Warren Buffet

Investment guru

Date of Birth: 30/07/1930
Place of Birth: Omaha, Nebraska

Education: BS in Economics, University of Nebraska, 1950; MS in Economics, Columbia University, 1951;

Career: Investment Salesman, Buffett-Falk& Co, Omaha, 1951-54; Securities Analyst, Graham-Newman Corp, New York, 1954-56; General Partner, Buffett Partnership, Ltd, 1956-69; Chairman and CEO, Berkshire Hathaway Inc, Omaha, 1970 to date.

Warren Buffett began a limited investing fund partnership with a group of friends, family and associates. The Buffett Partnerships Ltd fund racked up amazing returns for its investors over a ten year period, with returns 10 times higher than the Dow Jones Industrial average for the same time.

Buffett liquidated the fund and took control of the textile company Berkshire Hathaway. It was a difficult time for the textile industry and Buffett eventually wound up Berkshire Hathaway's textile activities, but kept the name for Buffett's portfolio of companies and investments.

The insurance industry was the first major area of success that Berkshire Hathaway had, with the funds used to acquire carefully selected investments each year. Major undervalued companies that Buffett took advantage of included American Express, Coca-Cola, The Washington Post and Gillette.

Berkshire Hathaway owns large holdings of each of the above major brand companies (more than 5% each).