Warren Buffett ranked second on the world’s richest list with a personal fortune of 74.1 billion USD according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index as of December 27, 2016.

According to Forbes Magazine’s “2014 Billionaires List,” Warren Buffett, the owner of the investment company Berkshire Hathaway, became the world’s second richest person at the end of 2014 with a net worth of 74.4 billion USD, ranking just behind Bill Gates.

Warren Buffett was born on August 30, 1930, in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, as the middle child of three siblings to stockbroker Howard Buffett—who later became a member of the U.S. Congress—and Leila Buffett. His full name is Warren Edward Buffett. Displaying extraordinary talent with money from an early age, he began earning profits at just six years old by buying six-packs of Coca-Cola bottles from his grandfather’s grocery store and reselling each bottle for a five-cent profit. He attended Rose Hill Elementary School for his primary education. In 1942, following his father’s election to the United States Congress, the family moved to Washington, D.C. After completing Alice Deal Junior High School, he graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in 1947. During his high school years, he earned money delivering newspapers and selling golf balls and stamps.

Warren Buffett developed an early interest in the stock market by spending time alongside his father, a stockbroker. At the age of ten, a visit to the New York Stock Exchange during a family trip to New York left a lasting impression on him. At eleven, he entered the world of high finance by purchasing three shares of a company called Cities Service Preferred. He sold these shares once their value increased, but later realized that they rose much higher in the following years, teaching him the importance of long-term investment in quality companies. During high school, he invested in his father’s business and even purchased a farm. After his father lost the congressional election in 1948, the family returned to Omaha.

Although Warren Buffett initially had no intention of attending university after graduating high school in 1947, he enrolled at the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania at his father’s insistence and studied there for two years. After returning to Omaha following his father’s election loss, he transferred to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and completed his degree in just three years through rigorous study.

Despite encouragement to apply to Harvard Business School, he was rejected due to his young age. Undeterred, Warren Buffett enrolled at Columbia Business School, where he studied under the renowned risk analyst Benjamin Graham and earned his master’s degree in 1951.

Although he wished to work on Wall Street, both his father and Benjamin Graham opposed the idea. Even after offering to work for Graham without pay, he was turned down, prompting his return to Omaha. During this period, he worked as a stockbroker, took public speaking courses, and began teaching evening classes on “investment principles” at the University of Nebraska.

In 1954, Benjamin Graham offered Warren Buffett a position at his company, where Buffett worked for two years until Graham retired. He then returned to Omaha and, in 1956, founded his first investment partnership, Buffett Associates, Ltd. In 1962, he laid the foundation for Buffett Partnership under the umbrella of Berkshire Hathaway. Initially, due to the decline in the textile industry, this decision seemed questionable; however, Berkshire Hathaway eventually became one of the largest holding companies in the world.

By 1962, Warren Buffett and his first investment partnership were already considered millionaires. The company was valued at 7,178,500 USD, while Buffett personally held 1,025,000 USD. He began acquiring shares of Berkshire Hathaway from owner Seabury Stanton at 7.60 USD per share, gradually increasing his stake. By 1965, the share price had risen to 19 USD, after which Buffett took control of the company and appointed Ken Chace as its head. In 1966, he closed the partnership to new capital.

The year 1969 marked one of the most successful periods for both the company and Warren Buffett. In 1970, he began writing his famous annual letters to shareholders. He earned an annual salary of 50,000 USD in addition to investment income. In early 1979, Berkshire Hathaway shares began trading at 775 USD and closed the year at 1,310 USD. That same year, Buffett entered the Forbes 400 list for the first time with a fortune of 620 million USD.

In 1979, Berkshire Hathaway acquired shares in the ABC media company, which was later sold in 1985 for 3.5 billion USD. That same year, Berkshire Hathaway was transformed into an insurance-focused company, marking a significant shift in its core operations. In 1987, Berkshire Hathaway purchased 12% of Salomon Inc., making Warren Buffett its largest shareholder. In 1988, Buffett began acquiring shares of Coca-Cola, paying 1.02 billion USD for a 7% stake—one of the most profitable investments for both Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway.

By 2002, Warren Buffett had entered forward contracts valued at 11 billion USD, earning approximately 2 billion USD in profit by 2006. He later announced plans to donate 85% of his Berkshire Hathaway shares. In 2006, Forbes Magazine ranked him as the world’s second richest person with a fortune of 42 billion USD. By 2008, his net worth reached 62 billion USD, making him the richest person in the world at that time.

In June 2006, Warren Buffett made the largest charitable donation in U.S. history by transferring 10 million shares of his investment company—worth approximately 31 billion USD—to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Following this donation, he announced that the remainder of his fortune would be left to foundations established in the names of his three children and his late wife, the Susan A. Buffett Foundation.

By the age of 20, Warren Buffett had already earned 9,800 USD (equivalent to approximately 96,000 USD today). In 1952, he attracted the attention of the insurance company GEICO and spent two hours discussing the insurance business with vice president Lorimer Davidson, who later became a lifelong friend. After completing his graduate studies and returning to Omaha, he continued working as a stockbroker and teaching investment principles.

Warren Buffett married Susan Thompson in April 1952, and they had three children: Susie Buffett, Howard Buffett, and Peter Buffett. Although the couple decided to live separately in 1977, they remained married until Susan’s death in 2004. After a long relationship with Astrid Menks, whom Susan had introduced to him, Buffett married Menks in 2006.

On April 11, 2012, Warren Buffett was diagnosed with prostate cancer and successfully underwent treatment.

In 2019, Forbes ranked Warren Buffett third on its list of the world’s wealthiest individuals with a net worth of 82.5 billion USD, behind Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos. Today, numerous books have been written about his life, achievements, and investment philosophy, and his advice continues to be highly valued by investors worldwide.

Source: Biyografiler.com