Warren Buffett, the man who gave more than 60 billion dollars

Guru of modern capitalism, legendary flair and the lifestyle of rare sobriety, Warren Buffett has risen among the first five world fortunes by patiently building a sprawling empire. At the end of the year, he will pass his hand to Greg Abel, his designated successor, ending more than six decades at the head of Berkshire Hathaway.

Since he took control of the conglomerate in 1965, the billionaire applied the same strategy: investing in the long term in solid, undervalued companies, which he meticulously dissected the accounts. Result: an average yield almost twice that of the S&P 500.

Born on August 30, 1930 in Omaha (Nebraska), in a middle -class family, Buffett discovered the markets very early on. He bought his first actions at 11 years old and fulfilled his first tax declaration at 13. Encouraged by his father, a broker who became a parliamentary, he followed studies in Wharton, then at the University of Nebraska. Failed at Harvard, he is accepted in Columbia, where he trained with the investment master value Benjamin Graham.

After a visit to Wall Street, in 1956 he founded his own fund in 1956, Buffett Partnership, which he merged with Berkshire Hathaway in 1965. With his accomplice Charlie Munger, who disappeared in 2023 to 99 years, he transformed this obscure textile business into a global insurance giant of insurance, energy, distribution or financial services.

Warren Buffett, father remarried by three children, remains faithful to a rigorous investment discipline, in reverse of fashion effects. He identifies under-coated nuggets, invests massively, and patiently awaits their revaluation. This does not prevent him from hitting hard: he bounded Goldman Sachs in 2008, then Bank of America in 2011, each time obtaining very advantageous conditions.

Far from the technological values ​​he deemed too volatile for a long time, Apple is the notable exception. Since 2016, Berkshire has become a major shareholder, even if half of the shares were sold in the summer of 2024 for $ 50 billion. Despite her affable patriarch’s gaits – white hair, big glasses, sober suit, lively tie – Buffett remains a formidable businessman. During the 2024 general assembly, he confided with a smile: “I hope you will be there next year … and me too!” »»

Warren Buffett never left Omaha, where he still lived in the house bought in 1958 for 31,500 dollars. The legend says he is addict to Coca-Cola (of which he holds 9 %), lunch at McDonald’s, plays the bridge, scratches the ukulele, practices golf. His second wedding alliances? Purchased on sale from a jeweler from his group. Only luxury conceded: a private jet. With a fortune estimated at $ 168 billion by Forbes – one of the few to continue to grow under the Trump era – Buffett is also distinguished by its philanthropic commitments. Claimed democrat, criticism of tax inequalities, he co -founded in 2010 with Bill Gates the movement « The Giving Pledge », which encourages the ultra-rich to give at least half of their fortune. He has already distributed more than $ 60 billion, including 43 at the Gates Foundation. In 2024, he confirmed that most of his heritage would be bequeathed to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation – named after his first wife – and to the foundations of his three children.