Who is Warren Buffett?

Warren Buffett is an American business magnate, philanthropist, and perhaps the most quoted investor of all time. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, on August 30, 1930, Buffett is best known as the chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and for his frugal lifestyle despite immense wealth.

Category	Details
Full Name	Warren Edward Buffett
Date of Birth	August 30, 1930
Place of Birth	Omaha, Nebraska, USA
Nationality	American
Education	Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Nebraska, Master of Science in Economics from Columbia University
Early Career	Worked at his father’s brokerage, Buffett-Falk & Co., Investment salesman at Buffett-Falk & Co., Securities analyst at Graham-Newman Corp.
Major Companies Founded	Berkshire Hathaway (transformed from a textile manufacturing company into a holding company)
Positions	Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway
Major Projects	Building Berkshire Hathaway into a multinational conglomerate holding company, Investments in companies like Coca-Cola, American Express, and Apple
Notable Achievements	Regarded as one of the most successful investors of all time, Known as the “Oracle of Omaha”
Net Worth	One of the wealthiest individuals in the world, Estimated around $117 billion (as of 2023)
Personal Life	Married to Astrid Menks, Three children, Known for a frugal lifestyle despite immense wealth
Controversies	Criticized for certain investment decisions, Faced scrutiny over the environmental and social impacts of some of Berkshire Hathaway’s subsidiaries
Philanthropy	Signed the Giving Pledge, Committed to giving away 99% of his fortune to philanthropic causes, Major contributions to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Vision for Future	Advocates for value investing, Believes in long-term investment strategies, Promotes ethical and responsible investing
Awards and Honors	Presidential Medal of Freedom, Named in Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world

Timeline	Event
1930	Warren Buffett is born in Omaha, Nebraska, on August 30.
1941	At age 11, Buffett purchases six shares of preferred stock in Cities Service for $38 a share, with himself and his sister Doris each owning three shares.
1947	Buffett enrolls at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, later transferring to the University of Nebraska where he earns a Bachelor of Science in business administration.
1950	Buffett purchases 40 acres of land for $1,200 and begins renting it for a profit.
1951	Buffett enrolls at Columbia University and is mentored by Benjamin Graham, the father of value investing.
1954	Graham offers Buffett a job at his investment firm Graham-Newman Corp.
1956	Buffett founds Buffett Associates Ltd. after Graham’s retirement and folds Graham-Newman Corp.
1959	Buffett meets Charlie Munger at a dinner and forms a lifelong partnership.
1962	Buffett starts aggressively purchasing shares in Berkshire Hathaway, a textile manufacturing company, and eventually takes control of the company, moving it into the insurance sector.
1970	Buffett starts writing his annual letter to shareholders.
1978	Charlie Munger becomes chairman of Berkshire Hathaway.
1979	Despite being worth around $140 million, Buffett continues to live on a $50,000 per annum salary.
Present	Berkshire Hathaway embodies Buffett’s value investing philosophy, holding stock from undervalued and well-managed companies like Gillette, American Express, and Coca-Cola, while also purchasing companies like GEICO, Dairy Queen, and Fruit of the Loom.

Table of Contents

Early life

Buffet’s career as an investor started early.

At the tender age of 11, he purchased six shares of preferred stock in Cities Service for $38 a share.

Buffett split the purchase down the middle, with himself and sister Doris owning three shares each.

Shares in the public utility company briefly fell to $27 before rebounding to $40. Warren and Doris then sold for a profit, but not before the share price went to $200.

Buffett supplemented his income with a car detailing business, a paper/magazine route, and a soft drink stand.

He also purchased 40 acres of land for $1,200 which he then rented for a profit.

College education

Pressured by his father, Buffett put his entrepreneurial flair to one side for a moment and enrolled at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1947.

He then transferred to the University of Nebraska, earned a Bachelor of Science in business administration, and subsequently enrolled at Columbia university after he was rejected from Harvard.

At Columbia, Buffett was instructed and mentored by Benjamin Graham, the so-called father of value investing.

Upon learning that Graham was on the board of GEICO insurance, Buffet took a train to the company’s headquarters on a Saturday morning.

Once let in, he questioned executive Lorimer Dawson about the company for four hours.

Based on this discussion, Buffett invested around $13,000 in GEICO and today owns the company in its entirety.

Buffet and Graham

After graduating from Columbia, Buffett was dissuaded from working on Wall Street by both his father and Graham.

He then offers to work for Graham for free but is rebuffed.

Working as a stockbroker, he attended one of Dale Carnegie’s public speaking courses and started to teach a night class called “Investment Principles” at the University of Nebraska. Buffet was only 21 at the time and most of his students were twice his age.

Three years later, in 1954, Graham offered Buffett a job at his investment firm Graham-Newman Corp.

In 1956, Graham retired and folded his company while Buffett founded Buffett Associates Ltd. and a further four investment partnerships before the end of 1957.

Berkshire Hathaway

In 1962, Buffett merged his partnerships into one entity and started aggressively purchasing shares in a textile manufacturing company called Berkshire Hathaway.

Now a millionaire, he took control of the company at a board meeting, fired the owner, and moved the business into the insurance sector. In 1970, Buffett started writing his annual letter to shareholders.

Charlie Munger – whom Buffett met in 1959 after both were invited to dinner by a local Omaha businessman – became chairman of Berkshire Hathaway in 1978. By 1979, Buffett was worth around $140 million but continued to live on his $50,000 per annum salary.

Value investing

Buffett has adapted Graham’s original value investing philosophy to now possess a net worth that exceeds $100 billion.

Buffett likes to hold stock from undervalued and well-managed companies indefinitely, with Gillette, American Express, and Coca-Cola some of the stalwarts of Berkshire’s portfolio.

Some companies, such as GEICO, Dairy Queen, and Fruit of the Loom, have been purchased outright by the billionaire but given the autonomy to manage their day-to-day operations.

Key takeaways

Warren Buffett is an American business magnate, philanthropist, and perhaps the most quoted investor of all time. Buffett showed entrepreneurial flair from a young age but was pressured by his father to attend university.
At Columbia University, Buffett was instructed and mentored by Benjamin Graham, the so-called father of value investing. In 1954, Graham offered Buffett a job at his investment firm Graham-Newman Corp. Buffett then founded his own investment company in 1956 after Graham retired.
Buffett met friend and business partner Charlie Munger at a chance dinner in 1959, with Buffett buying into textile company Berkshire Hathaway in 1962. He eventually took control of the company and moved it into insurance while retaining the name. Since that time, Berkshire Hathaway has embodied Buffett’s value investing philosophy.