From Losses to Fortune: The 5 Trading Lessons from Shigeru Fujimoto that Wall Street Ignores

At 66 years old, Shigeru Fujimoto lost everything—a 75% drop in his wealth. But what happened next changed the game: at 87, he had rebuilt a fortune of $12M. Today, the “Japanese Warren Buffett” shares the strategies that separated the gainers from the losers in three decades of trading.

1. Knowledge Is Your Only Real Advantage

Fujimoto never bet on chance. While others speculated with random assets, he focused on specific sectors: automobiles, semiconductors, trading companies. His philosophy was simple: “If you don't understand the market, you shouldn't be in it.”

The advantage does not come from perfect timing. It comes from knowing more than the rest.

2. IPOs Are Gold Mines (For Those Who Know How to Wait )

In Japan, initial public offerings often skyrocket purely due to hype. Fujimoto gained ¥200M ($1.3M USD) with a counterintuitive tactic:

• I avoided the opening race
• It entered strategically after the noise calmed down.
• I would leave when the momentum changed direction

While the crowd chased prices, he hunted the reverse trend.

3. Gurus and Viral Trends Are Traps

Fujimoto is clear: most “hot tips” are already priced in the market. Copying movements of influencers? That's not advice—it's a strategic play.

The golden rule: do your own research. True traders think for themselves.

4. Obsession Surpasses Talent

He was not an innate genius. Fujimoto observed freight train movements to predict logistics stocks. He analyzed market flows daily. He treated trading as an art, not as a hobby.

His competitive advantage? Depth of focus. While others slacked off, he refined every instinct.

5. Crashes Are Not Final—They Are Restarts

• 1995: Lost everything in the Kobe earthquake
• At 66: Without computer skills, he learned online trading from scratch.
• At 87: $12M in wallet

Losers see a crisis and give up. Winners see data and restart. Fujimoto chose the second path.