30 Interesting Facts About Warren Buffett – Second Richest Person In the World

Warren Edward Buffett, considered to be one of the most successful investors in the world, is an American philanthropist, business magnate and an investor. Here are 30 interesting facts about him:

1. As of March 2017, Buffett ranks second with a total net worth of $78.7 billion, in the list of Wealthiest Persons in the United States.
2. Global Media has always noted him for his adherence to value investing and have often referred to him as the "Wizard", "Oracle" or "Sage" of Omaha.
3. He has pledged to give away 99 percent of his fortune to various philanthropic causes, via Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
4. Since 1970, he has been serving as the Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, while being the largest shareholder.
5. His interest in stock market is said to date back to his school days, when he used to spend his time in the customers' lounge of a regional stock brokerage, near his father’s office.
6. Buffett used to teach an "Investment Principles" night class at the University of Nebraska-Omaha for students who were more than twice his own age.
7. In the year 1962, he merged his partnerships into one and invested in a textile manufacturing firm, Berkshire Hathaway, by buying shares from the owner Seabury Stanton. By 1965, he took control of the company and even named a new president Ken Chace at a board meeting. However, he closed the partnership next year to new money and moved the business into insurance sector. It was in the year 1985 that the Berkshire Hathaway’s last of the mills were sold.
8. He is known for his personal frugality, in spite of the immense wealth. Even when he rose to become a millionaire in the 1970, he was reported to be living only on his salary of $50,000 per year, along with the income from his other investments.
9. Buffett bought six shares of Cities Service, currently known as Citgo, when he was just 11 years old, out of which three was for him and three for his sister Doris Buffett, the founder of The Sunshine Lady Foundation.
10. In the year 2009, he invested around $2.6 billion to raise equity capital as a part of Swiss Re's campaign. As of June 2009, Berkshire Hathaway was the eighteenth largest corporation in the world in the Financial Times Global 500.
    
11. As of October 2008, at least 47 books were in paperback with Buffett’s name in the title, as stated by USA Today. According to George Jones, CEO of Borders Books, the only other living persons named in as many number of books were U.S. presidents, world political figures and the Dalai Lama.
12. Buffett graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in the year 1947, and wanted to enter the business world immediately, skipping college. However, he was overruled by his father, Congressman Howard Buffett.
13. He acquired stock in the Washington Post Company and joined its board in the year 1973. With this he became close friends with Katharine Graham who was managing the company as well as its flagship newspaper.
14. In the year 2008, he earned a total compensation of $175,000 that consists of the base salary of $100,000, which is very less compared to the remuneration of senior executives in other companies.
15. Even while in high school, he is said to have made money by selling golf balls and stamps, delivering newspapers, detailing cars and many other ventures. Some of them are even selling chewing gum, weekly magazines and Coca-Cola bottles.
16. Buffett married Susan Thompson in the year 1952, at Dundee Presbyterian Church. The duo had their first child Susan Alice, the next year. Their second son Howard Graham was born in the year 1954, and their third son Peter Andrew was born in 1958. The couple was married till Susan’s death in 2004, but they separated in the year 1977, when she left to San Francisco to pursue her singing career.
17. In the year 2014, Berkshire Hathaway’s shares closed at US$200,000 a share, which capitalized the company at US$328 billion. However, by that time Buffett had already given away a major percentage of share and held 321,000 shares worth US$64.2 billion only.
18. He is an avid bridge player, who is said to spend at least 12 hours a week for the game. He often plays with Bill Gates. He even sponsored a bridge match in the year 2006, for Buffett Cup.
19. He along with his friend purchased a used pinball machine for $25 in the year 1945, when he was high school sophomore. They had the pinball machine placed in a local barber shop. Within a few months, they had several more machines in three other barber shops across Omaha. Later that year, they sold their Pinball machine business to a war veteran for $1,200.
20. He accepted a job offer at the Benjamin Graham's partnership, for a starting salary of $12,000 a year in the year 1954. As of today, his starting salary of $12,000 will amount to $107,000.
    
21. It is reported that Buffett helped Capital Cities in closing a deal of $3.5 billion purchase of ABC, which was nearly four times bigger than Capital Cities. In return, he was given 25% stake in the newly merged company known as Capital Cities/ABC.
22. In the year 2008, he was named the richest person in the world by Forbes, overtaking Bill Gates with a total net worth estimated at $62 billion. Gates has been holding the top position for 13 consecutive years. However, the next year, 2009, it was Gates who topped the list again.
23. It was reported in 2006 that Buffett does not have a computer at his desk and does not carry a mobile phone. He even drives his own automobile, a Cadillac DTS. Later in 2013, it was said that he had sent only one email in his entire life, to his wife and that he had an old Nokia flip phone.
24. On his 76th birthday, August 30, 2006, he married Astrid Menks, who had been living with him since his wife’s departure in 1977. It was Susan who arranged the meeting of Buffett and Astrid before leaving to San Francisco. The trio had always been on good terms and even Christmas cards to friends were signed as "Warren, Susie and Astrid".
25. He started the Buffett Partnership Ltd, after Benjamin Graham retired and closed his partnership in the year 1956. Buffett, in the early 1957, managed three different partnerships and had personal savings of over $174,000, (which is about $1.53 million as per the current money value).
26. Buffett started buying the stock from The Coca-Cola Company in the year 1988, eventually leading to around 7% of the company for over $1.02 billion, which turns out to one of the most remunerative investments by Berkshire till date.
27. By the year 1959, his company grew to six partnerships and it was the same year that he met Charlie Munger, the current vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway. Within a period of three years, his partnerships made him a millionaire with an excess of $7,178,500 out of which $1,025,000 belonged to Buffett. It was thirty years later, in 1990, Berkshire Hathaway started selling class A shares with the market closing at US$7,175 a share, making Buffett a paper billionaire.
28. He is a fervent lifelong follower of Nebraska football and has been attending as many games as possible according to his schedules.
29. Buffett had been buying shares of the International Business Machine Corp (IBM) for more than 8 months in the year 2011, worth around $11 billion, making his stake in the company to be nearly 5.5 percent. It was reported to be the largest stake in IBM alongside that of State Street Global Advisors. His investment in IBM came as a surprise as he had been insisting on many prior occasions that he would not invest in technology as he did not understand it fully. However, when asked about this investment, he stated that he was impressed with IBM’s ability.
30. He still lives in the five-bedroom stucco house in the central Dundee neighborhood of Omaha, which he purchased for $31,500 in the year 1958, although he owns a $4 million house in Laguna Beach, California.