↓
 
Home→New Essays→WARREN BUFFETT

WARREN BUFFETT

56thst.com Posted on by

Main menu

Search

Personal tools

Contents

hide

Warren Buffett

100 languages

Tools

Appearancehide

Text

  • SmallStandardLarge

Width

  • StandardWide

Color (beta)

  • AutomaticLightDark
Page semi-protected

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Warren Buffett
Buffett in 2015
BornWarren Edward Buffett
August 30, 1930 (age 94)
Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
EducationUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Nebraska–Lincoln (BS)Columbia University (MS)
OccupationsBusinessmaninvestorphilanthropist
Years active1951–present
Known forTransforming Berkshire Hathaway and his philanthropy
Political partyDemocratic[1]
SpousesSusan Thompson​​(m. 1952; died 2004)​Astrid Menks ​(m. 2006)​
ChildrenSusan AliceHoward GrahamPeter
FatherHoward Buffett
RelativesHoward Warren Buffett (grandson)Doris Buffett (sister)
FamilyBuffett family
Websitewww.berkshirehathaway.com
Signature

Warren Edward Buffett (/ˈbʌfɪt/ BUF-it; born August 30, 1930)[2] is an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist who currently serves as the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. As a result of his investment success, Buffett is one of the best-known investors in the world. As of June 2024, he had a net worth of $135 billion, making him the tenth-richest person in the world.[3]

Buffett was born in Omaha, Nebraska. The son of US congressman and businessman Howard Buffett, he developed an interest in business and investing during his youth. He entered the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1947 before graduating from the University of Nebraska at 19. He went on to graduate from Columbia Business School, where he molded his investment philosophy around the concept of value investing pioneered by Benjamin Graham. He attended New York Institute of Finance to focus on his economics background and soon pursued a business career.

He later began various business ventures and investment partnerships, including one with Graham. He created Buffett Partnership Ltd. in 1956 and his investment firm eventually acquired a textile manufacturing firm, Berkshire Hathaway, assuming its name to create a diversified holding company. Buffett emerged as the company’s chairman and majority shareholder in 1970. In 1978, fellow investor and long-time business associate Charlie Munger joined Buffett as vice-chairman.[4][5]

Since 1970, Buffett has presided as the chairman and largest shareholder of Berkshire Hathaway, one of America’s foremost holding companies and world’s leading corporate conglomerates. He has been referred to as the “Oracle” or “Sage” of Omaha by global media as a result of having accumulated a massive fortune derived from his business and investment success.[6][7] He is noted for his adherence to the principles of value investing, and his frugality despite his wealth.[8] Buffett has pledged to give away 99 percent[9] of his fortune to philanthropic causes, primarily via the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He founded the Giving Pledge in 2010 with Bill Gates, whereby billionaires pledge to give away at least half of their fortunes.[10]

Early life and education

Warren Edward Buffett was born on August 30, 1930 in Omaha, Nebraska, as the second of three children and the only son of Leila (née Stahl) and Congressman Howard Buffett.[11] He began his education at Rose Hill Elementary School. In 1942, his father was elected to the first of four terms in the United States Congress, and after moving with his family to Washington, D.C., Warren finished elementary school, attended Alice Deal Junior High School and graduated from what was then Woodrow Wilson High School in 1947, where his senior yearbook picture reads: “likes math; a future stockbroker”.[12] After finishing high school and finding success with his side entrepreneurial and investment ventures, Buffett wanted to skip college to go directly into business but was overruled by his father.[13][14]

Buffett showcased an interest in business and investing at a young age. He was inspired by a book he borrowed from the Omaha public library at age seven, One Thousand Ways to Make $1000.[15] Much of Buffett’s early childhood years were enlivened with entrepreneurial ventures. In one of his first business ventures, Buffett sold chewing gum, Coca-Cola, and weekly magazines door to door. He worked in his grandfather’s grocery store. While still in high school, he made money delivering newspapers, selling golf balls and stamps, and detailing cars, among other means. On his first income tax return in 1944, Buffett took a $35 deduction for the use of his bicycle and watch on his paper route.[16] In 1945, as a high school sophomore, Buffett and a friend spent $25 to purchase a used pinball machine, which they placed in the local barber shop. Within months, they owned several machines in three different barber shops across Omaha. They later sold the business to a war veteran for $1,200.[17]

Investor Benjamin Graham was a major influential figure on the young Warren Buffett.

Buffett’s interest in the stock market and investing dated back to his schoolboy days spent in the customers’ lounge of a regional stock brokerage near his father’s own brokerage office. His father took interest in cultivating and educating the young Warren’s curiosity surrounding the subject of business and investing, even at one point taking him to visit the New York Stock Exchange when he was 10.[18] At 11, he bought three shares of Cities Service Preferred for himself, and three for his sister Doris Buffett (who also became a philanthropist).[19][20][21] At 15, Warren made more than $175 monthly delivering Washington Post newspapers. In high school, he invested in a business owned by his father and bought a 40-acre farm worked by a tenant farmer.[22] He bought the land when he was 14 years old with $1,200 of his savings.[22] By the time he finished college, Buffett had amassed $9,800 in savings (about $125,000 today).[17][23]

In 1947, Buffett matriculated at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He would have preferred to focus on his business ventures, but enrolled due to pressure from his father.[17] Warren studied there for two years and joined the Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity.[24] He then transferred to the University of Nebraska where at 19, he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in business administration. After being rejected by Harvard Business School, Buffett enrolled at Columbia Business School of Columbia University upon learning that Benjamin Graham taught there. He earned a Master of Science in economics from Columbia in 1951. After graduating, Buffett attended the New York Institute of Finance.[25]

The basic ideas of investing are to look at stocks as business, use the market’s fluctuations to your advantage, and seek a margin of safety. That’s what Ben Graham taught us. A hundred years from now they will still be the cornerstones of investing.[26][27][28]

— Warren Buffett

Business career

Further information on Warren Buffett’s time at Berkshire Hathaway: List of assets owned by Berkshire Hathaway

Early business career

Buffett worked from 1951 to 1954 at his father’s firm, Buffett-Falk & Co., as an investment salesman; from 1954 to 1956 at Graham-Newman Corp. as a securities analyst; from 1956 to 1969 at several investment partnerships as the general partner; and from 1970 as chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

In 1951, Buffett discovered that Graham was on the board of GEICO insurance. Taking a train to Washington, D.C., on a Saturday, he knocked on the door of GEICO’s headquarters until a janitor admitted him. There he met Lorimer Davidson, GEICO’s vice president, and the two discussed the insurance business for hours, and Buffett made his first purchase of GEICO stock.[29] Davidson would eventually become Buffett’s lifelong friend and a lasting influence,[30] and would later recall that he found Buffett to be an “extraordinary man” after only fifteen minutes. Buffett wanted to work on Wall Street but both his father and Ben Graham urged him not to. He offered to work for Graham for free, but Graham refused.[31]

Buffett returned to Omaha and worked as a stockbroker while taking a Dale Carnegie public speaking course.[32] Using what he learned, he felt confident enough to teach an “Investment Principles” night class at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. The average age of his students was more than twice his own. During this time he also purchased a Sinclair gas station as a side investment but it was unsuccessful.[33]

In 1954, Buffett accepted a job at Benjamin Graham‘s partnership. His starting salary was $12,000 a year (about $136,000 today).[23] There he worked closely with Walter Schloss. Graham was adamant that stock picks should provide a wide margin of safety after weighing the trade-off between their price and their intrinsic value. In 1956, Benjamin Graham retired and closed his partnership. At this time Buffett, who had amassed personal savings over $174,000 (about $1.95 million today)[23], decided to return to Omaha, where he would quickly start a series of investment partnerships.

In 1957, Buffett operated three investment partnerships. By 1959, the total had grown to six partnerships. That year, Buffett met future partner Charlie Munger. In 1961, Buffett revealed that 35% of the partnerships’ assets were invested in the Sanborn Map Company. He explained that Sanborn stock sold for only $45 per share in 1958, but the company’s investment portfolio was worth $65 per share. This meant that Sanborn’s map business was being valued at “minus $20”. Buffett eventually purchased 23% of the company’s outstanding shares as an activist investor, obtaining a seat for himself on the board of directors, and allied with other dissatisfied shareholders to control 44% of the shares. To avoid a proxy fight, the board offered to repurchase shares at fair value, paying with a portion of its investment portfolio. 77% of the outstanding shares were turned in.[34][35] Buffett had reaped a 50 percent return on investment in just two years.[36]

Assuming Berkshire

In 1962, Buffett became a millionaire with the success of his partnerships, which by then had grown to 11 entities and held in excess of $7,178,500, of which over $1,025,000 belonged to Buffett. At the start of the year, he merged the various partnerships into the single entity Buffett Partnership, Ltd., which would be his primary investment vehicle for the remainder of the decade.[37] Buffett invested in and eventually took control of a textile manufacturing company, Berkshire Hathaway. He began buying shares in Berkshire from Seabury Stanton, the owner, whom he later fired. Buffett’s partnerships began purchasing shares at $7.60 per share. In 1965, when Buffett’s partnerships began purchasing Berkshire aggressively, they paid $14.86 per share while the company had working capital of $19 per share. This did not include the value of fixed assets (factory and equipment). Buffett took control of Berkshire Hathaway at a board meeting and named a new president, Ken Chace, to run the company. In 1966, Buffett closed the partnership to new money. He later claimed that the textile business had been his worst trade.[38] He then moved the business into the insurance sector, and, in 1985, the last of the mills that had been the core business of Berkshire Hathaway was sold.

In a second letter, Buffett announced his first investment in a private business — Hochschild, Kohn and Co, a privately owned Baltimore department store. In 1967, Berkshire paid out its first and only dividend of 10 cents.[39] In 1969, Buffett liquidated the partnership and transferred their assets to his partners including shares of Berkshire Hathaway. He lived solely on his salary of $50,000 per year and his outside investment income.

In 1973, Berkshire began to acquire stock in the Washington Post Company. Buffett became close friends with Katharine Graham, who controlled the company and its flagship newspaper and joined its board. In 1974, the SEC opened a formal investigation into Buffett and Berkshire’s acquisition of Wesco Financial, due to possible conflict of interest. No charges were brought. In 1977, Berkshire indirectly purchased the Buffalo Evening News for $32.5 million. Antitrust charges started, instigated by its rival, the Buffalo Courier-Express. Both papers lost money until the Courier-Express folded in 1982.

In 1979, Berkshire began to acquire stock in ABC. Capital Cities announced a $3.5 billion purchase of ABC on March 18, 1985, surprising the media industry, as ABC was four times bigger than Capital Cities at the time. Buffett helped finance the deal in return for a 25% stake in the combined company.[40] The newly merged company, known as Capital Cities/ABC (or CapCities/ABC), was forced to sell some stations due to Federal Communications Commission ownership rules. The two companies also owned several radio stations in the same markets.[41]

In 1987, Berkshire Hathaway purchased a 12% stake in Salomon Inc., making it the largest shareholder and Buffett a director. In 1990, a scandal involving John Gutfreund (former CEO of Salomon Brothers) surfaced. A rogue trader, Paul Mozer, was submitting bids in excess of what was allowed by Treasury rules. When this was brought to Gutfreund’s attention, he did not immediately suspend the rogue trader. Gutfreund left the company in August 1991.[42] Buffett became chairman of Salomon until the crisis passed.[43] In 1988, Buffett began buying The Coca-Cola Company stock, eventually purchasing up to 7% of the company for $1.02 billion.[44] It would turn out to be one of Berkshire’s most lucrative investments and one which it still holds.[45]

As a billionaire

In 1998 Buffett acquired General Re (Gen Re) as a subsidiary in a deal that presented difficulties — according to the Rational Walk investment website, “underwriting standards proved to be inadequate”, while a “problematic derivatives book” was resolved after numerous years and a significant loss.[46] Gen Re later provided reinsurance after Buffett became involved with Maurice R. Greenberg at AIG in 2002.[47]

With President Barack Obama at the White House in July 2011.

During a 2005 investigation of an accounting fraud case involving AIG, Gen Re executives became implicated. On March 15, 2005, the AIG board forced Greenberg to resign from his post as chairman and CEO after New York state regulators claimed that AIG had engaged in questionable transactions and improper accounting.[48] On February 9, 2006, AIG agreed to pay a $1.6 billion fine.[49] In 2010, the U.S. government agreed to a $92 million settlement with Gen Re, allowing the Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary to avoid prosecution in the AIG case. Gen Re also made a commitment to implement “corporate governance concessions”, which required Berkshire Hathaway’s chief financial officer to attend General Re’s audit committee meetings and mandated the appointment of an independent director.[46]

In 2002, Buffett entered in $11 billion worth of forward contracts to deliver U.S. dollars against other currencies. By April 2006, his total gain on these contracts was over $2 billion. Buffett announced in June 2006 that he would gradually give away 85% of his Berkshire holdings to five foundations in annual gifts of stock, starting in July 2006—the largest contribution going to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.[50] In 2007, in a letter to shareholders, Buffett announced that he was looking for a younger successor, or perhaps successors, to run his investment business.[51]

2007–08 financial crisis

Buffett ran into criticism during the subprime mortgage crisis of 2007 and 2008, part of the Great Recession starting in 2007, that he had allocated capital too early resulting in suboptimal deals.[52] “Buy American. I am.” he wrote for an opinion piece published in the New York Times in 2008.[53] Buffett called the downturn in the financial sector that started in 2007 “poetic justice“.[54] Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway suffered a 77% drop in earnings during Q3 2008 and several of his later deals suffered large mark-to-market losses.[55]

On September 23, 2008, Berkshire Hathaway acquired 10 percent of perpetual preferred stock of Goldman Sachs.[56] Some of Buffett’s put options (European exercise at expiry only) that he wrote (sold) were running at around $6.73 billion mark-to-market losses as of late 2008.[57] The scale of the potential loss prompted the SEC to demand that Berkshire produce, “a more robust disclosure” of factors used to value the contracts.[57] Buffett also helped Dow Chemical pay for its $18.8 billion takeover of Rohm & Haas. He thus became the single largest shareholder in the enlarged group with his Berkshire Hathaway, which provided $3 billion, underlining his instrumental role during the crisis in debt and equity markets.[58]

In 2008, Buffett became the richest person in the world, garnering a total net worth estimated at $62 billion[59] by Forbes and at $58 billion[60] by Yahoo, dethroning Bill Gates, who had been number one on the Forbes list for 13 consecutive years.[61] In 2009, Gates regained the top position on the Forbes list, with Buffett shifted to second place. Both of the men’s values dropped, to $40 billion and $37 billion respectively—according to Forbes, Buffett lost $25 billion over a 12-month period during 2008/2009.[62]

In October 2008, the media reported that Buffett had agreed to buy General Electric (GE) preferred stock.[63] The operation included special incentives: he received an option to buy three billion shares of GE stock, at $22.25, over the five years following the agreement, and Buffett also received a 10% dividend (callable within three years). In February 2009, Buffett sold some Procter & Gamble Co. and Johnson & Johnson shares from his personal portfolio.[64] In addition to suggestions of mistiming, the wisdom in keeping some of Berkshire’s major holdings, including The Coca-Cola Company, which in 1998 peaked at $86, raised questions. Buffett discussed the difficulties of knowing when to sell in the company’s 2004 annual report:

That may seem easy to do when one looks through an always-clean, rear-view mirror. Unfortunately, however, it’s the windshield through which investors must peer, and that glass is invariably fogged.[65]

In March 2009, Buffett said in a cable television interview that the economy had “fallen off a cliff … Not only has the economy slowed down a lot, but people have really changed their habits like I haven’t seen”. Additionally, Buffett feared that inflation levels that occurred in the 1970s—which led to years of painful stagflation—might re-emerge.[66][67]

A capitalized Berkshire

In 2009, Buffett invested $2.6 billion as a part of Swiss Re‘s campaign to raise equity capital.[68][69] Berkshire Hathaway already owned a 3% stake, with rights to own more than 20%.[70] Also in 2009, Buffett acquired Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. for $34 billion in cash and stock. Alice Schroeder, author of Snowball, said that a key reason for the purchase was to diversify Berkshire Hathaway from the financial industry.[71] Measured by market capitalization in the Financial Times Global 500, Berkshire Hathaway was the eighteenth largest corporation in the world as of June 2009.[72]

In 2009, Buffett divested his failed investment in ConocoPhillips, saying to his Berkshire investors,

I bought a large amount of ConocoPhillips stock when oil and gas prices were near their peak. I in no way anticipated the dramatic fall in energy prices that occurred in the last half of the year. I still believe the odds are good that oil sells far higher in the future than the current $40–$50 price. But so far I have been dead wrong. Even if prices should rise, moreover, the terrible timing of my purchase has cost Berkshire several billion dollars.[73]

The merger with the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (BNSF) closed upon BNSF shareholder approval during Q1 of 2010. This deal was valued at approximately $44 billion (with $10 billion of outstanding BNSF debt) and represented an increase of the previously existing stake of 22%.[74][75] In June 2010, Buffett defended the credit-rating agencies for their role in the US financial crisis, claiming:

Very, very few people could appreciate the bubble. That’s the nature of bubbles—they’re mass delusions.[76]

On March 18, 2011, Goldman Sachs was given Federal Reserve approval to buy back Berkshire’s preferred stock in Goldman. Buffett had been reluctant to give up the stock, which averaged $1.4 million in dividends per day,[77][78] saying:

I’m going to be the Osama bin Laden of capitalism. I’m on my way to an unknown destination in Asia where I’m going to look for a cave. If the U.S. Armed forces can’t find Osama bin Laden in 10 years, let Goldman Sachs try to find me.[79]

In November 2011, it was announced that over the course of the previous eight months, Buffett had bought 64 million shares of International Business Machine Corp (IBM) stock, worth around $11 billion. This unanticipated investment raised his stake in the company to around 5.5 percent—the largest stake in IBM alongside that of State Street Global Advisors. Buffett had said on numerous prior occasions that he would not invest in technology because he did not fully understand it, so the move came as a surprise to many investors and observers. During the interview, in which he revealed the investment to the public, Buffett stated that he was impressed by the company’s ability to retain corporate clients and said, “I don’t know of any large company that really has been as specific on what they intend to do and how they intend to do it as IBM”.[80]

In May 2012, Buffett’s acquisition of Media General, consisting of 63 newspapers in the south-eastern U.S., was announced.[81] The company was the second news print purchase made by Buffett in one year.[82] Interim publisher James W. Hopson announced on July 18, 2013, that the Press of Atlantic City would be sold to Buffett’s BH Media Group by ABARTA, a private holding company based in Pittsburgh, U.S. At the Berkshire shareholders meeting in May 2013, Buffett explained that he did not expect to “move the needle” at Berkshire with newspaper acquisitions, but he anticipates an annual return of 10 percent. The Press of Atlantic City became Berkshire’s 30th daily newspaper, following other purchases such as Virginia, U.S.’ Roanoke Times and The Tulsa World in Oklahoma, U.S.[83]

During a presentation to Georgetown University students in Washington, D.C., in late September 2013, Buffett compared the U.S. Federal Reserve to a hedge fund and stated that the bank is generating “$80 billion or $90 billion a year probably” in revenue for the U.S. government. Buffett also advocated further on the issue of wealth equality in society:

We have learned to turn out lots of goods and services, but we haven’t learned as well how to have everybody share in the bounty. The obligation of a society as prosperous as ours is to figure out how nobody gets left too far behind.[84]

After the difficulties of the economic crisis, Buffett managed to bring its company back to its pre-recession standards: in Q2 2014, Berkshire Hathaway made $6.4 billion in net profit, the most it had ever made in a three-month period.[85] On August 14, 2014, the price of Berkshire Hathaway’s shares hit $200,000 a share for the first time, capitalizing the company at $328 billion. While Buffett had given away much of his stock to charities by this time, he still held 321,000 shares worth $64.2 billion. On August 20, 2014, Berkshire Hathaway was fined $896,000 for failing to report as required the December 9, 2013 purchase of shares in USG Corporation.[86]

A 2023 ProPublica article based on a leak of confidential IRS data alleged that Buffett had made equity trades in his personal portfolio involving companies that Berkshire Hathaway bought or sold during the same quarter or the quarter before, raising concerns about conflicts of interest. On three dates between 2009 and 2012, Buffett sold shares of Johnson and Johnson, Walmart, and Wells Fargo, with the sales totaling $80 million in value.[87][88] Although Buffett has not commented, Berkshire Hathaway’s Vice Chairman Charlie Munger dismissed the allegations, saying “I don’t think there’s the slightest chance that Warren Buffett is doing something that is deeply evil to make money for himself.”[89]

Investment philosophy

Buffett’s writings include his annual reports and various articles. Buffett is recognized by communicators[90] as a great story-teller, as evidenced by his annual letters to shareholders. He has warned about the pernicious effects of inflation:[91]

The arithmetic makes it plain that inflation is a far more devastating tax than anything that has been enacted by our legislatures. The inflation tax has a fantastic ability to simply consume capital. It makes no difference to a widow with her savings in a 5 percent passbook account whether she pays 100 percent income tax on her interest income during a period of zero inflation, or pays no income taxes during years of 5 percent inflation.

— Buffett, Fortune (1977)

In his article, “The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville“, Buffett rebutted the academic efficient-market hypothesis, that beating the S&P 500 was “pure chance”, by highlighting the results achieved by a number of students of the Graham and Dodd value investing school of thought. In addition to himself, Buffett named Walter J. Schloss, Tom Knapp, Ed Anderson (Tweedy, Browne LLC), William J. Ruane (Sequoia Fund), Charlie Munger (Buffett’s partner at Berkshire), Rick Guerin (Pacific Partners Ltd.), and Stan Perlmeter (Perlmeter Investments).[92] In his November 1999 Fortune article, he warned of investors’ unrealistic expectations:[93]

Let me summarize what I’ve been saying about the stock market: I think it’s very hard to come up with a persuasive case that equities will over the next 17 years perform anything like—anything like—they’ve performed in the past 17. If I had to pick the most probable return, from appreciation and dividends combined, that investors in aggregate—repeat, aggregate—would earn in a world of constant interest rates, 2% inflation, and those ever hurtful frictional costs, it would be 6%!

— Buffett, Fortune (1999)

Index funds vis-à-vis active management

See also: Jeffrey Tarrant § Buffett bet

Buffett has been a supporter of index funds for people who are either not interested in managing their own money or do not have the time. Buffett is skeptical that active management can outperform the market in the long run, and has advised both individual and institutional investors to move their money to low-cost index funds that track broad, diversified stock market indices. Buffett said in one of his letters to shareholders that “when trillions of dollars are managed by Wall Streeters charging high fees, it will usually be the managers who reap outsized profits, not the clients”.[94] In 2007, Buffett made a bet with numerous managers that a simple S&P 500 index fund will outperform hedge funds that charge exorbitant fees. By 2017, the index fund was outperforming every hedge fund that made the bet against Buffett.[94]

Using investment banks

Buffet has a long-standing aversion to using the services of investment banks via Berkshire Hathaway.[95] This dynamic was also reported in Barron’s,[96] Insider,[97] and Seeking Alpha,[98] among others.

Personal life

With Gary Green in 2010

In 1949, Buffett developed a crush on a young woman whose boyfriend had a ukulele. In an attempt to compete, he bought one of the instruments and has been playing it ever since. Though the attempt to capture her attention was unsuccessful, his music interest became a key part of his becoming a part of Susan Thompson’s life, and led to their marriage. Buffett often plays the instrument at stockholder meetings and other opportunities. His love of the instrument led to the commissioning of two custom Dairy Queen ukuleles by Dave Talsma, one of which was auctioned for charity.[99]

In 1952,[100] Buffett married Susan Thompson at Dundee Presbyterian Church. The next year they had their first child, Susan Alice, followed in a few years by Howard (b. 1954) and Peter (b. 1958). 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.[101]

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.[102][103] Susan had arranged for the two to meet before she left Omaha to pursue her singing career. All three were close and Christmas cards to friends were signed “Warren, Susie and Astrid”.[104] Susan briefly discussed this relationship in an interview on the Charlie Rose Show shortly before her death, in a rare glimpse into Buffett’s personal life.[105]

Buffett disowned his son Peter’s adopted daughter, Nicole, in 2006 after she participated in the Jamie Johnson documentary The One Percent about the growing economic inequality between the wealthy and the average citizen in the United States. Although his first wife referred to Nicole as one of her “adored grandchildren”,[106] Buffett wrote Nicole a letter stating, “I have not emotionally or legally adopted you as a grandchild, nor have the rest of my family adopted you as a niece or a cousin”.[107][108][109] By 2022, Buffett and she had reconciled.[110][111]

Buffett’s home in Omaha, Nebraska

His 2006 annual salary was about $100,000, which is small compared to senior executive remuneration in comparable companies.[112] In 2008, he earned a total compensation of $175,000, which included a base salary of just $100,000.[113] In 1958, Buffett purchased a five-bedroom stucco house in Omaha, where he still lives, for US$31,500 (equivalent to $341,723 in 2023).[114][115] He also owned a vacation home in Laguna Beach, California,[116] which he purchased for $150,000 in 1971. He sold it for $7.5 million in 2018.[117] In 1989, after spending nearly $6.7 million of Berkshire’s funds on a private jet, Buffett named it “The Indefensible”, later renamed “The Indispensable”.[118] This act was at odds with his past condemnation of extravagant spending by other CEOs.[119] Buffett sold the jet prior to mid-1999, and has since usually flown with Berkshire’s flight services businesses.[120]

Bridge is such a sensational game that I wouldn’t mind being in jail if I had three cellmates who were decent players and who were willing to keep the game going twenty-four hours a day.

—Buffett on bridge[121]

Buffett is an avid bridge player, which he plays with Gates[122] and champion player Sharon Osberg; he is said to spend 12 hours a week playing the game.[123][124] In 2006, he sponsored a bridge match for the Buffett Cup. Modeled on the Ryder Cup in golf—held immediately before it in the same city—the teams are chosen by invitation, with a female team and five male teams provided by each country.[125]

He is a dedicated, lifelong follower of Nebraska football, and attends as many games as his schedule permits. He supported the hire of Bo Pelini, following the 2007 season, stating, “It was getting kind of desperate around here”.[126] He watched the 2009 game against Oklahoma from the Nebraska sideline, after being named an honorary assistant coach.[127] Buffett was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 2009.[128] Buffett worked with Christopher Webber on an animated series called “Secret Millionaires Club” with chief Andy Heyward of DiC Entertainment. The series features Buffett and Munger and teaches children healthy financial habits.[129][130]

Buffett was raised as a Presbyterian, but has since described himself as agnostic.[131] In December 2006, it was reported that Buffett did not carry a mobile phone, did not have a computer at his desk, and drove his own automobile,[132] a Cadillac DTS.[133] In contrast to that, at the 2018 Berkshire Hathaway’s shareholder meeting, he stated he uses Google as his preferred search engine.[134] In 2013 he had an old Nokia flip phone and had sent one email in his entire life.[135] In February 2020, Buffett revealed in a CNBC interview that he had traded in his flip phone for an iPhone 11.[136] Buffett reads five newspapers every day, beginning with the Omaha World Herald, which his company acquired in 2011.

Buffett’s speeches are known for mixing business discussions with humor. Each year, Buffett presides over Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder meeting in the Qwest Center in Omaha, Nebraska, an event drawing over 20,000 visitors from both the United States and abroad, giving it the nickname “Woodstock of Capitalism”. Berkshire’s annual reports and letters to shareholders, prepared by Buffett, frequently receive coverage by the financial media. Buffett’s writings are known for containing quotations from sources as varied as the Bible and Mae West,[137] as well as advice in a folksy, Midwestern style and numerous jokes.

In April 2017, Buffett (an avid Coca-Cola drinker and shareholder in the company) agreed to have his likeness placed on Cherry Coke products in China. Buffett was not compensated for this advertisement.[138][139] Buffett is very distantly related to the 44th president of the United States, Barack Obama.[140] Buffett was a longtime friend of singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett until Jimmy’s death in September 2023, and they would often refer to one another as “Uncle Warren” and “Cousin Jimmy”. The two took a DNA test which revealed no relation.[141]

Health

Buffett is a teetotaler.[142] On April 11, 2012, Buffett was diagnosed with stage I prostate cancer during a routine test.[143] He announced he would begin two months of daily radiation treatment from mid-July. In a letter to shareholders, Buffett said he felt “great—as if I were in my normal excellent health—and my energy level is 100 percent”.[143] On September 15, 2012, Buffett announced that he had completed the full 44-day radiation treatment cycle, saying “it’s a great day for me” and “I am so glad to say that’s over”.[144]

Wealth and philanthropy

Buffett, Kathy Ireland and Bill Gates at the 2015 Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting

In 2008, Buffett was ranked by Forbes as the richest person in the world with an estimated net worth of approximately $62 billion.[145] In 2009, after donating billions of dollars to charity, he was ranked as the second richest man in the United States with a net worth of $37 billion[146][147] with only Bill Gates ranked higher than Buffett. His net worth had risen to $58.5 billion as of September 2013.[148]

In 1999, Buffett was named the Top Money Manager of the Twentieth Century in a survey by the Carson Group, ahead of Peter Lynch and John Templeton.[149] In 2007, he was listed among Time‘s 100 Most Influential People in the world.[150] In 2011, President Barack Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.[151] Buffett, along with Bill Gates, was named the most influential global thinker in Foreign Policy‘s 2010 report.[152]

Buffett has written several times of his belief that, in a market economy, the rich earn outsized rewards for their talents.[153] His children will not inherit a significant proportion of his wealth. He once commented, “I want to give my kids just enough so that they would feel that they could do anything, but not so much that they would feel like doing nothing”.[154]

Buffett had long stated his intention to give away his fortune to charity, and in June 2006, he announced a new plan to give 83% of it to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF).[155] He pledged about the equivalent of 10 million Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (worth approximately $30.7 billion as of June 23, 2006),[156] making it the largest charitable donation in history, and Buffett one of the leaders of philanthrocapitalism.[157] The foundation will receive 5% of the total each July, beginning in 2006. The pledge is conditional upon three requirements:

  • Bill or Melinda Gates must be alive and active in BMGF
  • BMGF must continue to qualify as a charity
  • Each year BMGF must give away an amount equal to the prior year’s Berkshire gift plus the additional 5% of net assets as required of all US foundations

Buffett joined the Gates Foundation’s board, but did not plan to be actively involved in the foundation’s investments.[158][159] Buffett announced his resignation as a trustee of the Gates Foundation on June 23, 2021.[160] This represented a significant shift from Buffett’s previous statements, to the effect that most of his fortune would pass to his Buffett Foundation.[161] The bulk of the estate of his wife, valued at $2.6 billion, went there when she died in 2004.[162] He also pledged $50 million to the Nuclear Threat Initiative, in Washington, where he began serving as an adviser in 2002.[163]

In 2006, he auctioned his 2001 Lincoln Town Car[164] on eBay to raise money for Girls, Inc.[165] In 2007, he auctioned a luncheon with himself that raised a final bid of $650,100 for the Glide Foundation.[166] Later auctions raised $2.1 million[167][168] $1.7 million[169] and $3.5 million. The winners traditionally dine with Buffett at New York’s Smith and Wollensky steak house. The restaurant donates at least $10,000 to Glide each year to host the meal.[170]

In 2009, Ralph Nader wrote the book Only the Super Rich Can Save Us, a novel about “a movement of billionaires led by Warren Buffett and featuring, among others, Ted Turner, George Soros and Barry Diller, who use their fortunes to clean up America”. On C-SPAN BookTV, Nader said Buffett invited him to breakfast after the book came out and was “quite intrigued by the book”. He also told Nader of his plan to get “billionaires all over the world to donate 50% of their estate to charity or good works”.[171] On December 9, 2010, Buffett, Bill Gates, and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg signed a promise they called the “Gates-Buffett Giving Pledge“, in which they promise to donate to charity at least half of their wealth, and invite other wealthy people to follow suit.[10][172] In 2018, after making almost $3.4 billion donations,[173] Buffett was ranked 3rd in the Forbes‘ List of Billionaires 2018.[174]

Buffett continues to help fund and support his family’s individual foundations which include Susan Buffett‘s Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, Susan Alice Buffett‘s Sherwood Foundation, Howard Graham Buffett‘s Howard G. Buffett Foundation, and Peter Buffett‘s NoVo Foundation.[175][176] Warren Buffett was also supportive of his sister Doris Buffett‘s Letters Foundation and Learning By Giving Foundation.[177][178]

In November 2022, Buffett made a donation of $750 million in Berkshire Hathaway shares to four charitable foundations run by his children. 1.5 million Class B shares of his conglomerate to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, named after his first wife. He also transferred 300,000 Class B shares each to three funds managed by his children: the Sherwood Foundation, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation and the NoVo Foundation.[179] As of 2023, Buffett has given over $50 billion to charitable causes.[180][181]

Political and public policy views

Buffett and President Obama in the Oval Office, July 14, 2010

In addition to political contributions over the years, Buffett endorsed and made campaign contributions to Barack Obama‘s presidential campaign. On July 2, 2008, Buffett attended a $28,500 per plate fundraiser for Obama’s campaign in Chicago.[182] Buffett intimated that John McCain‘s views on social justice were so far from his own that McCain would need a “lobotomy” for Buffett to change his endorsement.[183] During the second 2008 U.S. presidential debate, McCain and Obama, after being asked first by presidential debate mediator Tom Brokaw, both mentioned Buffett as a possible future Secretary of the Treasury.[184] Later, in the third and final presidential debate, Obama mentioned Buffett as a potential economic advisor.[185] Buffett was also a financial advisor to Republican candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger during the 2003 California gubernatorial election.[186]

On December 16, 2015, Buffett endorsed Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton for president.[187] On August 1, 2016, Buffett challenged Donald Trump to release his tax returns.[188][189] On October 10, 2016, after a reference to him in the second presidential debate, Buffett released his own tax return.[190][191] He said he had paid $1.85 million in federal income taxes in 2015 on an adjusted gross income of $11.6 million, meaning he had an effective federal income tax rate of around 16 percent. Buffett also said he had made more than $2.8 billion worth of donations last year.[191] In response to Trump saying he was unable to release his tax information due to being under audit, Buffett said, “I have been audited by the IRS multiple times and am currently being audited. I have no problem in releasing my tax information while under audit. Neither would Mr. Trump—at least he would have no legal problem.”[191] Buffett has said he would judge President Donald Trump by his results on national safety, economic growth and economic participation when deciding if he would vote for him in the 2020 presidential election.[192][193]

Health care

Buffett described the health care reform under President Barack Obama as insufficient to deal with the costs of health care in the US, though he supports its aim of expanding health insurance coverage.[194] Buffett compared health care costs to a tapeworm, saying that they compromise US economic competitiveness by increasing manufacturing costs.[194] Buffett said in 2010 that it was not sustainable for the U.S. to devote 17% of its GDP to healthcare expenditure, noting that many other nations spent a much smaller proportion of their GDP on health expenditures, with better healthcare outcomes.[195] Buffett said, “If you want the very best, I mean if you want to spend a million dollars to prolong your life 3 months in a coma or something then the US is probably the best”, but he also said that other countries spend much less and receive much more in health care value (visits, hospital beds, doctors and nurses per capita).[196]

Buffett faults the incentives in the United States medical industry, that payers reimburse doctors for procedures (fee-for-service) leading to unnecessary care (overutilization), instead of paying for results.[197] He cited Atul Gawande‘s 2009 article in the New Yorker[198] as a useful consideration of US health care, with its documentation of unwarranted variation in Medicare expenditures between McAllen, Texas and El Paso, Texas.[197] Buffett raised the problem of lobbying by the medical industry, saying that they are very focused on maintaining their income.[199]

Curbing population growth

Buffett has expressed concerns about unchecked population growth. In 2009, he met with several other billionaires to discuss healthcare, education and slowing population growth. Called “The Good Club” by an insider, the billionaires had given away $45 billion to philanthropic causes and included Oprah Winfrey, Michael Bloomberg and David Rockefeller, Jr.[200] The meeting has drawn criticism from some right-wing blogs, with some believing the group to be a part of a secret sterilization society.[201] Buffett is a long-time supporter of family planning. The Buffett Foundation has given over $1.5 billion to abortion research to include $427 million to Planned Parenthood.[202]

Taxes

See also: Buffett RulePresident Obama announcing the “Buffett Rule“

Buffett stated that he only paid 19% of his income for 2006 ($48.1 million) in total federal taxes (due to their source as dividends and capital gains) while his employees paid 33% of theirs, despite making much less money.[203] Regarding how little he pays in taxes compared to his employees, he said, “How can this be fair? How can this be right? There’s class warfare, all right, but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning.”[204][205] After Donald Trump accused him of taking “massive deductions”, Buffett countered, “I have copies of all 72 of my returns and none uses a carryforward.”[206]

Buffett favors the inheritance tax, saying that repealing it would be like “choosing the 2020 Olympic team by picking the eldest sons of the gold-medal winners in the 2000 Olympics”.[207] In 2007, Buffett testified before the Senate and urged them to preserve the estate tax so as to avoid a plutocracy.[208] Some critics argued that Buffett (through Berkshire Hathaway) has a personal interest in the continuation of the estate tax, since Berkshire Hathaway benefited from the estate tax in past business dealings and had developed and marketed insurance policies to protect policy holders against future estate tax payments.[209] Buffett believes government should not be in the business of gambling, or legalizing casinos, calling it a tax on ignorance.[210]

Dollar and gold

The trade deficit induced Buffett to enter the foreign currency market for the first time in 2002. He substantially reduced his stake in 2005 as changing interest rates increased the costs of holding currency contracts. Buffett remained bearish on the dollar, stating that he was looking to acquire companies with substantial foreign revenues. Buffett has been critical of gold as an investment, with his critique being based primarily on its non-productive nature. In a 1998 address at Harvard, Buffett said:

It gets dug out of the ground in Africa, or someplace. Then we melt it down, dig another hole, bury it again and pay people to stand around guarding it. It has no utility. Anyone watching from Mars would be scratching their head.

In 1977, about stocks, gold, farmland and inflation, he stated:

Stocks are probably still the best of all the poor alternatives in an era of inflation—at least they are if you buy in at appropriate prices.[211]

China

Buffett invested in PetroChina Company Limited and in a rare move, posted a commentary[212] on Berkshire Hathaway’s website stating why he would not divest over its connection with the Sudanese civil war that caused Harvard to divest. He sold this stake soon afterwards, sparing him the billions of dollars he would have lost had he held on to the company in the midst of the steep drop in oil prices beginning in the summer of 2008. In October 2008, Buffett invested $230 million for 10% of battery maker BYD Company (SEHK: 1211), which runs a subsidiary of electric automobile manufacturer BYD Auto. In less than one year, the investment reaped over 500% return.[213]

Tobacco

During the RJR Nabisco, Inc., hostile takeover fight in 1987, Buffett was quoted as telling John Gutfreund:[214]

I’ll tell you why I like the cigarette business. It costs a penny to make. Sell it for a dollar. It’s addictive. And there’s fantastic brand loyalty.

— Buffett, quoted in Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco

Speaking at Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s 1994 annual meeting, Buffett said investments in tobacco are:[215]

fraught with questions that relate to societal attitudes and those of the present administration. I would not like to have a significant percentage of my net worth invested in tobacco businesses. The economy of the business may be fine, but that doesn’t mean it has a bright future.

— Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting

Coal

In 2007, Buffett’s PacifiCorp, a subsidiary of his MidAmerican Energy Company, canceled six proposed coal-fired power plants. These included Utah’s Intermountain Power Project Unit 3, Jim Bridger Unit 5, and four proposed plants previously included in PacifiCorp’s Integrated Resource Plan. The cancellations came in the wake of pressure from regulators and citizen groups.[216]

Renewable energy

Native American tribes and salmon fishermen sought to win support from Buffett for a proposal to remove four hydroelectric dams from the Klamath River owned by PacifiCorp which is a Berkshire Hathaway company. David Sokol responded on Buffett’s behalf, stating that the FERC would decide the question.[217][218]

Expensing of stock options

He has been a strong proponent of stock option expensing on corporate income statements. At the 2004 annual meeting, he lambasted a bill before the United States Congress that would consider only some company-issued stock options compensation as an expense, likening the bill to one that was almost passed by the Indiana House of Representatives to change the value of Pi from 3.14159 to 3.2 through legislative fiat.[219]

When a company gives something of value to its employees in return for their services, it is clearly a compensation expense. And if expenses don’t belong in the earnings statement, where in the world do they belong?[220]

High technology

In May 2012, Buffett said he had avoided buying stock in high-technology companies such as Facebook and Google due to them being complex and difficult to understand on top of their concomitant complications from being hard to confidently estimate their future value. He also stated that initial public offering‘s (IPO) of new stock issues are almost always bad investments. Buffett has advised investors to look for companies that will have good value in ten years.[221]

Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies

In an interview with CNBC in January 2018, Buffett said the recent craze over Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies won’t end well, adding that “when it happens or how or anything else, I don’t know;” and later that year calling it, “rat poison squared.” But he also said he would not take a short position on bitcoin futures.[222]

COVID-19 pandemic

In a June 2021 interview with CNBC, Buffet said that the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has increased economic inequality and bemoaned that most people are unaware that “hundreds of thousands or millions” of small businesses have been negatively impacted. He also stated that the markets and the economy will likely be unpredictable well into the post-pandemic recovery period, even with the Biden administration and the United States Federal Reserve having a plan in place. He said the unpredictability and the effects of COVID-19 are far from over.[223]

Film and television

Aside from countless television appearances on various news programs, Buffett has appeared in numerous films and TV programs, both documentary, and fiction. Some film and television cameos he has made include Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010), The Office (U.S.), All My Children, and Entourage (2015).[224] He has been a guest 10 times on Charlie Rose, and was the subject of the HBO documentary feature Becoming Warren Buffett (2017) and the BBC production The World’s Greatest Money Maker (2009).

Bibliography

Buffett playing cards with Bill Gates at Borsheims during the 2018 shareholder’s weekend

Books about Buffett

In October 2008, USA Today reported at least 47 books were in print with Buffett’s name in the title. The article quoted the CEO of Borders Books, George Jones, as saying that the only other living persons named in as many book titles were U.S. presidents, world political figures and the Dalai Lama.[225] Buffett said that his own personal favorite is a collection of his essays called The Essays of Warren Buffett,[226] which he described as “a coherent rearrangement of ideas from my annual report letters”.[225]

Books or publications by Buffett:

  • The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America, Warren Buffett and Lawrence A. Cunningham, The Cunningham Group; revised edition (April 11, 2001). ISBN 978-0-9664461-1-1.
  • The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America, Second Edition, Warren E. Buffett and Lawrence A. Cunningham, The Cunningham Group; 2nd edition (April 14, 2008). ISBN 978-0-9664461-2-8.

Some best-selling, or otherwise notable, books about Buffett:

See also

References

  1. ^ Stempel, Jonathan (February 24, 2020). “Warren Buffett says ‘I’m a Democrat,’ and would have ‘no trouble’ voting for Bloomberg”. Reuters. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
  2. ^ “Warren Buffett Biography”. Biography.com (FYI/A&E Networks). Archived from the original on January 28, 2016. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  3. ^ “Bloomberg Billionaires Index: Warren Buffett”. Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg L.P. Archived from the original on March 7, 2023. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
  4. ^ “Charlie Munger”. Cnn.com. June 11, 2014. Archived from the original on February 2, 2019. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  5. ^ Clifford, Catherine (February 26, 2018). “Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett remembers meeting Charlie Munger”. Cnbc.com. Archived from the original on June 26, 2019. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  6. ^ Markels, Alex (July 29, 2007). “How to Make Money the Buffett Way”. U.S. News & World Report. Archived from the original on October 22, 2013.
  7. ^ Sullivan, Aline (December 20, 1997). “Buffett, the Sage of Omaha, Makes Value Strategy Seem Simple: Secrets of a High Plains Investor”. International Herald Tribune. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  8. ^ Gogoi, Pallavi (May 8, 2007). “What Warren Buffett might buy”. NBC News. Archived from the original on March 20, 2013. Retrieved May 9, 2007.
  9. ^ Buffett, Warren (June 16, 2010). “My philanthropic pledge”. CNN. Archived from the original on September 20, 2020. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  10. ^ Jump up to:a b “US billionaires pledge 50% of their wealth to charity”. BBC. August 4, 2010. Archived from the original on August 30, 2010. Retrieved September 6, 2010.
  11. ^ Blair, Elliot (January 29, 2004). “Nebraska family clashes over love, money and death”. USA Today. Archived from the original on August 30, 2010. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
  12. ^ “Warren Buffett’s High School Yearbook Totally Nailed What He Would Be When He Grew Up”. Business Insider. Archived from the original on August 30, 2017. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
  13. ^ Robert G. Hagstrom (May 13, 2010). The Warren Buffett Way. Wiley Publishers. p. 29. ISBN 978-0-470-89355-5. Archived from the original on February 9, 2024. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
  14. ^ Hagstrom, Robert (2001). The Essential Buffett: Timeless Principles for the New Economy. Wiley. p. 24.
  15. ^ Levere, Jane (January 30, 2017). “New HBO Documentary On Warren Buffett Uses Family Photos, Home Movies To Reveal His Life Story”. Forbes. Archived from the original on September 8, 2017. Retrieved July 7, 2017. A voracious reader his entire life, at age seven he read a book he borrowed from the library, One Thousand Ways to Make $1000, and, inspired by its lessons, began selling Coca-Cola, gum and newspapers.
  16. ^ “Buffett ‘becomes world’s richest'”. BBC. March 6, 2008. Archived from the original on March 9, 2008. Retrieved May 20, 2008.
  17. ^ Jump up to:a b c “Warren Buffett Timeline”. About Money. Archived from the original on July 4, 2004. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  18. ^ Cross, Mary (2013). 100 People Who Changed 20th-Century America, Vol. 1. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. p. 451. ISBN 978-1-61069-085-0.
  19. ^ “Doris Buffett works one-on-one to help with billionaire brother’s charity, May 27, 2014”. The Christian Science Monitor. May 27, 2014. Archived from the original on January 4, 2015. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
  20. ^ “Special Feature, April 29, 1999: Berkshire and Buffett”. Fool.com. Archived from the original on July 14, 2010. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
  21. ^ Robert P. Miles (2004). Warren Buffett wealth: principles and practical methods used by the world’s greatest investor. John Wiley and Sons. p. 26. ISBN 978-0-471-46511-9. Archived from the original on February 9, 2024. Retrieved December 16, 2017.
  22. ^ Jump up to:a b Cai, Charlie X.; Keasey, Kevin (2022). The Experts and the Evidence: A Practical Guide to Stock Investing. West Sussex, UK: John Wiley & Sons. p. 11. ISBN 978-1-119-84255-2.
  23. ^ Jump up to:a b c 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. “Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–”. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  24. ^ Gheen, Kate. “Alpha Sigma Phi comes back to Penn”. Thedp.com. Archived from the original on April 21, 2019. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  25. ^ “History”. Warrenbuffett.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2016. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  26. ^ Hagstrom 2005, p. 14 Warren Buffett is now the richest man in the world with $65 billion. GE Raises $15 billion; Buffett Gets Preferred Stake (Update3)
  27. ^ Heath, Jason (April 24, 2012). “What Warren Buffett’s cancer diagnosis can teach investors”. Financial Post. Archived from the original on July 9, 2013. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
  28. ^ Cabot Heritage Corporation (January 15, 2013). “Who is Warren Buffett?”. NASDAQ. Archived from the original on May 19, 2015. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
  29. ^ “GEICO’s Story From the Beginning | GEICO”. www.geico.com. Archived from the original on February 15, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  30. ^ Lowenstein, Roger (1996). Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist. Doubleday. p. 43. ISBN 0-385-48491-7.
  31. ^ “Lecture at the University of Florida School of Business – Transcript (PDF document)” (PDF). Intelligent Investor. October 15, 1998. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 11, 2010. Retrieved May 7, 2010.
  32. ^ “”Person to Person”: Warren Buffett”. CBS News. Archived from the original on November 20, 2013. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  33. ^ Schroeder, Alice (2008). The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life. Bantam Dell. p. 169. ISBN 978-0-553-80509-3.
  34. ^ Buffett, Warren. “Letter from Warren Buffett to Partners, 1960”.
  35. ^ “Buffett Partnership Letter Series – 1960 (Part 2)”. NASDAQ. November 6, 2012. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  36. ^ Lowenstein, Roger (1995). Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist (2008 Trade Paperback ed.). New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks. pp. 65–66. ISBN 9780804150606.
  37. ^ Schroeder, Alice (2008). The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life. Bantam Dell. p. 240. ISBN 978-0-553-80509-3.
  38. ^ Buffett’s Worst Trade. CNBC. October 18, 2010. Archived from the original on September 29, 2018. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
  39. ^ Graham Kenny (August 3, 2009). Diversification Strategy: How to Grow a Business by Diversifying Successfully. Kogan Page Publishers. p. 160. ISBN 978-0-7494-5833-1.
  40. ^ Kleinfield, N.R. “ABC is being sold for $3.5 billion; 1st network sale” Archived August 22, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. The New York Times, March 19, 1985.
  41. ^ “Capcities + ABC” Archived June 9, 2020, at the Wayback Machine. Broadcasting, March 25, 1985, pp. 31–35.
  42. ^ “Inaction Can be as Dangerous as Bad Action, Aly Gonenne, Class of 2004, Duke Leadership Development Initiative”. Mbaa.fuqua.duke.edu. Archived from the original on June 18, 2010. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
  43. ^ “Securities Trading Investigation”. C-SPAN. September 4, 1991. Archived from the original on June 23, 2020. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  44. ^ “Learn About the Life and Business of Billionaire, Warren Buffett”. The Balance. Archived from the original on March 4, 2017. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
  45. ^ CFP, Matthew Frankel (November 13, 2017). “8 Warren Buffett Deals That Won Big”. The Motley Fool. Archived from the original on September 5, 2019. Retrieved September 5, 2019.
  46. ^ Jump up to:a b “General Re Settlement in AIG Case Closes Difficult Chapter”. The Rational Walk. January 21, 2010. Archived from the original on July 23, 2014. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
  47. ^ Warren E. Buffett (February 21, 2003). “Berkshire’s Corporate Performance vs. the S&P 500” (PDF). Berkshire Hathaway. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 28, 2014. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
  48. ^ Diane Brady, Marcia Vickers, Mike McNamee (April 10, 2005). “AIG: What Went Wrong”. Bloomberg Businessweek. Bloomberg LP. Archived from the original on September 16, 2014. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
  49. ^ “AIG to Pay $800 Million to Settle Securities Fraud Charges by SEC; Over $1.6 billion to be Paid to Resolve Federal and New York State Actions”. Securities and Exchange Commission. February 9, 2006. Archived from the original on June 10, 2017. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
  50. ^ Loomis, Carol J. (June 25, 2006). “Warren Buffett gives away his fortune”. Fortune.
  51. ^ “HELP WANTED: Warren Buffett Replacement”. ABC News. Archived from the original on May 22, 2008. Retrieved May 20, 2008.
  52. ^ Crippen, Alex. “WSJ to Warren Buffett: “Time to Get a New Crystal Ball””. CNBC. Archived from the original on June 10, 2011. Retrieved May 20, 2008.
  53. ^ Buffett, Warren E. (October 16, 2008). “Buy American. I am”. The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 26, 2012. Retrieved December 25, 2012.
  54. ^ Dabrowski, Wojtek (February 7, 2008). “Buffett: Bank woes are “poetic justice””. Reuters. Archived from the original on February 14, 2008. Retrieved May 20, 2008.
  55. ^ “Even Buffett Can’t Escape Markets, Storms; Berkshire Profit Falls 77%”. Insurance Journal. November 9, 2008. Archived from the original on February 24, 2009. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
  56. ^ Press Release. “Berkshire Hathaway to Invest $5 billion in Goldman Sachs”. Goldman Sachs. Archived from the original on December 20, 2008. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
  57. ^ Jump up to:a b Stempel, Jonathan (November 24, 2008). “Buffett to disclose more on derivatives”. Reuters. Archived from the original on December 3, 2008. Retrieved November 27, 2008.
  58. ^ Fontanella, James (July 11, 2008). “ftalphaville.ft.com, Buffett helps Dow pay $19bn for R&H”. Financial Times. Archived from the original on March 13, 2009. Retrieved February 23, 2009.
  59. ^ “#1 Warren Buffett”. Forbes. March 5, 2008. Archived from the original on February 11, 2011. Retrieved May 20, 2008.
  60. ^ “Buffett overtakes Gates to top new Forbes list”. Reuters. October 10, 2008. Archived from the original on October 14, 2008. Retrieved October 10, 2008.
  61. ^ “The World’s Billionaires”. Forbes. March 5, 2008. Archived from the original on November 9, 2017. Retrieved May 20, 2008.
  62. ^ “#2 Warren Buffett – The World’s Billionaires 2009”. Forbes. February 13, 2009. Archived from the original on June 2, 2010. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
  63. ^ Clark, Andrew (October 1, 2008). “Warren Buffett to buy $3bn of General Electric preferred stock”. The Guardian. Archived from the original on September 15, 2016. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  64. ^ “Berkshire Hathaway unloads J&J and P&G”. The Financial Express. February 17, 2009. Archived from the original on October 15, 2009. Retrieved February 23, 2009.
  65. ^ Schroeder, Alice The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life ISBN 0-553-80509-6 Bantam Sept 2008
  66. ^ Josh Funk, “Buffett says nation will face higher unemployment” Archived June 22, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, AP on Seattle Times, March 9, 2009. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
  67. ^ “Buffett: The economy has ‘fallen off a cliff'”, MSN, March 9, 2009. Retrieved April 3, 2009.
  68. ^ Lionel Laurent (February 5, 2009). “Buffett Sinks Billions Into Swiss Re”. Forbes. Archived from the original on October 20, 2018. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
  69. ^ Jolly, David (February 5, 2009). “Swiss Re Gets $2.6 billion From Berkshire Hathaway”. The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 1, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  70. ^ Haig Simonian, Francesco Guerrera (February 5, 2009). “Swiss Re turns to Buffett for new funding”. Financial Times. Archived from the original on August 29, 2010. Retrieved March 17, 2009.
  71. ^ “Alice Schroeder on Buffett and BNI; Which Company Will Berkshire Hathaway Acquire Next?”. GuruFocus.com. Archived from the original on November 22, 2009. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
  72. ^ FTGlobal500.pdf June 2009, Financial Times
  73. ^ “Warren Buffett’s Multi-Billion Mistake with ConocoPhillips (COP)”. Gurufocus.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2009. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
  74. ^ “Buffett buying Burlington rail in his biggest deal”. Reuters. Archived from the original on June 23, 2019. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
  75. ^ “Berkshire Hathaway Inc. to Acquire Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation (BNSF) for $100 Per Share in Cash and Stock” (Press release). Business Wire. Archived from the original on June 23, 2019. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
  76. ^ “Credit rating agencies not to blame for crisis says Buffett”. Insideireland.ie. June 3, 2010. Archived from the original on August 2, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
  77. ^ Quick, Becky (March 20, 2011). “Berkshire Will Not Exercise Goldman Sachs Warrants Immediately”. CNBC. Archived from the original on October 15, 2012. Retrieved May 4, 2011.
  78. ^ Harper, Christine (March 18, 2011). “Goldman Sachs to Pay $5.65 billion to Redeem Buffett’s Stake”. Business Week. Archived from the original on April 24, 2011. Retrieved May 4, 2011.
  79. ^ Quick, Becky (March 20, 2011). “Where Will Warren Buffett Hide From Goldman Sachs?”. CNBC. Archived from the original on October 15, 2012. Retrieved May 4, 2011.
  80. ^ “Buffett sheds tech aversion with big IBM investment”. Reuters. November 14, 2011. Archived from the original on October 17, 2015. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
  81. ^ “Warren Buffett invests in Media General newspapers”. BBC News. May 17, 2012. Archived from the original on May 20, 2012. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
  82. ^ Rushe, Dominic (May 17, 2012). “Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway buys Media General newspaper group”. The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on September 22, 2013. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
  83. ^ Crippen, Alex (July 18, 2013). “Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway bets on Atlantic City”. CNBC News. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  84. ^ Buhayar, Noah (September 20, 2013). “Buffett Calls Federal Reserve History’s Greatest Hedge Fund”. Bloomberg. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  85. ^ “Warren Buffett’s firm just made the most money ever in a single quarter”. August 2, 2014. Archived from the original on August 17, 2014. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  86. ^ Stempel, Jonathan (August 20, 2014). “UPDATE 3-U.S. fines Berkshire over stock deal, Buffett admits mistake”. Reuters. Archived from the original on October 17, 2015. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  87. ^ Simani, Robert Faturechi, Ellis (November 9, 2023). “How Warren Buffett Privately Traded in Stocks That Berkshire Hathaway Was Buying and Selling”. ProPublica. Archived from the original on November 18, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  88. ^ Rosen, Phil (November 10, 2023). “Warren Buffett Reportedly Traded Millions of Dollars Worth of Stocks That Berkshire Hathaway Was Buying and Selling”. Business Insider. Archived from the original on January 26, 2024. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  89. ^ Pound, Jesse (November 16, 2023). “Charlie Munger says there isn’t the slightest chance Buffett traded own account to enrich himself”. CNBC. Archived from the original on December 7, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  90. ^ Lou Hoffman, The Hoffman Agency. “Startup lessons learned from Warren Buffett.” April 13, 2010. Retrieved, April 16, 2010.
  91. ^ How Inflation Swindles the Equity Investor, Warren Buffett, Fortune, May 1977
  92. ^ “Official Buffett Biography to Hit Shelves”. The New York Times. August 12, 2008. Archived from the original on July 19, 2009. Retrieved August 15, 2008.
  93. ^ Warren Buffett; Carol Loomis (November 22, 1999). “Mr. Buffett on the Stock Market”. Fortune. 140 (10). Archived from the original on November 27, 1999. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  94. ^ Jump up to:a b “Warren Buffett, ‘Oracle of Omaha’, criticizes Wall Street and praises immigrants”. Reuters via the Guardian. February 25, 2017. Archived from the original on March 1, 2017. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
  95. ^ Gelles, David (February 28, 2015). “Warren Buffett Rails Against Investment Bankers”. The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on April 26, 2022. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  96. ^ Bary, Andrew. “Alleghany Deal Shows How Much Warren Buffett Dislikes Investment Bankers”. www.barrons.com. Archived from the original on April 17, 2022. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  97. ^ Fox, Matthew (March 22, 2022). “Warren Buffett’s disdain for investment banking ‘money-shufflers’ leads to lower takeover price for Alleghany Corp. shareholders”. Markets Insider. Archived from the original on April 23, 2022. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  98. ^ “Berkshire Hathaway price for Alleghany shows Warren Buffett disdain for fees (NYSE:BRK.A) | Seeking Alpha”. seekingalpha.com. March 22, 2022. Archived from the original on April 26, 2022. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  99. ^ Yates, Chelsea (November 27, 2015). “The Billionaire and the Ukulele”. Hear Nebraska. Archived from the original on November 30, 2015. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
  100. ^ Schudel, Matt (July 30, 2004). “Susan T. Buffett, 72, Dies; Wife of Billionaire Investor”. The Washington Post. p. B06. Archived from the original on November 7, 2012. Retrieved July 13, 2009.
  101. ^ Callahan, David (February 4, 2014). “Who’s Who At The Secretive Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation”. Inside Philanthropy. Archived from the original on December 16, 2017. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
  102. ^ Bailey, Jeff; Dash, Eric (September 1, 2006). “How Does Warren Buffett Get Married? Frugally, It Turns Out”. The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 25, 2009. Retrieved May 20, 2008.
  103. ^ Brian Goodman (August 31, 2006). “Wedding Bells For Warren Buffett”. CBS News. Archived from the original on October 13, 2014. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
  104. ^ Lowenstein, Roger (2008). Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist. Random House. ISBN 978-0-8129-7927-5.
  105. ^ “Susan Buffett in Her Own Words: Conversations with Charlie Rose”. Bookworm Omaha. Archived from the original on December 23, 2007. Retrieved May 20, 2008. Also freely available at [1] Archived September 26, 2017, at the Wayback Machine.
  106. ^ The Rich Man’s Michael Moore Archived September 1, 2017, at the Wayback Machine The Wall Street Journal, Robert Frank. February 23, 2008
  107. ^ Goodman, Leah McGrath (December 2008). “The Billionaire’s Black Sheep”. Marie Claire. Archived from the original on May 20, 2010. Retrieved March 19, 2010.
  108. ^ Nichols, Michelle (February 21, 2008). “Documentary on wealth gap divides Buffett family”. Reuters. Archived from the original on May 20, 2010. Retrieved March 19, 2010.
  109. ^ Schroeder, Alice. (2008). The snowball : Warren Buffett and the business of life. New York: Bantam Books. ISBN 978-0-553-80509-3. OCLC 225852426. Archived from the original on January 20, 2010. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  110. ^ “Meet Nicole Buffett, the granddaughter of legendary investor Warren Buffett, who has made a living off of NFTs”. Fortune. May 28, 2022. Archived from the original on July 27, 2023. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  111. ^ Goodman, Leah McGrath (September 24, 2021). “Warren Buffett May Not Be Into Crypto, But His Granddaughter Is”. Institutional Investor. Archived from the original on October 23, 2023. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  112. ^ Smith, Rich (June 29, 2005). “Stupid CEO Tricks”. Motley Fool. Archived from the original on June 13, 2008. Retrieved May 20, 2008.
  113. ^ 2008 CEO Compensation for Warren E. Buffett, Equilar Archived April 14, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  114. ^ “Billionaire Houses”. Forbes. Archived from the original on October 17, 2016. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
  115. ^ Poppick, Susie (May 1, 2016). “This Is How Much It Costs to Live Next Door to Warren Buffett”. Money.com. Archived from the original on April 28, 2022. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  116. ^ “Warren Buffett”. Forbes. Archived from the original on May 28, 2008. Retrieved May 20, 2008.
  117. ^ Loudenback, Madeline Stone, Tanza. “For almost 2 years, no one wanted to buy Warren Buffett’s Southern California vacation home, but it finally sold for $7.5 million”. Business Insider. Archived from the original on June 12, 2022. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
  118. ^ Mohamed, Theron (December 30, 2022). “Warren Buffett nicknamed his private jet ‘The Indefensible’ – then renamed it ‘The Indispensable’ after realizing its value”. Business Insider. Archived from the original on January 1, 2024. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  119. ^ “Chairman’s Letter 1989”. Berkshire Hathaway. Archived from the original on June 8, 2008. Retrieved May 20, 2008.
  120. ^ Buffett, Warren E.; Cunningham, Lawrence A. (2015). The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America (4th ed.). The Cunningham Group & Carolina Academic Press. p. 65. ISBN 978-1611637588.
  121. ^ Owen, David (September 17, 2007). “Turning Tricks: The rise and fall of contract bridge”. The New Yorker. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved November 25, 2011.
  122. ^ Moore, Martha T. (December 19, 2005). “Billionaires bank on bridge to trump poker”. USA Today. Archived from the original on May 15, 2010. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
  123. ^ Blackstone, John (February 17, 2008). “Bringing Back Bridge”. CBS News. Archived from the original on May 26, 2008. Retrieved May 20, 2008.
  124. ^ Heath, Thomas (July 28, 2017). “Meet the woman who gives bridge tips to Warren Buffett and Bill Gates”. The Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 28, 2023. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  125. ^ Doreen MacMillan (October 5, 2012). “Bridge Scene: United States team secures the 2012 Warren Buffett Cup”. Collier Citizen. Scripps Media Inc. Archived from the original on September 11, 2014. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
  126. ^ “The Varsity Zone Talks Football with Warren Buffett”. YouTube. Archived from the original on October 27, 2020. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
  127. ^ Sherman, Mitch (November 7, 2009). “From the sidelines: Can some of these guys suit up?”. Omaha World-Herald.
  128. ^ “APS Member History”. search.amphilsoc.org. Archived from the original on June 9, 2021. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  129. ^ Warren Buffett, Martha Stewart, Gisele Bündchen, and Kosmos Featuring Carl Sagan Headline New Slate of Purpose-Driven Entertainment for Children. July 24, 2009. Archived from the original on October 5, 2015. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  130. ^ “CNBC TRANSCRIPT: Warren Buffett’s ‘Secret Millionaire’s Club’ Live Interview on Squawk Box”. CNBC. July 24, 2009. Archived from the original on September 1, 2017. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
  131. ^ Wired Archived July 24, 2013, at the Wayback Machine article Faces of the New Atheism: The Scribe published November 2006. Retrieved November 10, 2009.
  132. ^ “How Warren Buffett made his billions”. Rediff.com. December 26, 2006. Archived from the original on May 25, 2008. Retrieved May 20, 2008.
  133. ^ Taylor III, Alex (June 4, 2006). “Buffett backs GM – and buys a Caddy”. CNN. Archived from the original on September 29, 2008. Retrieved May 20, 2008.
  134. ^ Kim, Tae (May 5, 2018). “Warren Buffett: I was wrong on Google and Amazon, Jeff Bezos achieved a business ‘miracle'”. CNBC. Archived from the original on May 6, 2018. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
  135. ^ Piers Morgan (October 22, 2013). “Warren Buffett on cell phones, email, and material goods”. CNN. Archived from the original on October 7, 2014. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
  136. ^ Bursztynsky, Jessica (February 24, 2020). “Billionaire Apple investor Warren Buffett finally trades in his $20 flip phone for an iPhone 11”. CNBC. Archived from the original on February 27, 2020. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
  137. ^ “Chairman’s Letter—1993”. Berkshire Hathaway. Archived from the original on June 29, 2008. Retrieved May 20, 2008.
  138. ^ “How billionaire Warren Buffett became the face of Cherry Coke in China”. ABC News. April 5, 2017. Archived from the original on April 5, 2017. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
  139. ^ “Billionaire Warren Buffett becomes face of Cherry Coke in China”. The Guardian. Agence France-Presse. April 5, 2017. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on April 5, 2017. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
  140. ^ “Celebrities who are related to US presidents”. Insider.com. Archived from the original on June 6, 2023. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
  141. ^ Martin, Emmie (February 8, 2018). “Warren Buffett and Jimmy Buffett took a DNA test to see if they’re related”. CNBC. Archived from the original on May 5, 2023. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  142. ^ Barth, Chris (March 11, 2011). “Ten Teetotalling Moguls”. Forbes. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  143. ^ Jump up to:a b “Warren Buffett diagnosed with stage one prostate cancer”. BBC News. Archived from the original on January 5, 2016. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
  144. ^ Sam Ro (September 15, 2012). “Warren Buffett Completes Cancer Treatments”. Business Insider. Archived from the original on September 16, 2012. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
  145. ^ “The World’s Billionaires”. Forbes. March 5, 2008. Archived from the original on November 9, 2017. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
  146. ^ Boyle, Christina (October 1, 2009). “Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Christy Walton top 2009’s ‘Forbes 400: Richest Americans’ list”. Daily News. New York. Archived from the original on October 4, 2009. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
  147. ^ “Warren Buffett signs over $30.7B to Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation”. USA Today. June 26, 2006. Archived from the original on November 16, 2009. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
  148. ^ “The Forbes 400: The Richest People In America”. Forbes. Archived from the original on October 23, 2011. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
  149. ^ “Warren Buffett and Peter Lynch Voted Top Money Managers of the Century”. Business Wire. November 22, 1999. Archived from the original on December 9, 2007. Retrieved May 20, 2008.
  150. ^ Cramer, James J. (April 19, 2003). “Warren Buffett”. Time. Archived from the original on May 17, 2008. Retrieved May 20, 2008.
  151. ^ Julianna Goldman (February 15, 2011). “Obama Honors Buffett, George H.W. Bush With Medal of Freedom”. Bloomberg. Archived from the original on February 18, 2011. Retrieved February 15, 2011.
  152. ^ “The FP Top 100 Global Thinkers”. Foreign Policy. November 29, 2010. Archived from the original on December 3, 2010. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
  153. ^ “How Inflation Swindles the Equity Investor”, Warren E. Buffett, Fortune May 1977 #
  154. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: An Exclusive Hour with Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates. Charlie Rose. Retrieved May 20, 2008.
  155. ^ Loomis, Carol J. (June 25, 2006). “Warren Buffett gives away his fortune”. Fortune. Archived from the original on January 3, 2016. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
  156. ^ “Gates: Buffett gift may help cure worst diseases”. NBC News. June 26, 2006. Archived from the original on September 13, 2013. Retrieved May 20, 2008.
  157. ^ “The birth of philanthrocapitalism”. The Economist. February 23, 2006. Archived from the original on October 4, 2008. Retrieved February 23, 2009.
  158. ^ O’Brien, Timothy L.; Saul, Stephanie (June 26, 2006). “Buffett to Give Bulk of His Fortune to Gates Charity”. The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 20, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  159. ^ Yuki Noguchi (June 26, 2006). “Gates Foundation to Get Bulk of Buffett’s Fortune”. The Washington Post. p. A01. Archived from the original on December 9, 2016. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
  160. ^ Li, Yun (June 23, 2021). “Warren Buffett gives away another $4.1 billion, resigns as trustee at Gates Foundation”. CNBC. Archived from the original on June 23, 2021. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
  161. ^ Carol J. Loomis (June 25, 2006). “A conversation with Warren Buffett”. Fortune. Archived from the original on January 11, 2020. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  162. ^ “Most of Susan Buffett Estate to Go to Foundation”. The Foundation Center. August 11, 2004. Archived from the original on August 30, 2010. Retrieved May 20, 2008.
  163. ^ “America’s Most-Generous Donors, Rank: 1 Warren E. Buffett, Chronicle of Philanthropy”. Philanthropy.com. February 22, 2007. Archived from the original on February 13, 2010. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
  164. ^ Chapnick, Nate. “Warren Buffett”. Forbes. Archived from the original on June 4, 2008. Retrieved May 20, 2008.
  165. ^ “girls-inc”. eBay. Archived from the original on June 11, 2011. Retrieved May 20, 2008.
  166. ^ Lindsay Goldwert (July 1, 2007). “Lunch With Warren Buffett? $650,100, Charity Auction Winner Bids Big Money For Steak Lunch With Billionaire Buffett”. CBS News. Archived from the original on June 27, 2009. Retrieved February 23, 2009.
  167. ^ Zuill, Lilla (June 28, 2008). “uk.reuters.com, Warren Buffett lunch sells for record $2.11 mln”. Reuters. Archived from the original on January 12, 2009. Retrieved February 23, 2009.
  168. ^ “cnbc.com, Warren Buffett Charity Lunch Auction Ends with High Bid of $2,110,100”. CNBC. June 27, 2008. Archived from the original on December 5, 2008. Retrieved February 23, 2009.
  169. ^ Funk, Josh (June 6, 2010). “Buffett hopes lunch auction again draws big bids”. Associated Press. Archived from the original on June 8, 2010. Retrieved June 7, 2010.
  170. ^ “Cost to lunch with Warren Buffett: $3.5 million”. Yahoo! News. June 9, 2012. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  171. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: “Ralph Nader: Books, Quotes, Education, History, Accomplishments, Legacy – YouTube”. www.youtube.com. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  172. ^ Moss, Rosabeth (December 14, 2010). “Four Strategic Generosity Lessons”. Business Week. Archived from the original on February 25, 2011. Retrieved March 9, 2011.
  173. ^ “Buffett donates $3.4 billion to Gates’ and family charities”. Msn.com. Archived from the original on July 17, 2018. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  174. ^ “The World’s Billionaires 2018”. Forbes.com. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  175. ^ “Warren Buffett donates $2.8 billion … again”. Fortune.com. Archived from the original on April 15, 2019. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  176. ^ Candid. “Buffett Boosts Commitment to Children’s Family Foundations”. Philanthropy News Digest (PND). Archived from the original on April 21, 2019. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  177. ^ “Doris Buffett’s Learning by Giving Foundation: ‘It All Started at Davidson'”. Davidson.edu. Retrieved April 21, 2019.[permanent dead link]
  178. ^ “How Warren Buffett’s fortune is going directly to those in need”. PBS NewsHour. February 2, 2017. Archived from the original on April 21, 2019. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  179. ^ “Buffett gives more than $750M in Berkshire shares to charities”. www.foxbusiness.com. November 24, 2022. Archived from the original on December 1, 2022. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
  180. ^ Berger, Chloe (June 22, 2023). “Warren Buffett just gave away nearly $5 billion of his wealth again—he could have been the world’s richest man if that’s what he actually wanted”. Fortune. Archived from the original on June 23, 2023. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  181. ^ Li, Yun (June 22, 2023). “Warren Buffett’s charitable giving exceeds $50 billion, more than his entire net worth in 2006”. CNBC. Archived from the original on June 23, 2023. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  182. ^ Michael Luo and Christopher Drew (July 3, 2008). “Obama Picks Up Fund-Raising Pace”. The Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 1, 2013. Retrieved September 24, 2008.
  183. ^ “”Squawk Box” Transcript: Becky Quick Sits Down with Billionaire Investor Warren Buffett”. CNBC. May 5, 2008. Archived from the original on May 13, 2008. Retrieved September 12, 2008.
  184. ^ “Transcript of second McCain, Obama debate”. CNN. October 10, 2008. Archived from the original on October 9, 2008. Retrieved October 10, 2008.
  185. ^ “Obama appoints Buffett as economic adviser”. Reuters. November 7, 2008. Archived from the original on July 24, 2013.
  186. ^ USA Today: Schwarzenegger taps Buffett as finance advisor Archived September 10, 2012, at the Wayback Machine August 14, 2003
  187. ^ Warren Buffett Endorses Hillary Clinton and Calls for Higher Taxes on Wealthy Archived May 17, 2017, at the Wayback Machine December 16, 2015
  188. ^ Haskell, John; Hansler, Jennifer (August 1, 2016). “Warren Buffett Challenges Trump to Show Tax Returns, Says He’s ‘Afraid'”. ABC News. Archived from the original on August 1, 2016. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
  189. ^ “Donald Trump says general election may be ‘rigged'”. Los Angeles Times. August 1, 2016. Archived from the original on August 2, 2016. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
  190. ^ “Transcript of the Second Debate”. The New York Times. October 10, 2016. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on October 11, 2016. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  191. ^ Jump up to:a b c “Buffett Just Released His Own Tax Data to Hammer Trump”. Archived from the original on October 11, 2016. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  192. ^ “Warren Buffett: Will judge Trump by results but ‘unlikely’ he’ll vote for him in 4 years”. USA TODAY. Archived from the original on April 9, 2019. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  193. ^ Belvedere, Matthew J. (August 30, 2017). “Warren Buffett: Here’s why I haven’t been criticizing Donald Trump”. Cnbc.com. Archived from the original on April 10, 2019. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  194. ^ Jump up to:a b McCarthy, Ryan (March 3, 2010). “Warren Buffett On CNBC: Health Care Is Like An ‘Economic Tape Worm’ (WATCH)”. HuffPost. AP and CNBC. Archived from the original on October 22, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2011. 6 minutes in.
  195. ^ McCarthy, Ryan (March 3, 2010). “Warren Buffett On CNBC: Health Care Is Like An ‘Economic Tape Worm’ (WATCH)”. HuffPost. AP and CNBC. Archived from the original on October 22, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2011. 7 minutes in.
  196. ^ McCarthy, Ryan (March 3, 2010). “Warren Buffett On CNBC: Health Care Is Like An ‘Economic Tape Worm’ (WATCH)”. HuffPost. AP and CNBC. Archived from the original on October 22, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2011. 4 minutes in.
  197. ^ Jump up to:a b McCarthy, Ryan (March 3, 2010). “Warren Buffett On CNBC: Health Care Is Like An ‘Economic Tape Worm’ (WATCH)”. HuffPost. AP and CNBC. Archived from the original on October 22, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2011. 9 to 10 minutes in.
  198. ^ Atul Gawande (June 1, 2009). “The Cost Conundrum – What a Texas town can teach us about health care”. The New Yorker. Archived from the original on June 10, 2011. Retrieved June 29, 2011.
  199. ^ McCarthy, Ryan (March 3, 2010). “Warren Buffett On CNBC: Health Care Is Like An ‘Economic Tape Worm’ (WATCH)”. HuffPost. AP and CNBC. Archived from the original on October 22, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2011. 11 minutes in.
  200. ^ Angeles, John Harlow. “Billionaire club in bid to curb overpopulation”. Archived from the original on September 22, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  201. ^ Frank, Robert (May 26, 2009). “Billionaires Try to Shrink World’s Population, Report Says”. The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on August 17, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  202. ^ Martin, Nina (July 14, 2016). “How One Abortion Research Megadonor Forced the Supreme Court’s Hand”. Archived from the original on August 7, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  203. ^ “Warren Buffett”. Forbes: 24, 42–3. November 26, 2007.
  204. ^ Stein, Ben (November 26, 2006). “In Class Warfare, Guess Which Class Is Winning”. The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 3, 2017. Retrieved October 28, 2020. It turned out that Mr. Buffett, with immense income from dividends and capital gains, paid far, far less as a fraction of his income than the secretaries or the clerks or anyone else in his office. Further, in conversation it came up that Mr. Buffett doesn’t use any tax planning at all. He just pays as the Internal Revenue Code requires. “How can this be fair?” he asked of how little he pays relative to his employees. “How can this be right?” Even though I agreed with him, I warned that whenever someone tried to raise the issue, he or she was accused of fomenting class warfare. “There’s class warfare, all right,” Mr. Buffett said, “but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning.”
  205. ^ Zweifel, Dave (October 6, 2010). “Plain Talk: There’s class war, and rich are winning”. The Cap Times. Capital Newspapers Inc. Archived from the original on October 9, 2010. Retrieved October 28, 2020. There are some studies that have estimated that the tax breaks and services that benefit the wealthy add up to $400 billion a year, compared to the $116 billion spent on programs for the poor. Class warfare? One of the richest Americans, Warren Buffett, replies to that notion: “There’s class warfare, but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning.”
  206. ^ Pramuk, Jacob (October 10, 2016). “Warren Buffett fires back at Donald Trump’s comments about his taxes”. CNBC. Archived from the original on September 1, 2017. Retrieved October 28, 2020. In Sunday night’s presidential debate in St. Louis, Trump claimed that Buffett took a “massive deduction” while defending his claimed $916 million loss in 1995 that allowed him to avoid federal income tax in at least some years. Buffett, a supporter of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, said Monday that Trump “has not seen my income tax returns.” “I have paid federal income tax every year since 1944, when I was 13. (Though, being a slow starter, I owed only $7 in tax that year.) I have copies of all 72 of my returns and none uses a carryforward,” Buffett said in a statement.
  207. ^ “Rich Americans back inheritance tax”. BBC News. BBC. February 14, 2001. Archived from the original on February 27, 2008. Retrieved October 28, 2020. A group of the United States’ most wealthy citizens have urged Congress to reject a plan by the new Bush administration to phase out taxes on estates and gifts by 2009. ~. Mr Buffett, who himself did not sign the petition because he thought it did not go far enough, said that repealing the estate tax would be a “terrible mistake”. It was like “choosing the 2020 Olympic team by picking the eldest sons of the gold-medal winners in the 2000 Olympics”. Removing the tax would lead to the creation of an “aristocracy of wealth” instead of a meritocracy, he added.
  208. ^ Jim Snyder (November 15, 2007). “Buffett tells Senate Finance panel ‘dynastic’ wealth on the rise in U.S.” The Hill. Archived from the original on November 20, 2007.
  209. ^ Berlau, John (August 23, 2004). “Buffetted. The Sage of Omaha loves the estate tax – as well he might”. National Review. Archived from the original on February 26, 2021. Retrieved April 3, 2016. Yet the parallel question is never asked: Would these tycoons benefit from the more interventionist government policies advocated by Kerry and the Democrats? A look at Buffett’s holdings shows that in at least one case, that of the estate tax, the answer is a strong yes.
  210. ^ Ackman, Dan (October 11, 2004). “America, The Casino Nation”. Forbes. Archived from the original on April 13, 2008. Retrieved May 20, 2008.
  211. ^ Buffett, Warren (May 1977). “How Inflation Swindles the Equity Investor”. Fortune.
  212. ^ “Shareholder Proposal Regarding Berkshire’s Investment In PetroChina” (PDF). Berkshire Hathaway. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 28, 2008. Retrieved May 20, 2008.
  213. ^ “Warren Buffett’s 500% Return from BYD: The Show Just Begun?”. ChinaStakes. Archived from the original on September 6, 2009. Retrieved September 16, 2009.
  214. ^ Burrough, Bryan; Helyar, John (1990). Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco. New York: Harper & Row. ISBN 0-06-016172-8.
  215. ^ Jenell Wallace (April 25, 1994). “Warren Buffett Cools on His Attraction to Tobacco Business“. Legacy Tobacco Documents Library, University of California San Diego Library. Bloomberg. Archived from the original on August 30, 2010. Retrieved March 17, 2009.
  216. ^ “Utah Petition Encouraging Energy Diversification” (PDF). Public Service Commission of Utah. July 28, 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 9, 2013.
  217. ^ Josh Funk (May 3, 2008). “Buffett again rebuffs advocates who want Klamath dams out”. USA Today. Archived from the original on October 18, 2011. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
  218. ^ Tucker, S. Craig (May 1, 2009). “Klamath Dam Removal Advocates Call on Buffett’s Company To Close the Deal, Remove Klamath Dams”. California Sportfishing Protection Alliance. Karuk Tribe. Archived from the original on December 1, 2020. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  219. ^ “Warren Buffett, Fuzzy Math And Stock Options “. The Washington Post. July 6, 2004. p. A19. Archived from the original on September 6, 2008. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
  220. ^ Buffett, Warren E. (July 24, 2002). “Warren E. Buffett, Who Really Cooks the Books?“. The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 21, 2008. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
  221. ^ “Buffett on Facebook and Google: hard to estimate future value”. Chicago Sun-Times. Associated Press. May 7, 2012. Archived from the original on February 1, 2013. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
  222. ^ “Buffett on cryptocurrencies: ‘I can say almost with certainty that they will come to a bad ending'”. CNBC. January 10, 2018. Archived from the original on October 20, 2018. Retrieved January 11, 2012.
  223. ^ Li, Yun (June 29, 2021). “Warren Buffett says the pandemic has had an ‘extremely uneven’ impact and is not yet over”. CNBC. Archived from the original on June 30, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  224. ^ “Warren Buffett would like to clarify something about his ‘Entourage’ cameo”. finance.yahoo.com. April 21, 2016. Archived from the original on January 28, 2021. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  225. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f Del Jones, “Book titles like to play the Warren Buffett name game,” Archived October 18, 2011, at the Wayback Machine USA Today, October 22, 2008.
  226. ^ Buffett, Warren; Cunningham, Lawrence (2008). The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America, Second Edition. The Cunningham Group. ISBN 978-0-9664461-2-8.
  227. ^ Pysh, Preston (September 15, 2011). Warren Buffett’s Three Favorite Books: A guide to the Intelligent Investor, Security Analysis, and the Wealth of Nations. Pylon Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0-98296-762-1.
  228. ^ Hagstrom, Robert G. (2005). The Warren Buffett Way. Miller, Bill R.; Fisher, Ken. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley. ISBN 0-471-74367-4.
  229. ^ Schroeder, Alice (2008). The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life. Bantam Dell Pub Group 2008. ISBN 978-0-553-80509-3.
  230. ^ Janet Maslin, “Books of The Times: The Richest Man and How He Grew (and Grew His Company, Too),” Archived February 19, 2017, at the Wayback Machine The New York Times, September 28, 2008.
  231. ^ Buffett, Mary; Clark, David (June 8, 1999). Buffettology: The Previously Unexplained Techniques That Have Made Warren Buffett The World’s Most Famous Investor. Scribner. ISBN 978-0-684-84821-1.
  232. ^ Lowe, Janet (August 31, 2007). Warren Buffett Speaks: Wit and Wisdom from the World’s Greatest Investor. Wiley. ISBN 978-0-470-15262-1.
  233. ^ Train, John (1987). The midas touch: the strategies that have made Warren Buffett America’s pre-eminent investor. New York: Harper & Row. ISBN 978-0-06-015643-5.
  234. ^ Kilpatrick, Andrew (2008). Of Permanent Value: The Story of Warren Buffett/2008 Cosmic Edition/2 volumes. Andy Kilpatrick Publishing Empire (AKPE). ISBN 978-1-57864-455-1.
  235. ^ Reese, John P.; Jack Forehand (2009). The Guru Investor: How to Beat the Market Using History’s Best Investment Strategies. Wiley. ISBN 978-0-470-37709-3.

Further reading

  • Schwartz, Mattathias (January 2010). “The Church of Warren Buffett”. Harper’s. Vol. 320, no. 1916. pp. 27–35. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  • Rojas, Claudio R. (2014). “An Indeterminate Theory of Canadian Corporate Law”. University of British Columbia Law Review. 47 (1): 59–128 (“The author’s perspective on Berkshire Hathaway’s investment philosophy was informed by discussions with Warren Buffett in Omaha, Nebraska”: pp. 59, 122–124). SSRN 2391775.

Wikiquote has quotations related to Warren Buffett.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Warren Buffett.

Honorary titles
Preceded byIngvar KampradWorld’s richest person
?–1995		Succeeded byBill Gates
Preceded byBill GatesWorld’s richest person
2008–2009
showvteGraham Holdings
showvteBerkshire Hathaway
showvteBuffett family
showvteWealthiest people in the United States by state
showAuthority control databases 

Categories: 

Posted in New Essays permalink

About joelsnell99

Who's Who in all U.S and U.K. Honoraries (Marquis) Numerous publications in over 80 venues DANA SPIRIT AWARD/2009 Oxford Roundtable, Editor of FOCUS, a student Social Science Journal Author Snell Life Cycle Lonliness Curve Professor Emeritus - Kirkwood College Omicron Delta Kappa Grants Online Editor for Psychology and Education.com Research Fellow - Arlington Institute Outstanding Teacher at Kirkwood College Membership in numerous editorial boards or a reviewer of manuscripts Associate Editor - Psychology and Education Co-Author of Snell-Green Professor Index Author of Snell Educator Effectiveness Index Contributer to FutureEdition.com Co-Author of Snell-Allen Medical Rank Index Fellow in Kennedy Foundation Co-Author of Snell-Allen Subjective Assessment Sex Role Index Honors >>> Positions and Courses Taught >>> joelsnell@hotmail.com http://www.socialvibes.net Research Council, Advisory Board

Comments are closed.

↑