This is clearly a polished version. Multiple versions of Buffett's biography show that in his early years, Buffett shut down a farm equipment factory in Omaha and worked as a liquidator. This led to hundreds of people losing their jobs and him being criticized. In fact, when Buffett bought Berkshire, his initial intention was to act as a liquidator, because at the time, Berkshire's assets were worth more than its market value. 'Buying Berkshire was all about liquidating it, splitting up the assets, and profiting from the difference. This was a terrible mistake.' Buffett himself admitted that the original plan was to sell/liquidate. The reason he didn’t sell? By chance, he used the cash flow from the textile mill to buy insurance, accidentally creating the Berkshire empire. Eventually, the Berkshire textile mill became completely useless. Berkshire is the result of a merger between Hathaway and Berkshire, both of which were textile mills.