Warren Buffet is an American businessman, investor and philanthropist. He is currently the chairman and the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is one of the best-known investors in the world. According to Forbes, June 2024, Buffett is the sixth wealthiest person in the world with a net worth of $139.9 billion.
Buffett developed an interest in business and investment. He bought his first stock at the age of 11 and his first real estate investment at the age of 14 years. Wow! That’s such an early stage. 11 years is too young, right?! He has been referred to as the “Oracle” or “Sage” of Omaha by global media as a result of having accumulated a massive fortune derived from his business and investment success. Let’s know more about one of the most successful investors, Warren Buffett…
Family
Warren Buffett was not from a very wealthy family. His father, Howard Buffett was a stock broker and later, a Congressman. His mother, Leila Stahl Buffett was of Jewish descent. He is the second child of the three from his parents. His sisters are Roberta Buffett Elliott and Doris Buffett. In 1942, his father was elected to the first of four terms in the United States Congress.
Education & Qualification
Buffett began his education at Rose Hill Elementary School. He attended Alice Deal Junior High School, after moving to Washington D.C. with his family. He graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in 1947. He found success in his side entrepreneurial and investment ventures. So, after finishing the high school, he wanted to go directly into business and skip the college but his father disagreed.
Buffet used to make money by delivering newspapers, selling golf balls and stamps, etc. He used to work in his grandfather’s grocery shop. In 1945, when he was in the high school, he and one of his friend purchased a used pin ball machine for $25 and placed it in a local barber’s shop. Within months, they owned several machines in three different barber shops across Omaha. Later, they sold their business to war veteran for $1,200.
In 1947, Buffet formally admitted at the Wharton School of the University Pennsylvania, due to the pressure from his father. He studied there for 2 years and joined the Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity. Then, he transferred to the University of Nebraska. He graduated from there at the age of 19, with a degree of Bachelor of Science in business administration. Buffett enrolled for Columbia Business School of Columbia University, when he got to know that Benjamin Graham was teaching there. He was earlier rejected by Harvard Business School. In 1951, he earned a Master of Science in economics from Columbia. Buffett attended the New York Institute of Finance.
Buffett’s Interest in Business & Investment
Buffett used to spend his days in the customer’s lounge of a regional stock brokerage near his father’s own brokerage office when he was in school. His father cultivated his interest in business and trading. He always used to get some education from his father for the growing curiosity. One time, his father took him to the New York Stock Exchange when he was only 10 years old. He bought his first stock at the age of 11 years by buying three stocks for himself and three for his sister Doris Buffett.
Career
Buffett worked as an investment salesman at his father’s Buffett-Falk & Co. from 1951 to 1954. He worked as a security analyst at Graham-Newman Corp. from 1954 to 1956. He worked at several investment partnerships as a general partner from 1956 to 1969.
In 1954, Buffett accepted a job at Benjamin Graham‘s partnership, which was of $12,000 a year ($136,000 in today’s time). While working, he got close to Walter Schloss. Benjamin Graham retired and closed his partnership in 1956. By that time, Buffett had also gathered his personal savings over $174,000 (approximately, $1.95 million today)
In 1957, Buffett operated three investment partnerships. By 1959, the total had grown to six partnerships. Buffett became a millionaire with the success of his partnerships, which by 1962 had grown to 11 entities and held in excess of $7,178,500, out of which, over $1,025,000 belonged to Buffett.
In 2002, Buffett entered in $11 billion worth of forward contracts to deliver U.S. dollars against other currencies. In June 2006, Buffett announced that he would gradually give away 85% of his Berkshire holdings to five foundations in annual gifts of stock. The largest contribution going to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, in July 2006.
In 2008, According to Forbes, Buffett became the richest person in the world with an estimated net worth of $62 billion, by bringing down Bill Gates, who had been number one on the Forbes list for 13 consecutive years. Buffett shifted to second place and Gates regained the top position in the Forbes list by 2009.
In November 2011, it was announced that over the course of the previous eight months, Buffett had bought 64 million shares of International Business Machine Corp (IBM) stock, worth around $11 billion. On August 14, 2014, the price of Berkshire Hathaway’s shares hit $200,000 a share for the first time, capitalizing the company at $328 billion. By this time, Buffett had given much of his shares to charity, he still held 321,000 shares worth $64.2 billion. On three dates between 2009 and 2012, Buffett sold shares of Johnson and Johnson, Walmart, and Wells Fargo, with the sales totaling $80 million in value.
Personal Life
In 1949, Buffett developed a crush on a young woman, who had a boyfriend and his boyfriend used to play a ukulele. He bought a ukulele in an attempt to impress and compete and has been playing it ever since. Woah… Interesting, right?! Though, his attempt was unsuccessful in impressing the girl, but his interest for music became a key part of his life. He often plays the instrument at stockholder meetings and other opportunities. That’s good.. He never let his interest in music die!
In 1952, Buffett married Susan Thompson at Dundee Presbyterian Church. They had their first child, named Susan Alice, the next year. In few years, they had two more children, named Howard(born in 1954) and Peter(born in 1958). In 1977, the couple began living separately, although they remarried married until Susan Buffett’s death in July 2004. Their daughter, Susie, lives in Omaha, is a national board member of Girls, Inc. and does charitable work through the Susan A. Buffett Foundation. That’s great right?! She is doing such a good work..
In 2006, on Buffett’s 76th birthday, Buffett married his longtime companion, Astrid Menks, who was then 60 years old—she had lived with him since his wife’s departure to San Francisco in 1977. Susan had arranged for the two to meet before she left Omaha to pursue her singing career. All three were close and Christmas card to friends were signed as “Warren, Susie and Astrid”. Aww… That’s such a precious friendship between the three of them!..
| Full Name | Warren Edward Buffett |
| Age | 94 years (as of 2024) |
| Date Of Birth | 30 August, 1930 |
| Birth Place | Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. |
| Spouses | Susan Thompson (m:1952, died:2004) Astrid Menks (m:2006) |
| Children | Susan Alice, Howard & Peter |
| Salary per year | $100,000 |
| Net worth | $14,100 crores |
Interesting Facts!
!! Buffett bought his first stock at the age of 11 years and filed taxes at the age of 14.
!! He has promised to donate over 99% of his wealth. So far, he has given around $60 billion, mostly through the Gates Foundation and his kid’s foundation.
!! In 2010, Buffett and Bill Gates launched the Giving Pledge, asking other billionaires to commit to donation atleast 50% of their fortune to charitable causes.