Warren Buffett is widely regarded as the most successful investor of all time. Through his company Berkshire Hathaway, he has built one of the largest fortunes in history using a disciplined value investing approach that he learned from Benjamin Graham and refined over seven decades.

Early Years

Born in Omaha, Nebraska in 1930, Buffett showed an early aptitude for business. He filed his first tax return at age 13 (claiming a $35 deduction for his bicycle used on his paper route) and had already accumulated $9,800 in savings by the time he graduated high school.

The Graham Influence

At Columbia Business School, Buffett studied under Benjamin Graham, the father of value investing. Graham's philosophy—buying securities for less than their intrinsic value—became the foundation of Buffett's approach, though he later evolved it to include qualitative factors like competitive advantages ("moats") and management quality.

Berkshire Hathaway

In 1965, Buffett took control of a struggling textile company called Berkshire Hathaway. He transformed it into a holding company that has since delivered:

• 3,787,464% total return (1965-2022)
• 19.8% compound annual growth rate
• A stock price that went from $19 to over $500,000 per share

Investment Philosophy

Buffett's approach centers on:

• Circle of Competence: Only investing in businesses he understands
• Economic Moats: Seeking companies with durable competitive advantages
• Long-term Thinking: His favorite holding period is "forever"
• Margin of Safety: Buying with a significant discount to intrinsic value

The Buffett Partnership

Before Berkshire, Buffett ran private investment partnerships from 1956 to 1969, generating returns of 29.5% annually (vs. 7.4% for the Dow) with no losing years.