Warren Buffett

Background

Warren Buffett was born in Omaha, Nebraska and his ethnicity is German-English He is the son of Leila and Howard Buffett and he has two sisters. Buffett got bit by the entrepreneurship and investment bug from a young age. As a boy, he went door to door selling chewing gum, coca-cola, and magazines; it was one of his first business ventures. While in high school, Buffet and a friend started a business of placing used pinball machines, which they bought, in barbershops. They later sold the business for $1200. He also invested in his father’s business and bought a piece of land. By the time he finished college, he had earned $9800, which is currently equal to $107,000.

Buffet has a degree in business administration from University of Nebraska; a Master of Science degree in Economics from Colombia Business School and he attended the New York Institute of Finance. Buffett started his career in 1951, as an investment salesman, then worked as a securities analyst from 1954. He was a general partner at “Buffett Partnership Ltd.” from 1956 to 1969. While working his jobs, he invested in other businesses, and in 1957 was operating three partnerships at the same time. The number increased in the following years; first to five in 1958 and then to seven by 1960. By 1962, Buffet was a millionaire owing to his numerous partnerships and merged all his partnerships. He invested in and later took control of a textile manufacturing company, Berkshire Hathaway. He bought shares from the firm’s parent company, which he later fired. The company acquired shares in various other businesses and Buffett later closed Berkshire Hathaway’s textile business, moving it into the insurance sector. By 1970, he was the company’s CEO and Chairman.

Buffet ran his investment business successfully for a long time after that, eventually becoming a billionaire. Berkshire Hathaway acquired more shares in different businesses and became a multinational conglomerate. In 2007, with the Great Recession, Buffett faced a lot of challenges and criticism, especially for his decision to allot capital too early, which led to unsatisfactory deals. In 2014, Berkshire Hathaway’s shares reached $200,000 per share, and the company capitalized at $328 billion. The share numbers have increased since then to $500,000 per share. Buffett is often referred to as the “Oracle,” or “Sage” by the media.

Buffet married Susan Thompson in 1952 when he began his career. They had three children. They separated but remained married until she passed away in 2004. The investor went on to marry Astrid Menks in 2006, on his 76th birthday.