According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the 94-year-old investment legend owns a fortune of about $146 billion, making him the 10th richest person in the world. He is even richer than Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, and his fortune is much larger than the founder of the world’s leading computer company, Michael Dell, and the three Walton heirs.
However, many people will be surprised by his frugal and simple lifestyle – investment legend Warren Buffett. In a TV show, he said he never wanted to have many houses and cars.
He still lives in the house he bought in the 1950s for $31,500. The house is currently worth an estimated $1.4 million. Previously, Buffett drove a 2001 Lincoln Town Car with the license plate “THRIFTY” for about a decade. After auctioning it off for charity, he replaced it with a 2006 Cadillac DTS. According to Forbes, in 2014, he replaced the DTS with a Cadillac XTS.
Buffett also used a flip phone for many years. It wasn’t until 2020 that he upgraded to a smartphone. He’s finally switched to an iPhone now, even though Berkshire Hathaway is a longtime Apple shareholder.
According to CNBC, Buffett said he has about 20 suits, all made in China by designer Madame Li. He’s been getting $18 haircuts for years at a salon in the same building as his office.
He eats breakfast at McDonald’s, enjoys Coke, plays bridge, golf, and plays the ukulele. He once used his ukulele skills to win over his first wife, Susan.
Họ có với nhau ba người con: Susie, Howard và Peter. Bà Susan qua đời vào năm 2004. Sau đó, ông kết hôn với người vợ thứ hai là bà Astrid Menks vào năm 2006. Theo tác giả Roger Lowenstein, khi Susie chào đời, Buffett đã dùng ngăn kéo để làm một cái nôi. Đứa con thứ hai, Buffett đi mượn một chiếc cũi.
Người được mệnh danh là “Nhà tiên tri xứ Omaha” thích dùng tiền để đầu tư hơn là rút tiền tiêu xài.
Phần lớn khối tài sản ròng của Warren Buffett gắn với tập đoàn Berkshire Hathaway. Tập đoàn này sở hữu các doanh nghiệp như Geico và See’s Candies, đồng thời nắm giữ hàng tỷ USD cổ phần tại các công ty lớn như Apple và Coca-Cola.
Warren Buffett sở hữu khoảng 15% cổ phần Berkshire trị giá hơn 130 tỷ USD. Bản thân Berkshire Hathaway cũng có vốn hoá hơn 1.000 tỷ USD.
According to Forbes, the Berkshire Hathaway CEO started investing in the stock market at age 11. He filed his first tax return at age 13.
As a teenager, he earned about $175 a month delivering The Washington Post. Berkshire Hathaway later owned nearly 30% of the paper for 40 years and sold it in 2014.
In addition to delivering newspapers, Buffett also sold calendars, used golf balls, and stamps. He had amassed $53,000 by the time he was 16. But Buffett’s fortune has grown exponentially since his 50th birthday.
Buffett’s salary at Berkshire Hathaway last year was $100,000, the same as it has been for the past 40 years. Buffett reimbursed the company for $50,000 in personal phone bills and postage. According to a statement from Berkshire, the company spent three times Buffett’s annual salary ($313,595) to protect him and his family.
Despite his frugal lifestyle, Warren Buffett is one of the world’s most generous philanthropists. He has pledged to give away 99% of his wealth to charity.
In 2006, he pledged to donate about 85% of his Berkshire Class A shares to five charities: the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, and three charities run by his three children.
As of 2023, the shares he gave away would be worth about $50 billion at the time of the donation. If Buffett had kept those shares, he could have become the richest person in the world.
