Albert Redfield - Warren Buffett: A Biography of the most Intelligent Businessman Ever

Warren Buffet t: A Biography of the most Intelligent Businessman Ever

Those that know about investors and philanthropist may be able to say that they have heard of Warren Buffet. It has been said that he may be one of the largest, and most well known, investor in the 20 th century. Of course, he is also one of the richest men in the world. He is the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. While you may think that this is a man that is only interested in benefiting himself, you may be shocked to know that this is not the case. This man has made a pledge to give away 99% of his wealth and he often gives to the Gates Foundation. This very wealthy man has also been said to be very frugal with his money. These are not always characteristics that you will find when it comes to wealthy individuals.

This very interesting man was born in 1930 in Omaha Nebraska. He started school there and was then moved to Washington D.C. when his father was elected into the United States Congress. Naturally, he finished his schooling there. It is very interesting to know that when he graduated his senior year book stated that he loved math and he was likely to be a stockbroker. Anyone that has taken the time to learn about Warren Buffet can tell you that he started working and making money however he could at a very young age. In fact, he filed his first tax return in 1944 when he was only 14 years old.

His father owned his own stock brokerage company and Warren Buffet would spend time there. He was able to visit the New York Stock exchange when he was 10 years old. Apparently that only spurred his interest as he bought three shares of Citi Service Preferred when he turned 11. These were for himself but he also bought three for his sister. This was obviously just the start for this man as in high school he invested in his fathers business and bought his own farm.

Mr. Buffet also attended college where he earned a Masters degree of Science in economics. He learned what he believed was the cornerstone of investing. He said that you need to be able to use the fluctuations in the market to your own benefit. He also stated that you need to be able to find a margin of safety. It is easy to see that this has worked for him over the years.

He married in 1952 and started his first real job where he made $12,000 a year. Five years later he was creating partnerships with others. These continued to grow and by 1960 he had seven partnerships. It only took 2 years for him to become a millionaire. In 1962 he had more than $7,000,000 and more than $1,000,000 was his. Eventually he merged all of the partnerships into one. Then he invested in Berkshire Hathaway which is a textile manufacturing firm. He fired the owner and his partnerships started to purchase shares. Soon he took control at a board meeting and named someone else as the president. It did not take long for him to move this company into the insurance sector. Berkshire continued to grow as it purchased stock in the Washington Post Company and ABC. The investments did not stop there as it even purchased stock in Coca Cola and it still holds stock in this.

Warren Buffet became a billionaire when Berkshire Hathaway stated to sell A-class stocks in 1990. By 2006 he stated that he would start to slowly give away 85% of his holdings to five different foundations as gifts. The largest one would be the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In 2007 he explained that he would start to look for a successor to take over his investment business.

This man was named the top money manager of this century in 1999. Many were shocked to see that he was in front of Peter Lynch and John Templeton. He was also name as one of the most influential people in 2007 by Time magazine.

While all of this may sound like a dream for many, Warren Buffet has not been without his share of complications in life. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2012. Because of this health problem he needed to undergo two months of radiation. This was completed by September of 2012.

Just like most influential individuals in the world, Warren Buffet has had his hand in politics as well. Most recently he helped support President Obama by making financial contributions to his presidential campaign. He was even mentioned as a possible Secretary of the Treasury at one time. As if that was not enough, he was even mentioned as a possibility for financial advisor.

Those that know this man really well will tell you he is a very good story teller. He has created numerous annual reports and even a variety of articles. It does not end there. This man is not afraid to get up in front of others and speak, which is a good thing when you consider all that he has done in his life. It goes without saying that he needs to be able to speak to many people and give his opinions and views on certain issues. Anyone that has heard him speak will tell you that Warren Buffet is great at speaking and he has been very well known for speaking about serious business topics while adding in some really great humor. He has a way of keeping every one involved in the discussion and what he wants to say. Many of his speeches and his stakeholder reports and letters have been shared on the media. Mr. Buffet has also been known to add in numerous quotes from the Bible and even Mae West when he writes and speaks.

In 2008 this man was identified by Forbes as the richest man in the world. He made a very sizeable donation in 2009 and he was still ranked as the second richest man in the world. It may not surprise many people to know that the only person who was richer than him at this time was Bill Gates. In 2010 his net worth was more than $45 billion.

Now, you may think that his children are going to end up with all of his wealth but that is not the case. He has stated that his kids are not going to get his fortune when he passes away. There have been a few different occasions when he has state that he wants to make sure his children have enough to feel like they do can anything they want. However, he does not want to give them so much that they believe they do not have to do anything. It is easy to see that he wants his children to succeed in life but he wants them to work for it.

Warren Buffet has even made his mark in the world of eBay. In 2006, put his Lincoln Town Car online and auctioned it off. This was not for his benefit and he did not keep the profits that he made from the auction. The money was raised for Girls, Inc. This was just the beginning as he even auctioned off a lunch with himself and the money that was raised from this auction went to the Glide Foundation.

Bill Gates has asked those with wealth to learn something from Warren Buffet and his willingness to give. In 2010 himself, Warren Buffet and even Mark Zuckerberg signed a promise that is called the Gates-Buffet Giving Pledge. This was a promise that they would give at half of their wealth away to charity over the course of their lifetime. These men also encouraged others to do the same thing.

While it is nice to know the facts related to Warren Buffet and how he has progressed through his life, it is also nice to have some really neat and interesting facts about him. For example, you might find it really interesting that he drives himself everywhere that he wants to go. He does not have a driver and a security people around him like other billionaires that you may see. This is really interesting when you think about all of the people that have money and then get drivers and personal security to take them everywhere.

Along those lines is the fact that he is still living in the home that he purchased 50 years ago. He explains that everything he needs is in that house and he does not have a need for another one. It is also really neat to know that he does not have walls or fences around his house like you would see with other billionaires.