Warren Edward Buffett (born August 30, 1930, in Omaha, Nebraska) is an American investor, businessman and philanthropist. He is
regarded as one of the world's greatest investors and is the largest shareholder and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. With an
estimated net worth of around US$62 billion, he was ranked by Forbes as the richest person in the world as of February 11, 2008.
Often called the "Oracle of Omaha," Buffett is noted for his adherence to the value investing philosophy and for his personal
frugality despite his immense wealth. His 2006 annual salary was about $100,000, which is small compared to senior executive
remuneration in other comparable companies. When he spent $9.7 million of Berkshire's funds on a business jet in 1989, he
jokingly named it "The Indefensible" because of his past criticisms of such purchases by other CEOs. He lives in the same
house in the central Dundee neighborhood of Omaha that he bought in 1958 for $31,500, today valued at around $700,000.
Buffett is also a noted philanthropist. In 2006, he announced a plan to give away his fortune to charity, with 83% of it
going to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In 2007, he was listed among Time's 100 Most Influential People in The
World. He also serves as a member of the board of trustees at Grinnell College.
Mr. Buffett married Susan Thompson in 1952. They had three children, Susie, Howard, and Peter. The couple began living separately in 1977,
though they remained married until her death in July 2004. His daughter Susie lives in Omaha and does charitable work through the Susan A.
Buffett Foundation and is a national board member of Girls, Inc.
In 2006, on his 76th birthday, he married his never-before-married longtime-companion, Astrid Menks, who was age 60 and had lived with
him since his wife's departure in 1977 to San Francisco. Interestingly, it was Susan Buffett who arranged for the two to meet before
she left Omaha to pursue her singing career. All three were close, and holiday cards to friends were signed "Warren, Susie and Astrid".
Susan Buffett 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.
He remains an avid player of the card game bridge, and has said that he spends 12 hours a week playing the game. He often plays
with Bill Gates and Paul Allen.
In 2006, he sponsored a bridge match for the Buffett Cup. In this event, modeled on the Ryder Cup in golf (and held immediately before
it and in the same city), a team of twelve bridge players from the United States took on twelve Europeans.
In 2006, he auctioned his 2001 Lincoln Town Car on eBay to raise money for Girls Inc.
Warren Buffett is currently working with Christopher Webber on an animated series with DiC Entertainment chief Andy Heyward.
According to information presented by Buffett at the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting on May 6, 2006, the series will feature
Buffett and Munger in roles and the series will teach children healthy financial habits for life. Cartoon drawings of Buffett and
Munger were displayed throughout the events during the weekend and the special movie before the meeting began was in animation form by Heyward.
In December 2006 it was reported that Mr. Buffett does not carry a cell phone, does not have a computer at his desk, and drives his own car,
a Cadillac DTS.
Buffett's DNA report revealed that his paternal ancestors hail from northern Scandinavia, while his mother's side most likely has roots
in Iberia or Estonia.
Philanthropy:
In June 2006, Buffett gave approximately 10 million Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
(worth approximately USD 30.7 billion as of June 23 2006) making it the largest charitable donation in history. The foundation
will receive 5% of the total donation on an annualized basis each July, beginning in 2006. Buffett will also join the board of
directors of the Gates Foundation, although he does not plan to be actively involved in the foundation's investments.
He also announced plans to contribute additional Berkshire stock valued at approximately $6.7 billion to the Susan Thompson Buffett
Foundation and to other foundations headed by his three children. This is a significant shift from previous statements Buffett has made,
having stated that most of his fortune would pass to his Buffett Foundation. The bulk of the estate of his wife, valued at $2.6 billion,
went to that foundation when she died in 2004.
His children will not inherit a significant proportion of his wealth. These actions are consistent with statements he has made in the past
indicating his opposition to the transfer of great fortunes from one generation to the next. Buffett 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."
The following quotation from 1988, respectively, highlights Warren Buffett's thoughts on his wealth and why he long planned to reallocate it:
"I don't have a problem with guilt about money. The way I see it is that my money represents an enormous number of claim checks on society.
It's like I have these little pieces of paper that I can turn into consumption. If I wanted to, I could hire 10,000 people to do nothing but
paint my picture every day for the rest of my life. And the GNP would go up. But the utility of the product would be zilch, and I would be keeping
those 10,000 people from doing AIDS research, or teaching, or nursing. I don't do that though. I don't use very many of those claim checks. There's
nothing material I want very much. And I'm going to give virtually all of those claim checks to charity when my wife and I die. (Lowe 1997:165–166)
On June 27, 2008, Zhao Danyang, a general manager at Pure Heart China Growth Investment Fund, won the 2008 5-day online "Power Lunch with Warren
Buffett" charity auction on eBay with high bid of $ 2,110,100. Zhao had the right to dine with 76-year-old Buffett, at New York's Smith & Wollensky
Steakhouse, may invite up to 7 companions for the private lunch and can ask Buffett anything at all, except what he's buying or selling. Auction
proceeds benefit the San Francisco Glide Foundation. In 2007 Mohnish Pabrai dined with Buffett.
Buffett also helped Dow Chemical to help pay for its $ 18.8bn takeover of Rohm & Haas. He thus became the single largest shareholder in the
enlarged group with his Berkshire Hathaway, which provided $ 3bn, underlining his instrumental role during the current crisis in debt and equity markets.
Top 1-25 Billionaires,
25-50 Top Billionaires,
Warren Buffett,
Carlos Slim Helu & family,
William Gates III
References:
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- How Does Warren Buffett Get Married? Frugally, It Turns Out". The New York Times (2006-09-01). Retrieved on 2008-05-20.
- The Greatest Investors: Warren Buffett". Investopedia.com. Retrieved on 2008-03-06.
- The World's Billionaires", Forbes (2008-03-05). Retrieved on 2008-03-05.
- Kroll, Luisa (2008-03-05). "The World's Billionaires", Forbes. Retrieved on 2008-03-05.
- Markels, Alex (2007-07-29). "How to Make Money the Buffett Way". U.S. News & World Report.
- Gogoi, Pallavi (2007-05-08). "What Warren Buffett might buy", MSNBC. Retrieved on 2007-05-09.
- Smith, Rich (2005-06-29). "Stupid CEO Tricks", Motley Fool. Retrieved on 2008-05-20.
- Chairman's Letter 1989". Berkshire Hathaway. Retrieved on 2008-05-20.
- Warren Buffett". Forbes. Retrieved on 2008-05-20.
- Loomis, Carol J. (2006-06-25). "Warren Buffett gives away his fortune". Fortune. Retrieved on 2008-05-20.
- Jramer, James J.. "Warren Buffett". Time. Retrieved on 2008-05-20.
- Warren E. Buffett 1968; Life Trustee 1987". Grinnell College. Retrieved on 2008-05-20.
- Warren Buffett and the Interpretation of Financial Statements" by Mary Buffett and David Clark
- The Tao of Warren Buffett" by Mary Buffett and David Clark
- The New Buffettology, by Mary Buffett and David Clark (ISBN 0-684-87174-2).
- The Buffettology Work Book" by Mary Buffett and David Clark
- Buffettology" by Mary Buffett and David Clark
- Hagstrom, Robert G. (2005), The Warren Buffett Way, John Wiley & Sons
- Wikipedia.org
