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Warren Buffett was born on August 30, 1930, in Omaha, Nebraska. His dad was a stockbroker and U.S. congressman. His mother stayed at home.
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By the time he was 13, he was running his own business as a paper delivery boy. Later that year, he filed his first tax return, claiming his bike as a $35 deduction.
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In 1942 Warren's dad was elected as a congressman, so he moved their family to Fredricksburg, Virginia, so be closer to the Capital. Warren attended school in Washinton D.C. and he was very unhappy, so he got bad grades and such. "lost interest"
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Warren enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania at the age of 16 to study business. He stayed two years and then moved to the University of Nebraska to finish his degree. He graduated at age 20 with nearly $10,000 from all the money he earned as a child.
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In 1951 he received his master's degree in economics at Columbia University. He got in because he sent letters to some authors who taught at the school. He thought they were dead. They weren't. One of them was Benjamin Graham, who he studied under.
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Influenced by Graham's 1949 book, The Intelligent Investor, Warren sold securities for Buffett-Falk & Company for three years. Then he went to work for his mentor for two years as an analyst at Graham-Newman Corp.
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In 1956 Warren made his own company, a firm called Buffett Partnership Ltd. in his hometown of Omaha. Using what he learned from Graham, he was successful in identifying undervalued companies and became a millionaire.
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Despite the success of Buffett Partnership, Warren killed it in 1969 to focus on the development of Berkshire Hathaway. He removed textiles, instead expanding the company by buying assets in media (The Washington Post), insurance (GEICO) and oil (Exxon). He was referred to as the "Oracle of Omaha" because of his success.
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Following Berkshire Hathaway's investment in Coca-Cola, Warren became director of the company from 1989 until 2006. He also served as director of Citigroup Global Markets Holdings, Graham Holdings Company and The Gillette Company.
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As for 2018, Warren has an estimated net worth of $84 billion, and he has donated close to $28 billion in charity between 2006 and 2017. He is good.
