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What is Warren Buffett’s Net Worth?
Warren Buffett is one of the wealthiest people in the world with a net worth estimated at around $135 billion. The vast majority (around 99%) of Buffett’s net worth was accumulated after he turned 50 years old.
Buffett’s wealth is derived primarily from his ownership of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., the multinational conglomerate holding company of which he has been the chairman and CEO since 1970. He owns around 300,000 Class A shares and 150,000 Class B shares of Berkshire Hathaway, giving him a 15.6% ownership stake in the company worth over $130 billion.
Berkshire Hathaway wholly owns a number of prominent businesses such as GEICO, Duracell, Dairy Queen, and has major stakes in companies like Apple, Bank of America, Coca-Cola, and American Express. The company has a market capitalization of around $700 billion as of 2024.
Despite his immense wealth, Buffett has lived a relatively frugal lifestyle, still residing in the same house in Omaha that he bought in 1958 for $31,500. He has pledged to give away 99% of his fortune to philanthropic causes, with much of it going to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Buffett accumulated his wealth slowly and steadily through disciplined value investing over many decades. He started investing at a very young age and founded Buffett Partnership Ltd. in 1956 before acquiring Berkshire Hathaway in 1965. His long-term investment focus and ability to identify undervalued companies have been key to his incredible success.
Here’s the breakdown of Warren Buffett’s net worth:
Name: | Warren Buffett |
Net Worth: | $135 billion |
Date of Birth: | Aug 30, 1930 |
Profession: | Investor, Entrepreneur, Businessperson, Financier |
If you’re curious about how we estimate a celebrity’s net worth, you can check out our methodology here.
Early Life
Warren Buffett was born on August 30, 1930 in Omaha, Nebraska to Howard and Leila Buffett.
From a very young age, he showed an entrepreneurial spirit and interest in making and saving money.
At age 6, Buffett purchased his first stock – 6 shares of Cities Service Preferred for $38 apiece. He sold these shares a few years later at a small profit.
As a teenager, he had several small business ventures including delivering newspapers, selling golf balls, stamps and detailing cars.
By the time he was 15 years old in 1945, Buffett’s net worth was estimated to be around $6,000 (equivalent to over $90,000 today) from his various entrepreneurial activities.
College
Buffett began his college education at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School in 1947 at age 17.
After two years at Penn, he transferred to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and graduated in 1951 at age 20 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration.
It was at the University of Nebraska that Buffett took his first investing course and read the influential book “The Intelligent Investor” by Benjamin Graham, which shaped his value investing philosophy.
In 1951 after graduating from Nebraska, Buffett enrolled at Columbia Business School where he studied under Graham directly. This cemented Buffett’s value investing approach early on.
By the time he finished his master’s degree at Columbia in 1951 at age 21, Buffett’s net worth was estimated around $20,000 from his earlier business ventures and investments.
Buffett Partnership Ltd
Warren Buffett started his investment partnership called Buffett Partnership Ltd in 1956 at the age of 25 with around $105,000 in capital from just 7 investors, including himself contributing $100.
Over the next 13 years until 1969 when he dissolved the partnership, Buffett delivered compound annual returns of around 24.5% for his partners. This allowed the modest initial capital to grow to over $100 million by 1969.
Buffett’s take from these partnerships in the form of his share of the profits and his ownership stake was substantial. Estimates suggest his net worth had reached around $25-30 million by the time he wound down the partnerships in 1969 at the age of 39.
Geico Investment
Buffett’s investment in the insurance company Geico proved to be one of his most lucrative over the decades. His initial purchase of Geico shares came in 1951 as a student after meeting Geico executive Lorimer Davidson.
In 1976, Buffett began aggressively buying more Geico shares, acquiring around 33% of the company for $46 million. By 1995, this stake was worth over $2.3 billion when Berkshire Hathaway acquired the remaining shares to take full ownership of Geico.
Geico, with its low-cost insurance model, became a major profit engine for Berkshire. Buffett’s relatively small initial investment in Geico grew massively over the subsequent decades, contributing billions to his net worth.
Berkshire Hathaway
Buffett began buying shares of the struggling textile company Berkshire Hathaway in 1962, paying around $7.50 per share. By 1965, he had assumed control of the company as his investment partnership owned over 50% of Berkshire’s outstanding shares.
Over the following decades, Buffett transformed Berkshire into a holding company, using its excess cash flows to acquire quality businesses and invest in public companies. Berkshire’s share price and Buffett’s ownership stake soared in value.
As of 2023, Buffett owns around 310,000 Class A shares and 150,000 Class B shares of Berkshire Hathaway, giving him a 15.6% ownership stake worth over $130 billion based on Berkshire’s market cap.
Berkshire Hathaway has been the primary driver of Buffett’s immense net worth, which is estimated around $135 billion as of 2024, making him one of the wealthiest people in the world. His initial investment of just a few million dollars in the 1960s has compounded into a massive fortune over his investing career through Berkshire’s success.
Personal Life
Buffett married Susan Thompson in 1952, and they had three children: Susie, Howard, and Peter. Despite their separation in 1977, Warren and Susan remained married until her death in 2004.
In 2006, on his 76th birthday, Buffett married his longtime companion, Astrid Menks, who had been living with him since Susan moved to San Francisco in 1977. The three maintained a close relationship, often signing Christmas cards together as “Warren, Susie, and Astrid” .
Despite his vast wealth, Buffett is known for his frugal lifestyle. He continues to live in the same house in Omaha that he purchased in 1958 for $31,500. The house, now worth an estimated $1.4 million, remains his primary residence.
Buffett’s frugality extends to other aspects of his life; he drives a modest car, often buys breakfast from McDonald’s, and has been known to use coupons, even in front of friends like Bill Gates.
His hobbies include playing bridge, golfing, and playing the ukulele. He spends a significant amount of time playing bridge, often with friends like Bill Gates. His interest in the ukulele began in his youth and has continued throughout his life. He has even donated ukuleles to charitable organizations and given group lessons .
Philanthropy
Buffett is one of the most generous philanthropists in history. He has pledged to give away 99% of his wealth to charitable causes, primarily through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and his own Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation.
As of 2023, he has donated over $50 billion in Berkshire Hathaway shares to various foundations.
Wealth Details & History
- At age 11 in 1941, Buffett made his first investment, purchasing six shares of Cities Service Preferred stock for $38 each. His net worth at this point was just a few hundred dollars.
- By age 15 in 1945, Buffett’s net worth was around $6,000 (over $90,000 today) from his childhood business ventures like selling golf balls, stamps, Coca-Cola and delivering newspapers.
- By the time he reached 26 years old in 1956, Buffett’s net worth was estimated at $140,000 after starting his investment partnerships.
- At age 30 in 1960, his net worth crossed $1 million for the first time.
- Buffett hit $1 billion in net worth at age 56 in 1986, just as Berkshire Hathaway’s share price topped $3,000.
- His net worth reached $10 billion in 1993 at age 63 as Berkshire’s shares surpassed $20,000.
- Buffett became a centibillionaire (net worth over $100 billion) in 2006 at age 76 as Berkshire’s market cap soared.
- As of 2024, at age 93, Buffett’s net worth is estimated at around $135 billion, making him the 10th wealthiest person in the world.
Real Estate
Despite his immense wealth, Buffett has lived a relatively frugal lifestyle when it comes to real estate and housing:
In 1958 at age 28, he purchased a 5-bedroom house in Omaha for just $31,500 (around $300,000 today). This remains his primary residence over 60 years later. The house is now estimated to be worth around $1.4 million based on comparable sales in the area, a tiny fraction of Buffett’s net worth.
In addition to his modest primary home, Buffett owns a vacation home in Laguna Beach, California that he bought in 1971 for $150,000.
He also owns a multi-million dollar beach home in Emerald Bay near Laguna Beach that was purchased in the early 1990s.
However, Buffett’s real estate holdings pale in comparison to his massive investment portfolio and ownership of companies like Berkshire Hathaway, GEICO, Duracell and others.
Ashley Roberts is the founder of Real-Time Billionaires List. She founded this platform because she likes to know how much celebrities are actually making. She is always curious why these people can make much more money than the ordinary person.
With a Bachelor’s degree in finance, she is skilled at financial analysis and understands numbers related to wealth. Most of the articles on this site are edited by herself before publishing.
