| Warren Buffett | |
|---|---|
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| Born | Warren Edward Buffett August 30, 1930 Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Nebraska–Lincoln Columbia University |
| Occupation | Chairman & CEO of Berkshire Hathaway |
| Years active | 1951–present |
| Salary | US$100,000[1] |
| Net worth |  US$66.4 billion (May 2016)[2] |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Susan Thompson (1952–2004) Astrid Menks (m. 2006) |
| Children | Susan Howard Peter |
| Signature | |
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Warren Edward Buffett (/ˈbʌfᵻt/; born August 30, 1930)[3] is an American business magnate, investor and philanthropist. He is the most successful investor in the world.[4][5][6] Buffett is the chairman, CEO and largest shareholder ofBerkshire Hathaway,[7] and is consistently ranked among the world's wealthiest people. He was ranked as the world's wealthiest person in 2008[8] and as the third wealthiest in 2015.[9] In 2012 Time named Buffett one of the world's most influential people.[10]
Buffett is often referred to as the "Wizard of Omaha" or "Oracle of Omaha,"[11] or the "Sage of Omaha,"[12] and is noted for his adherence tovalue investing and for his personal frugalitydespite his immense wealth.[13] Buffett is a notable philanthropist, having pledged to give away 99 percent[14] of his fortune to philanthropic causes, primarily via the Gates Foundation. On April 11, 2012, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer,[15] for which he successfully completed treatment in September 2012.[16] Buffett is also active in contributing to political causes, having endorsed Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton for president during the 2016 campaign season.[17]
Early life
Buffett was born in 1930 in Omaha, Nebraska, of distant French Huguenot descent.[18] He was the second of three children and the only son of Leila (née Stahl) and CongressmanHoward Buffett,[19] Buffett began his education at Rose Hill Elementary School. In 1942, his father was elected to the first of four terms in the United States Congress, and after moving with his family to Washington, D.C., Warren finished elementary school, attended Alice Deal Junior High School and graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in 1947, where his senior yearbook picture reads: "likes math; a future stockbroker."[20] After finishing high school and finding success with his side entrepreneurial and investment ventures, Buffett wanted to skip college to go directly into business but was overruled by his father.[21][22]
Buffett displayed an interest in business and investing at a young age. Much of Buffett's early childhood years were enlivened with entrepreneurial ventures. One of his first business ventures, Buffett sold chewing gum, Coca-Cola bottles, or weekly magazines door to door. He worked in his grandfather's grocery store. While still in high school, he made money delivering newspapers, selling golf balls and stamps, and detailing cars, among other means. On his first income tax return in 1944, Buffett took a $35 deduction for the use of his bicycle and watch on his paper route.[23] In 1945, as a high school sophomore, Buffett and a friend spent $25 to purchase a used pinball machine, which they placed in the local barber shop. Within months, they owned several machines in 3 different barber shops across Omaha. The business was sold later in the year for $1,200 to a war veteran.[24]
Business career
Buffett worked from 1951 to 1954 at Buffett-Falk & Co. as an investment salesman; from 1954 to 1956 at Graham-Newman Corp. as a securities analyst; from 1956 to 1969 at Buffett Partnership, Ltd. as a general partner and from 1970, as Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
By 1950, at 20, Buffett had made and saved $9,800 (over $96,000 inflation adjusted for the 2014 USD[33]).[34] In April 1952, Buffett discovered that Graham was on the board of GEICOinsurance. Taking a train to Washington, D.C. on a Saturday, he knocked on the door of GEICO's headquarters until a janitor admitted him. There he met Lorimer Davidson, Geico's Vice President, and the two discussed the insurance business for hours. Davidson would eventually become Buffett's lifelong friend and a lasting influence,[35] and would later recall that he found Buffett to be an "extraordinary man" after only fifteen minutes. Buffett wanted to work on Wall Street; however, both his father and Ben Graham urged him not to. He offered to work for Graham for free, but Graham refused.[36]
Buffett returned to Omaha and worked as a stockbroker while taking a Dale Carnegie public speaking course.[37] Using what he learned, he felt confident enough to teach an "Investment Principles" night class at University of Nebraska-Omaha. The average age of his students was more than twice his own. During this time he also purchased a Sinclair Texaco gas station as a side investment. However, this was not successful.[citation needed]
In 1952,[38] Buffett married Susan Thompson at Dundee Presbyterian Church. The next year they had their first child, Susan Alice. In 1954, Buffett accepted a job at Benjamin Graham's partnership. His starting salary was $12,000 a year (approximately $105,000 inflation adjusted for the 2012 USD[33]). There he worked closely with Walter Schloss. Graham was a tough boss. He was adamant that stocks provide a wide margin of safety after weighting the trade-off between their price and their intrinsic value. The argument made sense to Buffett but he questioned whether the criteria were too stringent and caused the company to miss out on big winners that had other appealing features.[citation needed] That same year the Buffetts had their second child, Howard Graham. In 1956, Benjamin Graham retired and closed his partnership. At this time Buffett's personal savings were over $174,000 ($1.47 million 2012 USD[33]) and he started Buffett Partnership Ltd..
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