[Ads-l] Quote Origin: It Takes 20 Years To Build a Reputation and Five Minutes To Ruin It

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

The statement in the subject line has been attributed to
super-investor Warren Buffett, and I was asked to investigate.

Warren Buffett was born in 1930, and a version of the saying appeared
in the “San Antonio Daily Express” of Texas many years earlier in
1891:

[Begin excerpt]
The Waxahachie Enterprise deplores the fact that it takes years to
build up a good reputation which may be destroyed in five minutes.
[End excerpt]

The newspaper in San Antonio acknowledged a newspaper in Waxahachie,
Texas. The creator of the saying remains anonymous. The phrasing is
highly variable, and I believe earlier instances probably exist.

There is substantive evidence that Warren Buffett employed the saying.
In September 1991 journalist Nancy Miller of "USA Today" published a
profile of Warren Buffet which contained the following remarks from
the investor’s son Howard Buffett:

[Begin excerpt]
One of the most vivid childhood memories his son Howard has of his
father is a lecture on the value of a good name. "I was 11 years old,"
Howard recalls. "We were driving down the street, and he said, 'It
takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.'"
[End excerpt]

Howard Buffett was born in December 1954; hence, if Howard’s memory is
correct then he heard the saying from Warren in 1965 or 1966. This
evidence is indirect, and I have not yet found direct evidence in a
speech, interview, or essay by Warren Buffett.

Garson

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