About Warren Buffett

⭐ Born: August 30, 1930
📍 Place of residence: Omaha, Nebraska, United States
📈 Investment style: Value investor (founder)

His legendary holding company "Berkshire Hathaway"

👥 Management: Warren Buffett (Chairman), Charles Munger (Vice Chairman)
📃 Founded: 1955
🏢 Headquarters: Omaha, United States
💼 Industry: Holding (conglomerate)

Buffetts return

• Since 1965, Berkshire Hathaway has delivered an average annual return of 20% to its shareholders, compared to the S&P 500s increase of 10.2% over that period.
• This means that the value of shares for investors has doubled on average every 3.6 years since 1965.

His life

In August 1930, Warren Edward Buffett was born in Omaha, Nebraska. At the time, no one seemed to have guessed that this Warren E. Buffett would one day become the worlds greatest investor.

Through his father, Howard, a securities trader at a bank, he was introduced to the stock market at an early age. Added to this was his passion for reading and his talent for mathematics. This enabled him to acquire a wealth of knowledge at a young age and earn his first money by selling Coca-Cola bottles and chewing gum. At just 14 years old, Buffett filed his first tax return and had already amassed a fortune of $2,000 for that time. By his 20th birthday, he had managed to increase his fortune tenfold to $20,000 through stock deals and smaller transactions.

In order to acquire more knowledge, increase his reputation, and build a network, he applied for a place at Harvard. However, despite his good grades, he was rejected. In retrospect, this seems to have been a significant stroke of luck in his life. Buffett discovered that the two authors of the book "Security Analysis," which he had already read several times, taught at Columbia University in New York. They were Benjamin Graham and David L. Dodd. He finally applied and was accepted. Graham had developed a revolutionary method for calculating the so-called "intrinsic value" of a stock. Buffett used this method and managed to regularly achieve a return of 30% from the late 1950s to the late 1960s. He also invested in the then relatively unknown textile company Berkshire Hathaway, which he later even took over out of spite due to a disagreement with the then CEO. Together with his business partner Charlie Munger, they further developed the Graham approach and managed to make Berkshire Hathaway one of the most valuable companies in the world (market capitalization of USD 647 billion).

Buffett and Munger have already made many of the first shareholders millionaires. Even today, an investment in Berkshire Hathaway is considered a solid addition to any portfolio. But Buffett is also considered a great role model outside of the stock market. Despite his wealth, he continues to live very modestly in a middle-class house in Omaha, drives an average car and values friendships very highly. It is important to him to treat others with respect and to avoid direct confrontations. He is therefore highly regarded by many well-known personalities. Bill Gates, among others, is one of his greatest admirers and a close friend. Buffett also gives away 99% of his Berkshire shares to various foundations, the largest share of which goes to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He also founded “The Giving Pledge” together with Bill and Melinda Gates to encourage other super-rich people to donate at least half of their wealth to charitable causes.