Educational content only. The investment strategies described reflect historical approaches and may not be suitable for your situation. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Not investment advice. Consult a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Warren Buffett
Chairman & CEO, Berkshire Hathaway
Born 1930 · Berkshire Hathaway
Warren Buffett is the most successful investor in modern history by almost any measure. He transformed Berkshire Hathaway from a struggling New England textile manufacturer into one of the world's largest and most diversified conglomerates, with a market capitalization exceeding $900 billion. His approach combines Benjamin Graham's rigorous margin-of-safety framework with a focus on high-quality businesses that possess durable competitive advantages, or what Buffett terms "economic moats." Over more than five decades of leadership at Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett has shown that disciplined, patient value investing can produce compounding returns well above market averages. His annual shareholder letters have become essential reading for investors, business students, and executives worldwide, offering direct insights into capital allocation, corporate governance, and the psychology of markets.
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13F filings are updated quarterly with up to 45 days delay per SEC regulations.
Biography
Warren Edward Buffett was born on August 30, 1930, in Omaha, Nebraska, the second of three children of Howard Buffett, a stockbroker and later a four-term U.S. congressman, and Leila Stahl Buffett. He showed an early aptitude for numbers and business, reportedly buying his first stock -- three shares of Cities Service Preferred -- at age 11 and filing his first tax return at age 13, on which he deducted his bicycle as a business expense for his paper route. As a teenager, he ran several small entrepreneurial ventures including delivering newspapers for The Washington Post, operating pinball machines in local barbershops, and selling used golf balls. By the time he graduated from high school, Buffett had already accumulated savings worth roughly $9,800 (equivalent to over $120,000 in today's dollars), an early sign of the compounding mindset that would define his career. His formative years in Omaha during the aftermath of the Great Depression instilled in him a lifelong frugality, a deep respect for the value of a dollar, and an understanding that financial security comes from saving and investing rather than spending.
Buffett studied at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania for two years before transferring to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 1950. Initially rejected by Harvard Business School, he discovered that Benjamin Graham -- the father of value investing and author of "The Intelligent Investor" -- taught at Columbia Business School, and he enrolled there immediately. Graham's teachings on intrinsic value, margin of safety, and the discipline of treating stocks as fractional ownership in real businesses became the foundation of Buffett's career. Buffett was one of only a handful of students to receive an A+ in Graham's class, and he has described the experience as the most important educational period of his life. After graduating from Columbia in 1951 with a Master of Science in Economics, Buffett worked briefly as an investment salesman in Omaha before joining Graham's investment partnership, Graham-Newman Corporation, in New York from 1954 to 1956, where he gained hands-on experience applying value investing principles with real capital.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Warren Buffett's investment strategy?
Warren Buffett's investment strategy is rooted in value investing, originally learned from his mentor Benjamin Graham at Columbia Business School. His approach involves identifying high-quality businesses with durable competitive advantages ("economic moats"), strong management teams, and predictable earnings, then purchasing their shares at prices below their intrinsic value. Unlike many investors, Buffett favors holding excellent businesses for decades rather than trading frequently. His strategy evolved over time from Graham's strict focus on statistically cheap stocks to what he describes as buying "wonderful companies at fair prices," a shift heavily influenced by his partner Charlie Munger.
How can investors follow Warren Buffett's current holdings?
Berkshire Hathaway, as an institutional investment manager, is required by the SEC to file Form 13F quarterly, disclosing its public equity holdings. These filings are available on SEC EDGAR (the SEC's Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval system) approximately 45 days after each quarter ends. It is important to note that 13F filings reflect holdings as of the filing date and may not represent current positions, as Buffett may have bought or sold shares since the report date. Additionally, 13F filings only disclose U.S. exchange-listed equity positions and do not reveal Berkshire's wholly owned subsidiaries, private investments, or foreign holdings.
Can individual investors buy shares of Berkshire Hathaway?
Yes, Berkshire Hathaway has two classes of publicly traded stock. Class A shares (BRK.A) are the original shares and have never been split, trading at prices well above $600,000 per share as of recent years. Class B shares (BRK.B), created in 1996 and split 50-for-1 in 2010, are designed to be more accessible to individual investors and typically trade at roughly 1/1,500th the price of a Class A share. Both classes represent ownership in the same company, though Class A shares carry proportionally more voting rights.
What are Warren Buffett's annual shareholder letters and why are they important?
Since 1965, Warren Buffett has written an annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders that reviews the company's performance, discusses his investment decisions, and shares his views on business, economics, and investing philosophy. These letters are freely available on the Berkshire Hathaway website and are widely read by investors, business students, and executives around the world. They are valued for their clear, jargon-free writing style, intellectual honesty about mistakes, and practical wisdom that applies to investors of all experience levels. Many consider the full collection of letters to be one of the best free investing education resources available.
Who will succeed Warren Buffett at Berkshire Hathaway?
At the May 2021 annual meeting, Buffett confirmed that Greg Abel, Vice Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway's non-insurance operations, would succeed him as CEO when the time comes. Ajit Jain oversees Berkshire's insurance operations. Buffett has also appointed Todd Combs and Ted Weschler as investment managers who each manage portions of Berkshire's equity portfolio, preparing for the eventual transition of investment responsibilities. Buffett has expressed confidence that Berkshire's decentralized culture and strong subsidiary managers will ensure continuity beyond his tenure.
Is value investing still relevant in today's market?
Value investing remains a foundational investment philosophy, though its application has evolved since Benjamin Graham's era. Buffett himself demonstrated this evolution by moving beyond purely statistical cheapness toward investing in high-quality growth companies like Apple, which became Berkshire's largest holding. The core principles of value investing -- buying assets for less than they are worth, maintaining a margin of safety, thinking like a business owner, and acting rationally when others are emotional -- are timeless regardless of market conditions. What constitutes "value" has expanded to include intangible assets like brand strength, network effects, and intellectual property that are increasingly important in the modern economy.
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