. He became a full-time investor in 1986 and a day-trader in 2015.
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He is famously frugal, too. Just as Buffett drives a 10-year-old Cadillac XTS, Fujimoto gets by without a cellphone or car. “My goal is Warren Buffett,” Fujimoto told the outlet. With a net worth of $14 million, per Bloomberg, he still has a very, very long way to go, given that Buffett’s net worth is an estimated $143.2 billion as of early October. Yet you can’t help but notice similarities. Buffett is 94, just six years Fujimoto’s senior. Both still keep to ambitious work regiments; Fujimoto begins his "workday" at 2 a.m..
And when he speaks, Japanese markets listen. After a regulatory filing revealed he had a stake of more than 5% built up in Storage-Oh Co., which manages storage units, its shares spiked 17%.
Fujimoto stands out in a country where cash savings made up more than half of household assets in the second quarter of this year, which is attributed to the deflationary environment. That's over 1 quadrillion yen (15 zeroes) or roughly $7 trillion, according to the Bank of Japan.
“It’s no use just remaining cautious and thinking to yourself, ‘Oh, that looks fine,’” Fujimoto said to The Asahim Shimbun, talking about the first time he was introduced to online day trading. “Zero times zero only makes zero. Your world is so small. There are so many things that you don’t know. Age doesn’t matter when you are making a new effort.”
He refuses to retire
In declining health according to Japanese media, there’s a clear desire to learn his secrets before he passes away. A book of his teachings is labeled a bestseller on Amazon Japan. Meanwhile, he remains eager to keep trading, telling The Asahi Shimbun: “I will be retiring when I die.”
Fujimoto has earned enough to retire multiple times. If he spent $3800 a day – enough to land a first-class flight, a five-star hotel and chump change for Kobe steaks – it would last him 10 years.
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He keeps score a different way. He rates his life “a 75 out of 100,” adding: ”I will go on pursuing the perfection of spirit, techniques and physical fitness, and my life may improve to 90 or 100 points.”
That stands in stark contrast to the anxiety of Americans approaching retirement. The median 401(k)/IRA balances for older working households (ages 55-64) with a plan was $204,000 in 2022.
Across the Pacific, Fujimoto sounds like a Zen master: “O troubled souls, look at me. It’s never too late to begin something. A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single mile. You should live your life without brooding!”
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Two investing pathways to abundance
You can avoid brooding and embrace prosperity if you follow Fujimoto’s precepts — which bear a strong Buffett influence. Put these three lessons into action now.
Purchase quality stocks at cheap prices Buffett has famously said, “The best thing that happens to us is when a great company gets into temporary trouble. … We want to buy them when they're on the operating table.” Buffett also famously said investors should be “fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful.” After Japan’s Nikkei market tanked 12.4% on Aug. 5, Fujimoto remained calm, telling Bloomberg: “When the stock price gets low, then it’s time for me to buy stocks.”
**Buy and hold ** In a 1988 letter to Berkshire shareholders, Buffett declared, “Our favorite holding period is forever.” Fujimoto may practice day trading, but his advice is to secure good stocks for the long term. “It’s important to hold good stocks for the long term,” he said. “Don’t buy or sell immediately like a day trader. If you hold such stocks for a while, they will surely bear fruit.”
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Lou Carlozo is a freelance contributor to Moneywise.
