Warren Edward Buffett was born on August 30, 1930, in Omaha, Nebraska. ¹⁾

At age 10, during a trip to New York City with his father, Buffett dined with a member of the New York Stock Exchange, inspiring him to organize his life around investing. ²⁾

Buffett purchased his first stock at 11 years old, buying multiple shares of Cities Service Preferred for $38 apiece. ³⁾

As a teenager delivering papers for The Washington Post and running small ventures, Buffett earned about $175 a month, which was more than most of his teachers made. ⁴⁾

By the time he was 16 years old, Buffett had amassed the equivalent of over $50,000 through side hustles like pinball machine rentals and selling golf balls. ⁵⁾

Buffett was rejected from Harvard Business School after his admissions interview, leading him to attend Columbia University instead. ⁶⁾

At Columbia, Buffett studied under Benjamin Graham, the author of “The Intelligent Investor,” who became his primary intellectual mentor. ⁷⁾

At age 21, terrified of public speaking, Buffett spent $100 to take a Dale Carnegie course, which he credits with helping him gain confidence. ⁸⁾

Buffett lives in a five-bedroom house in Omaha, Nebraska, which he originally purchased in 1956 for $31,500. ⁹⁾

For decades, Buffett maintained a desk without a computer or smartphone, opting for a landline telephone and printed encyclopedias. ¹⁰⁾

Buffett has famously sent only a single email in his life, which was addressed to former Microsoft executive Jeff Raikes. ¹¹⁾

An avid bridge player, Buffett spends up to 12 hours a week playing the card game, frequently partnering with Bill Gates. ¹²⁾

Buffett originally bought shares in Berkshire Hathaway in 1962 when it was a struggling New England textile manufacturing company. ¹³⁾

Buffett popularized value investing, focusing on buying financially sound companies with strong market advantages at prices below their intrinsic value. ¹⁴⁾

Buffett coined the investment concept of an “economic moat,” referring to a business's structural ability to maintain a competitive advantage over rivals. ¹⁵⁾

Berkshire Hathaway made a surprise $350 million investment in The New York Times, six years after selling off its local newspaper collection. ¹⁶⁾

Berkshire Hathaway built a massive stake exceeding 130 million shares in energy titan Chevron. ¹⁷⁾

While Apple remains one of Berkshire's largest equity holdings, Buffett systematically trimmed portions of the massive stock position in 2024 and 2025. ¹⁸⁾

Buffett first invested heavily in Bank of America during the 2011 subprime mortgage crisis recovery before paring down the position in later years. ¹⁹⁾

In addition to stocks, Buffett built Berkshire into a conglomerate that wholly owns Geico, BNSF Railroad, Dairy Queen, and See's Candies. ²⁰⁾

Buffett established a Thanksgiving tradition of donating over $1 billion worth of Berkshire Hathaway stock to family-run charitable foundations. ²¹⁾

Buffett arranged for his three children to oversee and distribute his remaining multi-billion-dollar fortune within ten years following his death. ²²⁾

Buffett has consistently stated that hugely wealthy parents should leave children enough to do anything, but not enough to do nothing. ²³⁾

In 2010, alongside Bill and Melinda Gates, Buffett co-founded The Giving Pledge, encouraging billionaires to commit the majority of their wealth to philanthropy. ²⁴⁾

Buffett contributed over $55 billion in Berkshire Hathaway stock to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation over two decades of giving. ²⁵⁾

Buffett advises parents to let their children read their wills while still alive to explain decisions and prevent post-death family confusion. ²⁶⁾

Buffett worked alongside business partner Charlie Munger for nearly six decades until Munger's death in late 2023. ²⁷⁾

Berkshire Hathaway designated Greg Abel, head of non-insurance operations, as the designated successor to lead the conglomerate. ²⁸⁾

Even after donating billions in stock, Buffett retained more than 30% of the total voting power in Berkshire Hathaway. ²⁹⁾

Buffett is universally nicknamed the “Oracle of Omaha” or “Sage of Omaha” due to his legendary investment record and folksy wisdom. ³⁰⁾

Buffett began buying shares of Coca-Cola in 1988, turning it into one of Berkshire Hathaway's most iconic and profitable long-term holdings. ³¹⁾

In 1973, Buffett bought a major stake in The Washington Post when market panic priced the company at a fraction of its liquidation value. ³²⁾

A foundational pillar of Buffett's investment strategy is requiring a large “margin of safety” before purchasing any business or stock. ³³⁾

Buffett evaluates every potential deal using an “opportunity cost” framework, comparing new opportunities directly against the best existing holdings. ³⁴⁾

Despite his immense wealth, Buffett eats breakfast at McDonald's almost every morning, selecting his meal based on the daily stock market status. ³⁵⁾

Buffett is famous for drinking up to five cans of Cherry Coke a day, joking that his diet resembles that of a six-year-old child. ³⁶⁾

Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder meeting in Omaha attracts tens of thousands of investors and is known as the “Woodstock for Capitalists.” ³⁷⁾

Buffett famously operates within his “circle of competence,” refusing to invest in businesses or technology sectors he does not thoroughly understand. ³⁸⁾

Buffett's father, Howard Buffett, was a four-term U.S. Congressman representing Nebraska, which exposed young Warren to politics and economics. ³⁹⁾

Buffett originally enrolled at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania but transferred to the University of Nebraska, graduating at age 19. ⁴⁰⁾

Buffett married Susan Thompson in 1952, and the couple had three children: Susie, Howard, and Peter. ⁴¹⁾

Following Susan's death in 2004, Buffett married his longtime companion Astrid Menks in 2006 on his 76th birthday. ⁴²⁾

In 2011, President Barack Obama awarded Warren Buffett the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States. ⁴³⁾

Buffett's annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholder letters are widely read across the global financial industry for their economic insights and humorous anecdotes. ⁴⁴⁾

Over 99% of Warren Buffett's total wealth was accumulated after his 50th birthday, illustrating the exponential power of long-term financial compounding. ⁴⁵⁾