This I Believe

October 29th 1929, a day that will never be forgotten in American history. Black Tuesday. This is the day that sent the United States into the greatest of great depressions that the Americas had ever seen. This day began a catastrophic collapse of stock market prices on the New York Stock Exchange. Unbeknownst to those living during this horrific day, a legend in the United States economy was about to be born. Known as the “Wizard of Omaha, “Oracle of Omaha” or the “Sage of Omaha” this man would go on to accomplish what few people on earth had ever done. From his humble beginnings in Omaha, Nebraska, this man built a dynasty over four decades by buying out-of-favor stocks and businesses whose management he deemed superior. If you were an investor in 1956 and gave him a mere $10,000, today it would be worth more than $500 Million. Warren Buffett has become the richest man in the world with a net worth of over $62 Billion.

While $62 Billion is more than I can imagine, Buffett is not an ostentatious man. He has lived in the same house in Omaha that he purchased in 1957 for $31,500 and drives a Lincoln Town Car. The life of Warren Buffett, and how he has achieved the success that he has, is one of note. There are three major facets of his life that I would like to cover today: Beginning in his early years as a savvy investor, to his takeover of Berkshire Hathaway, and finally his philanthropic and investing philosophies.

Entrepreneurship flourished in the Buffett household. Between his father owning a stock brokerage firm, to his mother running a print shop, Warren was never short of motivation. However, it was Buffett’s great grandfather’s grocery store that had a major impact on Buffett’s future. It was here that Buffett made a promise to himself that he would not be doing manual labor for the rest of his life. At age 11, he purchased his first three shares of stock of Cities Services for $38. By age 13, Buffett filed his first tax form with the IRS....