Buffett fan pays $50,000 for signed book, more than Buffett paid for his 1958 Omaha home

Danielle Liverance Wed, July 15, 2026 at 6:57 AM PDT · 5 min read

• BRK-B +0.98%

Quick Read

• Matthew Rodriguez paid $50,000 for a signed BRK-B commemorative book, surpassing the $31,500 Buffett himself paid for his Omaha home in 1958.
• Buffett matched every auction dollar, turning $1.3 million in book proceeds into $2.6 million for the Stephen Center, an Omaha homeless shelter.
• Buffett committed to donating his entire remaining $140 billion Berkshire stake to four family foundations by 2034, more than doubling his lifetime giving.
• This lithium producer surpassed a $1B private valuation, joining some of America's most powerful startups. Now you can invest in EnergyX alongside global giants like General Motors, but only through July 16. (Sponsor)

In 1958, Warren Buffett paid $31,500 for a house in Omaha. Sixty-seven years later, he still lives in it. In 2025, a 43-year-old real estate professional named Matthew Rodriguez paid $50,000 for a signed book about Warren Buffett. One of those two purchases was made by the greatest investor in American history, and the cheaper one belonged to Buffett.

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The $50,000 Book

At the Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-B) annual shareholders meeting on May 2–3, 2025, a silent auction offered signed copies of "60 Years of Berkshire Hathaway," a commemorative book packed with photos, quotes, and stories from Buffett and the late Charlie Munger.

Rodriguez, an Omaha native and self-described Buffett "fan boy," watched the online leaderboard and struck about 15 minutes before close, winning a copy for $50,000.

"It's going to be a pretty priceless artifact in my library," he told CNBC.

The highest bid hit $100,000 during the online pre-meeting phase, and during the in-person Berkshire Bazaar of Bargains, more than 50 bids rolled in, some reaching $60,000. Twenty signed copies were available.

During that same meeting, Buffett announced he would step down as CEO at year-end, turning the books into instant historical artifacts.

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The $31,500 House

Buffett bought his home at 5505 Farnam Street in 1958 for $31,500, after he and his late wife Susan had rented it for $175 a month starting in 1956.

• Adjusted for inflation, that purchase is roughly $318,000 to $336,700 in today's dollars.
• The home is now estimated to be worth about $1.4 to $1.5 million, a roughly 4,300% nominal return.

Buffett has called it his "third-best investment," behind only his two wedding rings.

"I'm happy there," he has said.

Rodriguez paid more for a signed book about Buffett than Buffett paid for the house where most of the Buffett story happened.

The Most Extraordinary Lifestyle in American Business

Buffett's fortune recently topped $140 billion, yet his base salary as Berkshire CEO sat at $100,000 for decades.

• His daughter buys his cars, often with cosmetic damage, to get a better price.
• He logs about 3,500 miles a year.
• He eats breakfast at McDonald's most mornings, spending somewhere between $2.61 and $3.17 depending on how Berkshire's stock is doing.
• He used a flip phone until Tim Cook personally talked him