Warren Buffett is an American investor and philanthropist best known for building Berkshire Hathaway into a diversified holding company. He is the company’s chairman and, according to Forbes, retired as its chief executive officer at the end of 2025. Buffett remains one of the most widely followed figures in finance, in part because of his long record as an investor and his plainspoken annual letters to Berkshire shareholders.
Buffett was born on August 30, 1930, in Omaha, Nebraska. As of August 30, 2026, he is 96 years old. His father, Howard Buffett, was a businessman and a U.S. congressman. Warren Buffett developed an interest in business and investing early, selling products door to door, delivering newspapers and pursuing small resale ventures while he was still in school.
Warren Buffett at a glance
- Full name
- Warren Edward Buffett
- Born
- August 30, 1930, in Omaha, Nebraska
- Age as of August 30, 2026
- 96
- Current role
- Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway
- Former role
- Chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway; Forbes says he retired from the position at the end of 2025
- Education
- University of Nebraska – Lincoln and Columbia Business School; he also attended the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School
- Known for
- Value investing, Berkshire Hathaway and philanthropy
How Warren Buffett started investing
Buffett’s early commercial interests were practical rather than theoretical. The University of Nebraska – Lincoln describes ventures that included newspaper delivery, work in a grocery store and the resale of used golf balls. By the end of high school, the university says, he had accumulated enough through investments to buy a 40-acre farm outside Omaha.
He began college at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School after his father’s influence, then completed his bachelor’s degree at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. At Nebraska, he studied economics and developed an enduring interest in accounting. The university quotes Buffett describing accounting as “the language of business,” a phrase that helps explain the emphasis he later placed on understanding a company’s financial statements and underlying economics.
Buffett went on to Columbia Business School, where he studied under Benjamin Graham, the investor and author associated with value investing. That approach generally focuses on buying securities for less than an estimate of their underlying worth and allowing time, business performance and market prices to narrow the gap. Buffett’s own investing evolved over time, but the discipline of evaluating businesses rather than simply following market excitement remained central to his public philosophy.
What Berkshire Hathaway means to Buffett’s career
Buffett created Buffett Partnership Ltd. in 1956 and later acquired control of Berkshire Hathaway, then a textile manufacturer. He used the company as the foundation for a broader holding company whose businesses and investments extended well beyond textiles. Berkshire became associated with insurance, manufacturing, retail and other operating businesses, as well as a large portfolio of publicly traded companies.
Forbes identifies Berkshire holdings that include insurer Geico, battery maker Duracell and restaurant chain Dairy Queen. Buffett became Berkshire’s chairman and largest shareholder in 1970, according to the supplied biographical record. Charlie Munger joined him as vice chairman in 1978, becoming a long-time business associate and an important intellectual partner in Berkshire’s development.
Buffett’s influence has also come from communication. His annual shareholder letters are known for explaining complex financial and business ideas in direct language, often with humor and references that make them accessible to nonprofessionals. The University of Nebraska – Lincoln notes that Berkshire’s shareholder letters have been published since the 1977 edition and are available through the company’s website. Berkshire’s annual meeting in Omaha has become a major gathering for shareholders and admirers of Buffett’s investment method.
How much is Warren Buffett worth?
Buffett’s net worth is an estimate, not a fixed figure. It changes with the value of Berkshire Hathaway shares and other assets, and different publications may use different calculation dates and methods.
Forbes reported a real-time net worth of $143.6 billion as of August 29, 2026, and placed Buffett 11th in the world on that date. The supplied Wikipedia entry, citing Forbes, gives a separate estimate of $148.9 billion as of January 2026 and places him ninth globally at that earlier point. Those figures are not necessarily contradictory: they reflect different dates and market conditions. The most careful description is that Buffett is among the world’s wealthiest people, while any precise current total should be attributed to a dated estimate.
His wealth is closely linked to Berkshire Hathaway. Forbes describes his source of wealth as Berkshire Hathaway and identifies him as self-made. The same profile says Buffett still lives in the Omaha home he purchased in 1958 for $31,500. That detail is publicly reported, but it does not establish anything about his private routines or personal security, which should not be inferred.
Why Warren Buffett is associated with philanthropy
Buffett has pledged to give away more than 99% of his wealth. Forbes reports that he has donated more than $68 billion so far, with much of that giving going through the Gates Foundation and foundations associated with his children. Because donation totals and wealth estimates change over time, these figures should be treated as attributed, date-specific estimates rather than permanent totals.
In 2010, Buffett, Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates founded the Giving Pledge, a global initiative asking billionaires to commit at least half of their fortunes to charitable causes. The University of Nebraska – Lincoln describes the effort as involving wealthy people in giving away the majority of their resources. Buffett’s own stated pledge is substantially larger than the initiative’s minimum commitment.
Philanthropy is therefore a major part of Buffett’s public profile, but it is distinct from the investment record that made him famous. His reputation rests on both: the accumulation of wealth through Berkshire Hathaway and the declared intention to transfer nearly all of that wealth to charitable causes.
What is known about Warren Buffett’s personal background?
Buffett has three children: Susan Alice, Howard Graham and Peter. He was married to Susan Thompson Buffett, who died in 2004, and married Astrid Menks Buffett in 2006, according to the supplied biographical record. These details are included only as established public facts; they do not justify speculation about family members’ private lives.
His public identity remains closely tied to Omaha, where he was born and where Berkshire Hathaway is based. He is also associated with the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, which he credits with helping shape his education and career. The university says Buffett enrolled at Nebraska after two years at the University of Pennsylvania and graduated in 1951.
Warren Buffett’s lasting significance
Buffett’s importance extends beyond his personal fortune. He helped popularize a long-term, business-focused approach to investing among individual shareholders, students and professional investors. His public explanations emphasize patience, discipline, understandable businesses and the difference between a company’s operating value and the short-term movement of its stock price.
He is often called the “Oracle of Omaha” or “Sage of Omaha,” labels used by the media rather than formal titles. The more durable facts are simpler: Buffett is a Nebraska-born investor, the longtime architect and chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, a former CEO as of the end of 2025, and a major philanthropist whose wealth and giving continue to be reported through changing estimates.
Related coverage about Warren Buffett
Warren Buffett's public story is best understood through three connected but separate records: his rise from early business ventures to Berkshire Hathaway's chairmanship, the value-investing principles he explains to shareholders, and his commitment to donating more than 99% of his wealth. Net-worth and giving totals should be read as dated estimates, while his education, corporate roles and philanthropic initiatives are documented biographical facts.
Sources and methodology
- Warren Buffett - Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_Buffett
- Warren Buffett - Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/profile/warren-buffett/
- Warren Buffett - University of Nebraska - Lincoln: https://www.unl.edu/no-place-like/warren-buffett/
