Buffett, Warren

Warren Buffett was born on August 30, 1930 in Omaha , pc. Nebraska , USA . He was the second of three children in the family and the only son of politician and entrepreneur Howard Buffett and his wife, a Jewish woman, Leila Stahl. Rose Hill Elementary School in Omaha becomes the first school of Buffett. In 1942, after his father won the elections to the US Congress and after the family moved to Washington , Buffett finishes Alice Deal Junior High School and finishes Woodrow Wilson High School in 1947.

In 11 years, Warren first tried his hand at the exchange . Together with his sister Doris, he bought three preferred shares of the Cities Service for $ 38.25 per share. First, their price dropped to $ 27, then rose to $ 40, and Buffett sold them to make a profit of $ 5 dollars (minus the commission). It is curious that in a few days the share price rose to $ 202 dollars. If Buffett had waited, he could make a profit of about $ 500. This first experience taught Buffett that an investor must be patient and not panic if prices fall; do not sell for short-term gains; to be confident of success if you invest other people's money (after the price fell, he felt guilty because he risked his sister's money) ^[7] .

At the age of 13, Warren filed his first income declaration , in which he claimed to deduct the cost of a bicycle and wristwatches, since the cost of acquiring them was related to his work as a newspaper peddler ^[7] .

The initial capital of $ 10 thousand. Warren earned by implementing a successful business idea - pinball machines in hairdressing salons.

In 1965, Buffett bought a controlling stake in the textile-manufacturing company Berkshire Hathaway , which became its main investment company for all the following years. In 1976, Buffett bought the National Indemnity Co , then GEICO , having paid $ 8.6 million and $ 17 million for the purchase. During the 1973 stock market crisis, he bought shares of the Washington Post for $ 11 million.

Buffett studied under the guidance of Benjamin Graham at Columbia University . According to Buffett, it was Graham who laid the foundation for rational investment using fundamental analysis , and describes him as the man who had the greatest influence on his life after his father. Warren Buffett adheres to a long-term investment strategy - the average tenure of a share is 10 years.

On December 14, 2004, Bill Gates joined the board of Berkshire Hathaway as an independent director, thus formalizing his friendship with Buffett.

In 2009, for $ 26 billion bought the railway Burlington Northern Santa Fe .

In 2011, for the first time invested in an IT company, buying a 5.5% stake in IBM for $ 10.7 billion.

July 16, 2015, Warren Buffett and Italian billionaire Alessandro Proto bought a Greek island of St. Thomas with an area of ​​1.2 km² in the Saronic Gulf , near Aegina, for € 15 million. Billionaires are planning to invest in real estate development on the island.

In February 2018, the investment company Warren Buffett Berkshire Hathaway made several large purchases. It was acquired 18.9 million shares of the Israeli pharmaceutical company Teva for $ 358 million and 31.2 million shares of Apple . At the same time, the investment company almost completely got rid of IBM shares, reducing them from 37 million to 2 million ^[8] .

February 21, 2019 lost more than $ 4 billion per day ^{[9] [10]} .

February 23, 2019 published another letter to shareholders, in which for the first time he announced a change in the approach to assessing the financial results of Berkshire Hathaway. For more than 50 years, the main criterion was the percentage change in the book value per share, but now the benchmark is operating income. ^[eleven]

Buffett believes that to predict market behavior is meaningless. To achieve long-term success, according to Buffett, you can only observe certain principles, while showing patience and frugality ^[12] .

In June 2010, Buffett announced the free transfer of his fortune, or about $ 97 billion, to five charitable foundations ^[6] . Most of the funds were made available to the fund managed by Bill and Melinda Gates . This act was the most generous act of charity in the history of mankind.

In April 2012, Buffett was diagnosed with prostate cancer in the second stage ^[13] . September 15, 2012 Buffett reported that he had successfully completed a full 100-day course of radiotherapy and is now completely healthy ^[14] .

• In 2008, Warren Buffett topped the list of the richest people in the world (according to Forbes magazine ).
• The fixed capital of Buffett is his stake in Berkshire Hathaway ^{[app. 1]} .
• Buffett has about 90 private jets, which are his weakness, he says that he can not restrain himself, and often buys the next aircraft. Although, according to him, he understands that he does not need such a number of airplanes, Buffet still can not resist when he finds out about some new product, and buys it. ^{[approx. 2]} . He eats in the fast-food chain, which he likes so much that he bought it. Buffett lives in the old district in the center of Omaha in a two-story house with five bedrooms, bought them in 1957.
• Buffett likes to play the ukulele and play bridge , including with Bill Gates .
• Once a year, Buffett has breakfast with the person who won this right at the auction . In 2007, breakfast with Buffett cost the winner $ 600,000 ^[15] . In 2008 , despite the crisis, the amount increased to $ 2.11 million. In 2009, it amounted to $ 1.68 million ^[16] . In 2011, the amount reached $ 2.63 million. In 2012, a record was set - the amount was $ 3.5 million. The collected funds are transferred to charity.
• Revealing the secret of longevity, the investor says that he drinks five cans of Coca-Cola every day - this allows him to remain energetic and feel great. At the same time, he clarifies that he drinks three cans of ordinary Coca-Cola during the working day, and two more cans of cherry-flavored drink in the evening at home ^[17] .
• Buffett grew up in a Presbyterian family, but calls himself an agnostic ^[18] .
• In 2011, in the 25/26 episode of the 7th season of the American TV series, the Office played the role of a meager candidate for the post of regional manager in the fictional company Dunder Mifflin ^{[19] [20]} .
• The Buffett Foundation has increased its stake in Apple Inc. According to statistics, in the fourth quarter, the fund’s portfolio in the company was 57.4 million shares or 4.5%. Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s 70% cut. In the fourth quarter, the fund reduced investments in the company's securities to 1.393 million shares compared to 13 million shares at the end of the third quarter of 2016 ^[21] .
• Since 2011, Buffett has been on the list of the most influential people in the world according to Forbes magazine. In 2018, he occupies the 16th place of this rating ^[22] .
• In the list of Forbes billionaires in 2018, Warren Buffet took third place. The size of its capital amounted to 84 billion dollars ^[23] .

• Warren Buffett Essay on investment, corporate finance and company management. - Alpina Publisher, 2005.
• Warren Buffett “Back to school! Invaluable lessons of a great businessman and investor. " - M .: “ AST ”, 2010.

Notes

Footnotes

• Glen Arnold. Great investors: Practical lessons from George Soros, Warren Buffet, John Templeton, Benjamin Graham, Anthony Bolton, Charles Manger, Peter Lynch, Philip Fisher, John Neff = The Great Investors. Lessons on Investing From Master Traders. - M .: Alpina Publisher , 2014. - 320 p. - ISBN 978-5-9614-1923-8 .
• Rittenhouse L. Letters of Buffett: The Complete Guide . - M .: “Mann, Ivanov and Ferber” , 2012. - 208 p. - ISBN 978-5-91657-418-0 .
• Schroeder E. Warren Buffett. The best investor in the world (the first authorized biography) . - M .: “Mann, Ivanov and Ferber” , 2011. - 800 p. - ISBN 978-5-91657-302-2 .
• A. Voytyuk. Himself an investor-6. Successful strategies from well-known investors // Time to live. - Alfa Bank, 2010. - Vol. Number 6 (23) . - pp . 24-26 .
• Robert Hagstrom Warren Buffett. How to turn $ 5 into 50 billion. - M .: Mann, Ivanov and Ferber, 2013. - 352 p. - ISBN 978-5-91657-870-6
• Jeremy Miller. Warren Buffett's Investment Rules = Warren Buffett's World's Greatest Investor. - M .: Alpina Publisher, 2017. - 374 p. - ISBN 978-5-9614-6212-8 .

• Berkshire Hathaway official website
• Buffett, Warren - an article in Lentapedia . year 2012.
• Golubitsky, S.M. Sparrow in hand (rus.) . Business Journal . Circulation date November 26, 2010. Archived May 3, 2008.
• Warren Buffett. How to become a billionaire
• The Virtual planet of people Warren Buffett