Oracle of Omaha

Warren Buffet, known as the "Oracle of Omaha," is an investment master and one of the richest and respected businessmen in the world.

Who is Warren Buffet?

Warren Buffett showed a passion for business at a young age. He formed Buffett Partnership Ltd. in 1956 and assumed control of Berkshire Hathaway by 1965. He oversaw the growth of a conglomerate with holdings in the media, energy, insurance, food, and beverage industries. Buffett became one of the world's richest men and a famous philanthropist.

Early Life

Warren Edward Buffett was born on August 30, 1930, in Omaha, Nebraska. Howard Buffett, Warren Buffet's father, was a stockbroker and served as a U.S. congressman. His mother, Leila Stahl Buffett, was a homemaker. Buffett was the second of three children and the only boy. He showed a skill for financial and business matters when he was a child. People who have met him said that he was a mathematical genius when he was young. He could add large columns of numbers in his head, a talent he showed in his later years.

Buffet often visited his father's stock brokerage shop when he was a child, and he used to write the stock prices on the blackboard in his father's office. He made his first investment at 11 years old. He bought three shares of Cities Service Preferred at $38 per share. The stock dropped to $27, but Buffett held it until $40. He sold the shares at a small profit but regretted the decision because Cities Service shot up to nearly $200 a share. He used this experience as an early lesson in patience in investing.

First Entrepreneurial Venture

Buffett's first business venture was as a paperboy and selling a tip sheet for horse racing when he was 13. He also filed his first tax return that same year. He claimed his bike as a $35 tax deduction. In 1942 Buffett's father was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. His family moved to Fredericksburg, Virginia, to stay closer to the congressman's new post. During his Highschool years, he and a friend purchased a used pinball machine for $25. They installed it in a barbershop, and a few months later, they used the profits to buy other machines. Buffett owned machines in 3 different locations before selling the business for $1200.

Education

Buffett studied at the University of Pennsylvania for 2 years at the age of 16 to learn business. He moved and finished his degree at the age of 20 at the University of Nebraska. With a profit of $10,000 from his childhood businesses. He then received his master's degree in 1951 at Columbia University. He studied under economist Benjamin Graham and advanced his education at the New York Institute of Finance. The Intelligent Investor, written by Graham in 1949, influenced Buffett. He sold securities for Buffett-Falk & Company for three years before working for his mentor as an analyst at Graham-Newman Corp for 2 years.