Sunday 28 August 2016

The Greatest Personalities



WARREN BUFFET



Personal Profile
Warren Buffett graduated from the University of Nebraska in 1950 with a Bachelor of Science degree. After reading "The Intelligent Investor" by Benjamin Graham, he wanted to study under Graham, and did so at ColumbiaUniversity, obtaining his Master of Science degree in business in 1951.

He then returned to Omaha and formed the investment firm of Buffett-Falk & Company, and worked as an investment salesman from 1951 to 1954. During this time, Buffett developed a close relationship with Graham, who was generous with his time and thoughts. This interaction between the former professor and student eventually landed Buffett a job with Graham's New York firm, Graham-Newman Corporation, where he worked as a
security analyst from 1954 to 1956. These two years of working side-by-side with Graham and analyzing hundreds of companies were instructive years that formed the foundation for Buffett's approach to successful stock investing.

Wanting to work independently, Buffett returned home once again to Omaha and started a family investment partnership at age 25 with a starting capital base of $100,000. From 1956 to 1969, when the Buffett partnership was dissolved, investors, including Buffett, experienced a thirty-fold gain in their value per share. Prior to the final decision to liquidate the partnership, Buffett had acquired the unprofitable Berkshire Hathaway textile company in New Bedford, Massachusetts, in 1965. After acquiring Berkshire, Buffett effected a successful turnaround of the company, which focused on changing the company's financial framework. Berkshire kept its textile business, even in the face of mounting pressures, but also used the company as a
holding company for other investments.

It was in the 1973-74 market collapse that Berkshire got the opportunity to purchase other companies at bargain prices. Buffett went on a buying spree, which included an investment in The Washington Post. The rest is history and today, Berkshire Hathaway is a massive holdings company for a variety of businesses with assets and sales totaling, approximately, $240 billion and $100 billion, respectively, for year-end 2006.


Culled from Investopedia.

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