Warren Edward Buffett

Warren Edward Buffett was born on August 30, 1930, in Omaha, Nebraska, the son of Howard Buffett, a stockbroker and congressman. Buffett demonstrated an extraordinary aptitude for numbers and business from early childhood, filing his first tax return at age 13 and pursuing an undergraduate degree at the University of Nebraska before completing his master's degree at Columbia Business School, where he studied under Benjamin Graham. Graham's value investing framework—identifying stocks trading below their intrinsic value with a margin of safety—became the foundation of Buffett's investment philosophy, though he would later refine it significantly through the influence of Charlie Munger toward investing in high-quality businesses at fair prices rather than mediocre businesses at very cheap prices.

Warren Buffett effectively refounded Berkshire Hathaway beginning in 1965 when his investment partnership gained control of the struggling New England textile company and he became its chairman and CEO. Over the following six decades, Buffett transformed Berkshire from a failing textile operation into one of the world's most valuable and admired companies, deploying insurance float into a diverse portfolio of wholly-owned businesses and publicly traded equities. Buffett's investment approach—patient, value-oriented, concentrated, and long-term—generated compound annual returns that significantly outpaced the S&P 500 over his tenure. He is widely regarded as the greatest investor in history. His annual letters to Berkshire shareholders have become required reading in business schools worldwide for their clarity of thought, ethical grounding, and practical wisdom about capital allocation. Buffett has pledged to donate virtually his entire fortune to philanthropy through the Giving Pledge he co-founded with Bill and Melinda Gates. As of mid-2025, Buffett retains the chairman role at Berkshire while Greg Abel manages day-to-day operations.