Warren Buffet was born in 1930 in Omaha,
Nebraska, and he is often referred to as the
Oracle of Omaha. His father was a stockbroker
and congressman. Warren started working at his
father's brokerage at just 11 years old. By the
age of 14 he was using money saved from his
paper route to buy land (40 acre to start) and
rent it to farmers as tenants.
After college Warren resumed work at his
fathers brokerage as a salesman, but wasn't
satisfied there. He soon established a unique
investment partnership compiling money
gathered from his own savings, as well as that
from friends and family. This partnership was run
from his bedroom and called Buffet Partnership
Limited.
Buffet Partnership Limited quickly grew capital
and invested heavily in Berkshire Hathaway,
which was in the steadily declining textile
industry. The industry soon turned around and
Buffet found himself rich, filthy rich.
By 2006 Warren Buffet had amassed a personal
fortune worth $42 billion. This has made his the
second wealthiest person in the world second to
only Bill Gates. Buffet's folksy charm and
generous nature has allowed him to avoid much
of the disdain that Americans have with
billionaires. In July of 2006, Warren Buffet
announced he would be giving away about 85%
of his fortune, or about $37.4 billion, to various
charities.
