Yankees Co-Owner Patrick Bet-David Sold a Kobe Bryant Card for $17,000 and Felt Smart— Until It Hit $2 Million and Taught Him a Warren Buffett-Style Lesson: 'Be Patient'
Entrepreneur and New York Yankees minority owner Patrick Bet-David learned one of his most expensive investing lessons after selling a Kobe Bryant trading card years before it became worth more than $2 million.
From a $17,000 Win to a $2 Million ‘What if’
In a post on X on Thursday, Bet-David said he bought a Kobe Bryant trading card for $6,000 in 2007 and sold it for $17,000 in 2009, believing he had made a successful investment.
Fast forward to today, and that same card is worth more than $2 million.
His takeaway? “Be patient.”
Bet-David called “buy and hold” the most effective way to create wealth, adding that patience often produces better long-term outcomes than locking in quick gains.
Warren Buffett Has Been Making the Same Case For Decades
Bet-David’s message mirrors Warren Buffett‘s long-held investing philosophy that exceptional returns often come from owning quality assets for years rather than chasing short-term gains.
The Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK) (NYSE:BRK) chairman has repeatedly advised investors to think like business owners instead of traders.
In his 1996 letter to shareholders, Buffett wrote, “If you aren’t willing to own a stock for ten years, don’t even think about owning it for ten minutes.”
He has also compared investing to baseball, saying investors can afford to wait for the right opportunities because, unlike hitters, “there’s no called strikes” in investing.
Why Buffett Thinks Patience Beats Prediction
Buffett’s philosophy, however, has largely focused on productive assets such as businesses and broad stock market index funds that can compound earnings over time.
A collectible such as a trading card can appreciate dramatically, but its value depends on demand from future buyers rather than the cash flows generated by an underlying business.
For Bet-David, the Kobe Bryant card became a reminder that the biggest investment gains often come not from knowing when to sell, but from having the patience to keep holding.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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