Warren Buffett

Buffett married Susan Thompson in 1952, and they had three children, Susan Alice, Howard Graham, and Peter Andrew. The couple began living separately in 1977 but remained married until Susan's death in 2004. Buffett married Astrid Menks in 2006 after she had been his longtime companion.

Buffett has lived in the Omaha house he purchased in 1958. He is an avid bridge player, has played the ukulele for decades, follows Nebraska football, and has described himself as agnostic after being raised Presbyterian. In 2012, he completed a 44-day course of radiation treatment for stage I prostate cancer.

Buffett developed an interest in business and investing during childhood. He sold chewing gum, Coca-Cola, newspapers, and other goods, delivered Washington Post newspapers, bought stock at age 11, and purchased a 40-acre farm with his savings at age 14. As a high school student, he and a friend operated pinball machines in Omaha barbershops before selling the business.

He attended the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania before transferring to the University of Nebraska, where he earned a bachelor's degree in business administration. He later earned a master's degree in economics from Columbia Business School, where he studied under Benjamin Graham. Graham's ideas about intrinsic value and a margin of safety became foundations of Buffett's investment approach.

After working at his father's brokerage and as a securities analyst at Graham-Newman Corporation, Buffett returned to Omaha and established investment partnerships in 1956. He met Charlie Munger in 1959, beginning a professional relationship that became central to the development of Berkshire Hathaway.

Buffett began buying shares in the struggling textile manufacturer Berkshire Hathaway in 1962 and took control of the company during the following years. He became chairman in 1970 and used Berkshire as the primary vehicle for acquiring businesses and investing in public companies. The company gradually moved away from textiles and expanded into insurance, railroads, energy, manufacturing, retail, and other industries.

Insurance became particularly important because policy premiums created investable capital known as float. Berkshire's investments included Coca-Cola, American Express, GEICO, General Re, and Burlington Northern Santa Fe. During the 2007-08 financial crisis, Buffett invested in Goldman Sachs and General Electric, while Berkshire also completed major investments in Swiss Re and Burlington Northern Santa Fe.

Buffett led Berkshire Hathaway as chief executive for six decades. Greg Abel became president and CEO on January 1, 2026, while Buffett remained chairman and planned to stay involved in an advisory capacity.

Buffett's early approach followed Graham's idea of buying securities below their intrinsic value, a method he called "cigar butt" investing. Over time, Charlie Munger helped persuade him to focus more on high-quality companies with durable competitive advantages, strong brands, capable management, and pricing power.

His philosophy emphasizes understanding a business, protecting capital, avoiding unnecessary speculation, and holding investments for the long term. He has supported low-cost index funds for investors who do not have the time or expertise to manage individual investments, and his 2007 wager against hedge funds tested whether an S&P 500 index fund could outperform actively managed portfolios.

Buffett's annual letters to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders became widely read for their explanations of markets, leadership, risk, ethics, and corporate decision-making. His plainspoken writing and use of humor helped make complex financial ideas accessible to individual investors.

Buffett pledged to give the vast majority of his wealth to charitable causes, increasing the commitment to 99 percent in 2020. The Gates Foundation became the largest beneficiary of his giving, while other donations went to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation and foundations run by his children.

In 2010, Buffett joined Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates in creating the Giving Pledge, an invitation for wealthy individuals to commit most of their fortunes to philanthropy during their lifetimes or through their estates. Buffett also served as a founding trustee of the Gates Foundation before resigning from its board in 2021.

His charitable work has included support for global health, education, reproductive rights, scholarships, food security, conflict mitigation, and other humanitarian initiatives. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama in 2011.