50 Fun Facts About Warren Buffett

By what nickname is Warren Buffett widely known?

He is also called the Sage of Omaha, and still lives in the house he bought there in 1958.

Which conglomerate did Buffett take control of in 1965 and chair from 1970?

It began life as a New England textile manufacturer.

What was the occupation of Buffett's father, Howard?

Howard Buffett was elected to the first of four terms in Congress in 1942, moving the family to Washington.

What did Buffett's high-school yearbook say about him?

He wanted to skip college and go straight into business, but his father overruled him.

Which library book, borrowed at age seven, inspired the young Buffett?

He went on to sell gum, soft drinks and magazines door to door.

What did the teenage Buffett and a friend place in Omaha barber shops to make money?

They started with one $25 machine and sold the business to a war veteran for $1,200 in 1947.

How old was Buffett when he bought his first shares, three of Cities Service Preferred?

He bought three more for his sister Doris, and had visited the New York Stock Exchange at ten.

What did Buffett buy at 14 with $1,200 of his savings?

A tenant farmer worked the land; by college graduation he had saved $9,800.

Which university rejected Buffett's MBA application in 1950, sending him to Columbia instead?

He chose Columbia because his hero of value investing taught there.

Which 'father of value investing' taught Buffett at Columbia and later employed him?

Buffett offered to work for him for free, and was refused; Graham hired him in 1954 at $12,000 a year.

Which insurer's Washington HQ did the young Buffett talk his way into on a Saturday in 1951?

Vice president Lorimer Davidson talked with him for hours and became a lifelong friend.

What did Buffett sign up for to overcome his fear of public speaking?

He then taught an investment night class whose students averaged more than twice his age.

Where was Buffett introduced to his future partner Charlie Munger in 1959?

Munger became Berkshire's vice-chairman in 1978.

Which map maker, valued by the market at 'minus $20' a share for its map business, gave Buffett a 50% return?

Its investment portfolio was worth $65 a share while the stock traded at $45.

In what year did Buffett become a millionaire through his partnerships?

The partnerships held nearly $7.2 million, of which more than $1 million was his.

What line of business was the company in when Buffett began buying its shares?

He later called the textile business his worst trade; the last mill was sold in 1985.

At what price per share did Buffett's partnerships begin buying the company?

By August 2014 a single share cost $200,000.

How much was Berkshire's first and only dividend, paid in 1967?

Buffett has preferred to reinvest earnings ever since.

Which newspaper publisher did Berkshire start buying into in 1973, leading to Buffett's friendship with Kay Graham?

He had delivered the paper as a teenager, earning more than $175 a month.

Which newspaper did Berkshire buy in 1977 for $32.5 million, prompting an antitrust fight with a rival?

Both Buffalo papers lost money until the Courier-Express folded in 1982.

Buffett helped finance which 1985 media takeover in return for a 25 percent stake?

ABC was four times bigger than Capital Cities at the time; his net worth passed $1 billion that year.

Which Wall Street firm did Buffett step in to chair after a 1991 Treasury bidding scandal?

Berkshire had bought a 12 percent stake in 1987; a rogue trader had submitted bids above what Treasury rules allowed.

Which company did Buffett start buying in 1988, eventually owning about 7 percent for $1.02 billion?

It became one of Berkshire's most lucrative holdings; he even let his likeness appear on Cherry Coke cans in China.

What did Buffett name the private jet he bought with Berkshire funds in 1989?

He later renamed it The Indispensable, then sold it before 1999.

Buffett says his first principle of investing is not to lose money. How does he phrase the second?

He also said the ideal holding period for a stock is forever.

Buffett wrote that if you won't own a stock for ten years, you shouldn't own it for how long?

The line comes from his letter to Berkshire shareholders.

What did Buffett bet hedge fund managers in 2007 that a simple S&P 500 index fund would do?

By 2017 the index fund was ahead of every hedge fund in the wager.

What three-word opinion piece headline did Buffett write for The New York Times during the 2008 crisis?

He also called the financial sector's downturn 'poetic justice'.

Whom did Buffett dethrone in 2008 to become the world's richest person on the Forbes list?

Gates had held the top spot for 13 consecutive years and regained it in 2009.

Which railroad did Buffett buy for $34 billion in cash and stock in 2009?

Biographer Alice Schroeder said the aim was to diversify Berkshire away from finance.

Which technology company surprised observers when Buffett bought about 5.5 percent of it in 2011?

He had long said he avoided tech because he did not understand it.

Whom did Buffett ask the board to appoint as his successor as Berkshire CEO, effective January 1, 2026?

Buffett remained chairman.

Which musical instrument did Buffett take up in 1949 to compete with a girl's boyfriend?

He still plays it at shareholder meetings; two custom Dairy Queen ukuleles were made for him.

How much did Buffett pay in 1958 for the Omaha house he still lives in?

He also owned a Laguna Beach holiday home from 1971 to 2018.

Which card game does Buffett reportedly play for about 12 hours a week, often with a fellow billionaire?

He sponsors the Buffett Cup, modelled on golf's Ryder Cup.

What was Buffett's base salary as Berkshire's CEO in 2008?

His total compensation was $175,000, tiny next to comparable executives.

What is the company's annual shareholder meeting in Omaha nicknamed?

It draws more than 20,000 visitors from around the world.

What did a DNA test show about 'Uncle Warren' Buffett and 'Cousin Jimmy' Buffett?

Warren is, however, very distantly related to a US president.

Which college football team is Buffett a lifelong follower of, once serving as honorary assistant coach?

He watched the 2009 Oklahoma game from the Nebraska sideline.

What did Buffett call bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in 2018?

He said the craze 'would not end well' but would not short bitcoin futures.

To which charity did Buffett pledge the bulk of his fortune in 2006, then the largest donation in history?

He also announced he would give 85 percent of his Berkshire shares to five foundations in annual gifts of stock.

What campaign did Buffett found with Bill and Melinda Gates in 2010 asking billionaires to give away half their wealth?

Mark Zuckerberg was among the early signatories.

At which New York steakhouse do winners of Buffett's charity lunch auction traditionally dine with him?

The 2007 lunch went for $650,100 for the Glide Foundation; later ones topped $3 million.

Buffett wants his children to have 'enough to do anything, but not so much that they would feel like...' what?

His children will not inherit a significant share of his wealth.

Buffett compared repealing the inheritance tax to choosing the Olympic team how?

He testified before the Senate in 2007 urging it to preserve the estate tax to avoid a plutocracy.

Which president awarded Buffett the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011?

Buffett had endorsed and donated to that president's first campaign.

What was the title of the 2017 HBO documentary about him?

He has also had cameos in The Office, All My Children and Entourage.

At which business school did Buffett enrol in 1947 under pressure from his father?

He studied there two years, then transferred to the University of Nebraska and graduated in 1951 aged 19.

On which birthday did Buffett marry his longtime companion Astrid Menks in 2006?

Menks had lived with him since his wife Susan left for San Francisco in 1977; Christmas cards were signed 'Warren, Susie and Astrid'.

In 2017 Buffett let his likeness be placed, unpaid, on which product in China?

The avid Coca-Cola drinker is also a shareholder; he is, separately, very distantly related to Barack Obama.