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Warren Buffett Net Worth in 2023 Career & Relationship

Estimated value: €74 billion
Age: 91
Born: 08/30/1930
Country of origin: United States of America
Source of Wealth: entrepreneur
Last updated: 2021

Short introduction

Warren Buffett is an American entrepreneur, major investor, and philanthropist. As CEO of his investment company Berkshire Hathaway, he is one of the richest and most respected businessmen in the world.

early life

Warren Edward Buffett was born on August 30, 1930 in Obama, Nebraska, the second eldest child of Leila and Howard Buffett, a stockbroker-turned-Congressman. He showed an amazing talent for money and business from an early age, impressing with his ability to calculate large columns of numbers in his head. In one of his first stores, Buffett sold gum, Coca-Cola bottles, and weekly magazines door-to-door. He worked in his grandfather’s grocery store. At the age of eleven he began his activities in the financial world and bought shares for himself and for his sister Doris. In 1942, Buffett’s father was elected to the US House of Representatives and his family moved to Fredricksburg, Virginia to be closer to the new post of congressman. Buffett attended Woodrow Wilson High School in Washington, DC, where he continued to devise new ways to make money. During his school days, he made money by delivering newspapers, selling golf balls and postage stamps. Warren Buffett graduated from high school at the age of 17. It was never his intention to go to college as he had already earned $5,000 delivering newspapers (equivalent to $42,610.81 in 2000). His father planned other paths for his son and persuaded Warren to enroll in the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania. Buffett only studied for two years at the university and was unhappy that his knowledge exceeded that of his professors. When his father was defeated in Congress in 1948, Warren returned to Omaha and transferred to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Despite working full-time, he managed to graduate from college in just three years. After being rejected from Harvard Business School, Buffett enrolled at Columbia University’s Columbia Business School after learning that his role model, investor Benjamin Graham, taught there. Buffett earned a master of science degree in economics from there in 1951. After graduating, Buffett attended the New York Institute of Finance.

Career

Buffett returned to Omaha and worked as a stockbroker while taking a public speaking class. With what he had learned, he felt confident enough to teach an investment principles evening class at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. The average age of his students was more than twice his own. He also bought a Sinclair Texaco gas station during this period as a side investment, but was unsuccessful. In 1954, Buffett accepted a job at Benjamin Graham’s firm as a securities analyst. By the time he retired in 1956, Buffett’s personal savings were over $174,000 (about $1.64 million today) and he founded Buffett Partnership Ltd. By 1960, Buffett operated seven partnerships. In 1962, Buffett became a millionaire as a result of his partnerships, which at the time had a surplus of $7,178,500. Of the surplus, $1,025,000 belonged to Buffett. He merged these partnerships into one. Buffett invested in Berkshire Hathaway and eventually took control of a textile mill. In 1966, Buffett formed the partnership to raise new money. He later claimed that the textile business was his worst trade. He then switched to the insurance sector. In 1973, Berkshire began acquiring stock in the Washington Post Company and in 1979, stock in ABC. In 1988, Buffett began buying The Coca-Cola Company stock, eventually buying up to 7 percent of the company for $1.02 billion. It would prove to be one of Berkshire’s most lucrative investments, and one that Berkshire still holds.

Career highlights

In 2008, Forbes ranked Buffett as the richest person in the world with an estimated net worth of approximately $62 billion. According to Forbes 2019 list, his net worth is around $83 billion and ranks 3rd on the list of the richest people in the world. In June 2006, Buffett announced that he would be donating his entire Net Worth to charity, donating 85 percent of it to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. This donation became the largest fundraiser in United States history. In 2010, Buffett and Gates announced they had founded The Giving Pledge campaign to attract more wealthy individuals to philanthropy.

Famous quotes

“If you’re among the happiest 1 percent of humanity, you owe it to the rest of humanity to think about the other 99 percent.”
“I always knew I was going to be rich. I don’t think I’ve ever had any doubts about that.”

tips for success

“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and it takes five minutes to ruin it. If you think about it, you’re more careful.”
“It is not necessary to do extraordinary things to get extraordinary results.”
“I measure success by how many people love me.”

Estimated value: €74 billion