Background:
Warren Buffett was born on August 30, 1930, in Omaha Nebraska, to a comfortable Caucasian family. In 1942, his family moved to Washington DC after his father was elected to the House of Representatives. Being the son of a stockbroker and then a member of the House, he had many opportunities while growing up. At age 11, he was able to buy three stock shares which he earned a small profit from. After moving to DC, he bought a pinball machine to set up in a barbershop and earned enough profit to expand the business to other machines.
Buffett began college at age 16 at the University of Pennsylvania and graduated at age 20 from the University of Nebraska. He then attended Columbia University for graduate school.
Contributions:
Immediately out of school, Benjamin Graham, a professor at Columbia University denied Buffett a job. He went back to Nebraska and his father’s stockbrokerage. However, after a time, Graham was willing to give Buffett a job, so he returned to New York.
When Buffett returned to Omaha, he started Buffett Associates, Ltd. By the age of thirty, he was a millionaire. He partnered with Charlie Munger. Buffett bought Berkshire Hathaway, a dying textile mill. He used the profits to fund investments which eventually grew into billions. In 1985, Buffett shut down the textile business, but the name remained.
Although he has been the richest person in America, Buffett still chooses to live frugally and be generous. He has put together a system to continually donate money to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Buffett changed investing by developing Graham’s investing concepts and his success with them. Many people look to him not only as a great investor, but as a great person because of his generosity. I see how he has been immensely successful both because of his opportunities and work. I am impressed by how despite his success, people still talk about him as a person worth respect: generous, humorous, and kind.
HUNT Acronym:
Harness your vision: Buffett turned Berkshire Hathaway into an investment giant. He began by buying out two insurance companies, and then he led it to invest in many more companies, and it owns many successful companies.
Underestimate roadblocks: At different points, Buffett went through difficulties but still kept going and pulled himself back out. At the beginning of his career, before he worked for Graham, his investments were failing. Immediately after he bought Berkshire Hathaway, the company faced major challenges, but it turned out to become the source of much of his future riches.
Network: Buffett was born into a network, which he continued to grow. At Columbia, Buffett studied under Benjamin Graham, who later hired him. This relationship was key both because of what Buffett learned, and the opportunities of building on his work.
Take the first step: Buffett wasted no time. At the age of 11, he was already buying stocks. At age 13, he had already started a business.
Sources:
Bibliography
A&E Television Networks. “Warren Edward Buffett.”
Livy, Julian. “Warren Buffett: a short biography.” Warren Buffett Secrets.
Smith, Lisa. “Warren Buffett: The Road to Riches.” Investopedia.