Who is Warren Buffett? Some details about the legendary investor's portrait
Warren Buffett is known as a model of the most successful investor of the 20th century. As of May 7, 2024, his assets are approximately 133.5 billion USD (according to Forbes). The following article will introduce to you the portrait of this legendary billionaire.
Who is Warren Buffett?
Warren Buffett is the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Corporation. His name is ranked 6th on the ranking of the world's richest people (According to Forbes in May 2024).
Brief biography of Warren Buffett
His real name is Warren Edward Buffett, born on August 30, 1930 in his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska, USA. He comes from an intellectual family whose father is US Congressman - Howard Homan Buffett.
He showed his business talent since he was 5 years old, with his first job selling candy and soft drinks to make money. At the age of 10, his father allowed him to work at a stock exchange, where he monitored and recorded stock prices. At the age of 11, he bought Cities Service Preferred shares, this was also the first time Warren Buffett participated in stock trading.
Warren attended the University of Nebraska. Then went on to earn a Master's degree in Economics from Columbia Business School. Here, he met his idol and teacher, Benjamin Graham. Benjamin Graham's investment philosophy has deeply influenced Warren Buffett's investment method.
Field of business activities
Warren works mainly in the field of investment and finance. He heads Berkshire Hathaway - A multi-industry corporation with diverse activities such as:
Insurance
Invest
Manufacturing and industry
Services and retail
advertising
Energy and infrastructure
Warren Buffett's career journey
Career path
After graduating with honors from Columbia Business School in 1948, he worked for his father at Buffett-Falk & Co. In 1954, he moved to the company of his mentor Benjamin Graham, where he helped him develop a value investing approach.
In 1956, he returned to Omaha to start a business with a capital of $140,000. From 1962 - 1965, he bought and held a large number of shares in Berkshire Hathaway - a textile company that was in trouble at that time. After that, Warren developed this company into a multi-industry corporation associated with his name.
In 1988, he made a famous deal by buying shares of Coca Cola worth 1.02 billion USD. By 2008, the name Warren Buffett ranked first on Forbes' ranking of the world's richest people, with an estimated total assets of about 62 billion USD.
After the COVID-19 pandemic, Warren Buffett's fortune has had an incredible recovery. From $67.5 billion in 2020, his total assets have nearly doubled, reaching about $133.5 billion in 2024 (according to Forbes).
Outstanding achievements
In 1999, he was honored as one of the best financial managers of the 20th century.
In 2007, he was honored by Time magazine in the list of "100 most influential people in the world".
From 2008 until now, he has always been on the list of the richest people on the planet.
In 2011, he was awarded the Medal of Freedom by US President Barack Obama.
Asset
There is an interesting fact that 99% of his assets were earned after the age of 50. According to Forbes statistics, billionaire Warren Buffett's assets over the years are as follows:
In addition to a successful investment career, investor Warren also has outstanding philanthropic activities, having pledged to donate 90% of his assets to charitable organizations, with a total donation from 2006 to Now it is 50 billion USD.
He also organized a lunch auction with him, attracting investors to participate and raising more than 53 million USD, all of which was transferred to the Glide charity fund.
The investment method of the "Sage of Omaha"
Warren Buffett's investment method is extremely simple. He only invests in companies with easy-to-understand, effective business models and in the field he knows.
Warren prioritizes investing in companies with high intrinsic value, undervalued stocks, and good and trustworthy management. He pursues a long-term strategy, emphasizing patience and discipline, especially avoiding debt to reduce risk.
The “Oracle of Omaha” has publicly expressed skepticism towards cryptocurrencies. He considers cryptocurrency to have no real intrinsic value and it is not a sound investment.
But by 2022, it seemed that Warren's perspective had changed when he invested in Nubank - A bank that has developed its own digital currency called Nucoin and in Nubank's investment portfolio there is investment in Bitcoin.
Warren Buffett's lessons for investors
As a successful investor, Buffett's profound and philosophical sayings become lessons for us to ponder:
If you buy things you don't need, very soon you will have to sell things you need.
If you don't find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die.
I try to invest in businesses that are doing well enough that even an idiot could run them and still make a profit.
Only buy things that you would happily own if the market closed for 10 years.
Warren Buffett has become a symbol of patience, discipline and intelligence in investing. He is also respected for using most of his assets for charitable purposes, thereby contributing to positive changes in society.