Warren Edward Buffett, born August 30, 1930, is an American investor, business tycoon, philanthropist, and the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is considered one of the most successful investors in the world and has a net worth of over US$93.2 billion as of February 2021, making him the world’s fourth-wealthiest person.
Buffett has been the chairman and largest shareholder of Berkshire Hathaway since 1970. He has been referred to as the “Oracle” or “Sage” of Omaha by global media. He is noted for his adherence to value investing, and his personal frugality despite his immense wealth.
Buffett married Susan Buffett (born Thompson) in 1952. They had three children, Susie, Howard and Peter. The couple began living separately in 1977, although they remained married until Susan Buffett’s death in July 2004. Their daughter, Susie, lives in Omaha, is a national board member of Girls, Inc., and does charitable work through the Susan A. Buffett Foundation. In 2006, on his 76th birthday, Buffett married his longtime companion, Astrid Menks, who was then 60 years old—she had lived with him since his wife’s departure to San Francisco in 1977.
Buffett runs Berkshire Hathaway, which owns more than 60 companies, including insurer Geico, battery maker Duracell and restaurant chain Dairy Queen.
He has promised to donate over 99% of his wealth. So far he has given more than $41 billion, mostly to the Gates Foundation and his kids’ foundations.
Buffett follows the Benjamin Graham school of value investing, which looks for securities whose prices are unjustifiably low based on their intrinsic worth. Rather than focus supply and demand intricacies of the stock market, Buffett looks at companies as a whole. Some of the factors Buffett considers are company performance, company debt, and profit margins.
The top five investments in Buffett’s holding company, Berkshire Hathaway, are Apple, Bank of America, Coca-Cola, American Express, and Kraft Heinz. Apple is Berkshire Hathaway’s largest portfolio holding, comprising 49.1% of the portfolio.
“In the short run, the market is a voting machine but in the long run it is a weighing machine.” – Graham Benjamin