During Take's childhood, the family moved to Bucharest and later to Giurgiu, where Ghiță Ioan began to accumulate a fortune after leasing a segment of the customs in the city. This allowed him to send his sons to study abroad; after entering the Saint Sava High School with a scholarship and graduating with honors, Take Ionescu (as he became known in his student days) entered the University of Paris and took a PhD in Law, attending courses together with, among others, the future politicians Raymond Poincaré, Constantin Dissescu, Constantin Arion, Grigore Andronescu, Alexandru Djuvara, and Alexandru Marghiloman. During his high school years, he began contributing to literary magazines and authoring works of verse and especially short stories influenced by the style of Gérard de Nerval and including the time travel story "Spiritele anului 3000" ("The Spirits of the Year 3000").