Warren Buffet is not only one of the most successful businessmen and investors in the whole world but also a philanthropist and one of the wealthiest people in the world. This paper seeks to analyze the life, prospects and business ideas that have elevated Warren Buffet to this level of success, as opposed to the risks and setbacks he had to conquer in order to become successful.
Warren Buffet’ Childhood
Warren Edward Buffet was born on August 30th 1930. He was the only son in his family and had two sisters. In his early childhood, Warren Buffet showed much interest in saving and making money, while he worked at a grocery store which belonged to his grandfather. He was always fascinated and excited by numbers. He ventured in to business ideas and prospects at a very young age. In high school Buffet he started part time working. He helped to detail cars, sell golf balls and deliver newspapers among many other part time jobs. In this way, Warren was able to make and save money. At a very tender age, Warren was able to submit returns on income tax and enjoy profit from small businesses. He later took interest on the stock markets and was able to buy 3 shares at the age of 11 (Tom, 2011). At this age, it was already clear that Warren was going to become a billionaire or a millionaire. This simply means that Buffet was an intelligent investor from his childhood. Being very young, he learnt that patience was a virtue and would make a difference and give him profit.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
Berkshire Hathaway is one of the most successful businesses in the whole world. Warren created, managed and turned this company into a fortune power house. One of Warren’s quotes is that “Risks come from not knowing what you are doing”(Lowe 150 — 152). Every single minute in Warren’s life has been and still is devoted to his investments and business. However, his business ambitions did not affect his relationship with his wife and family. He was able to keep his family and marriage intact. Many investors have nick named Warren a business superstar. He is not only an example in the business world but is also a role model at the same time. The success that he has enjoyed in the business world has elevated him to one of the richest people in the world (CNBC Staff , 2007). The big question is “What is the secret to his success?” Well, as opposed to building companies that employ millions of people and bring a fortune, Warren built his fortune by buying off shares from other companies. In this way, his firm employs less people but makes a fortune.
There are a number of things and virtues that the world and businessmen can learn from the life and rise of Warren Buffet. The highest values that Buffet upheld were honesty and rationality. He focuses on the circle of his competence and could not stand the disappointment of losing money. He considered reputation as a very fragile aspect of his business life and understood that it should be easily destroyed or broken. Other people know him as a very stingy man and that he found every coin precious. He considered it a mistake to overpay for something that he wanted. Warren believed in hard work and became responsible at a very young age. Since then, he had an ambition of making and saving money (Kerri, 2012). He looked for and worked with people who shared his ambition and intensity in excellence. In this way, he was able to be a good example to the business world.
Specialization was one of the strongest views that Warren held. Many times when people asked him to donate money, he preferred to donate ideas that would help the people make money. However, on June 20th 2006, Warren announced his donation to a number of foundations. He attributed these donations to the fact that the donations would improve the quality of people’s lives and reduce inequalities globally. One of Warren’s favorite quotes was from the speeches of Martin Luther King that “laws are not made to change the hearts of men but to control and restrain those who are heartless”. One of his quotes on the same was “I don’t have a problem with guilt about money; the way I see it is that my money represents an enormous number of claim checks on society. It is like I have these pieces of paper that I can turn into consumption” (Lowe 165 — 166).
Warren Buffer was the founder and the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. A diversified company has its headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska. The company majors in sale of jewelry and life insurance. This company has roots from a textile manufacturing company, which was established in 1939 by Oliver chance. Berkshire Hathaway suffered decline and depression during and after World War I. In the year 1962, Warren bought shares in this company. After a few years he realized that the stocks and profits of the company would not improve because of the line of business. In the recent years Warren claimed that purchasing shares and buying this company was one of the greatest mistakes that he ever made. However, Warren turned the company in to one of the most successful companies in the whole world (Ajaero, 2010).
It is important to note that Berkshire Hathaway has always enjoyed high prices per share. This is because the company has never split its shares. This is a reflection of the company’s desire to have and attract long term investors instead of speculating on the short term investments. Warren states in one of his quotes “If we can’t find things within our circle of competence, we don’t expand the circle. We’ll wait” (Lowe 170 — 172). Berkshire Hathaway has enjoyed and still enjoys success and high profits in business.
Overview
There are many lessons that businessmen and prospective businessmen can learn from Warren Buffet. Businessmen must avoid speculating and invest. To enjoy success in their businesses, they should stick to what they know and not be distracted or get tempted to diversify. They should also think independently and avoid getting into debt. In this way, they will be ready to break their own rules and allocate profit wisely. The choice of business must be carefully considered. Business men should choose a business that has a durable advantage and that makes sense. The business or company must have a competitive advantage. The other important aspects to consider is that the business should have a good reputation in the society and community, should have an outstanding and a respected management leader and that the business should have experienced and skilled staff. In one of his quotes Warren stated that “˜’ I’ve never swung at a ball while it was still in the pitchers glove” (Lowe 169 — 170).
Conclusion
Warren Buffet was and is one of the greatest investors of this century. His virtues, ambition and wisdom made him one of the most successful businessmen and one of the richest men in the whole world. In this regard, Warren Buffet is a great example in the business world and a role model at the same time.