Warren Buffett

Warren Buffett (born August 30, 1930, Omaha, Nebraska) is an American businessman and philanthropist, widely considered the most successful investor of the 20th and early 21st centuries, having defied prevailing investment trends to amass a personal fortune of more than $100 billion.

Early life and education

Known as the “Oracle of Omaha,” Buffett was the son of U.S. Rep. Howard Homan Buffett from Nebraska. After graduating from the University of Nebraska (B.S., 1950), he studied with Benjamin Graham at the Columbia University School of Business (M.S., 1951).

Taking control of Berkshire Hathaway

In 1956 Buffett returned to Omaha, and in 1965 took majority control of the textile manufacturer Berkshire Hathaway Inc., turning it into his primary investment vehicle.

From the 1960s through the ’90s, the major stock averages rose by roughly 11% annually, but Berkshire Hathaway’s publicly traded shares gained about 28% a year. Though Buffett’s success with Berkshire Hathaway made him one of the world’s wealthiest men, he eschewed lavish spending and criticized governmental policies and taxation that favored the rich over the middle or lower classes.

In May 2025, Buffett announced that Berkshire Vice Chairman Greg Abel would succeed him as CEO by year’s end, though he planned to remain involved in some capacity. The company’s board of directors had previously named Abel as his successor in 2021.

Philanthropy and the Giving Pledge

In June 2006 Buffett announced that he planned to donate more than 80% of his wealth to charitable foundations; in 2020 he raised that amount to 99%.

The main recipient was the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation—created by Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his then wife, Melinda—which focused on issues of world health and education; Bill and Buffett had maintained a close friendship since the early 1990s.

Other organizations receiving donations included those run by Buffett’s three children and the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, named for his late wife, which focused on women’s reproductive rights and funded college scholarship programs.

In 2010, Buffett and the Gateses created the Giving Pledge, an invitation to other wealthy individuals to donate the majority of their fortune to charities.

Investments during the financial crisis

During the financial crisis of 2007–08, Buffett made a number of deals that, though questioned at the time, proved highly profitable.

In September 2008, he invested $5 billion in the U.S.-based bank holding company Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS), and the following month Berkshire Hathaway purchased $3 billion in General Electric Company (GE) preferred stock.

In November 2009, Buffett announced that Berkshire was buying Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation for about $26 billion; the investment group already owned 23% of the railroad.

Berkshire Hathaway also had significant shareholdings in companies it didn’t control, including Coca-Cola (KO) and Apple (AAPL).

Recognition and legacy

In 2011, Buffett was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Often praised for his clarity of thought and plainspoken wisdom, Buffett became a cult figure in the investing world. His annual letters to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders were widely read for their insights into not only financial markets but also leadership, risk, and ethics. Despite amassing extraordinary wealth, he was known for his modest lifestyle, living in the same Omaha home he bought in 1958 and famously enjoying simple pleasures like Coca-Cola and fast food.

He also stood out for his long-term investment philosophy, often summarized by his preference for buying “wonderful companies at fair prices” and holding them indefinitely. That approach contrasted with the short-term focus of many institutional investors and influenced generations of portfolio managers and individual investors.

Buffett’s legacy extended beyond financial performance. He helped popularize the idea that extreme wealth carries a moral obligation to benefit society—a view he embodied through his philanthropy and the Giving Pledge. Even as he began stepping back from daily operations, his values and philosophy remained deeply embedded in Berkshire Hathaway’s culture.