• Faith: Agnostic
• Career: Businessman
• Birthday:  August 30, 1930

Warren Buffett is an American investor, businessman and philanthropist best known for building Berkshire Hathaway into one of the world’s largest and most successful conglomerates. Nicknamed the “Oracle of Omaha,” Buffett became one of the wealthiest people in the world through a disciplined, long-term approach to investing.

Buffett was born on August 30, 1930, in Omaha, Nebraska, to Leila Stahl Buffett and Howard Buffett, a stockbroker who later served in the U.S. House of Representatives. The second of three children, Buffett showed an unusual interest in business and money from an early age. As a boy, he sold chewing gum, Coca-Cola and magazines door to door and worked in his grandfather’s grocery store.

At age 11, Buffett bought his first shares of stock. As a teenager, he earned money delivering newspapers and pursued other small business ventures. His family moved to Washington, D.C., after his father was elected to Congress.

Buffett attended the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania before transferring to the University of Nebraska, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration. He later received a master’s degree in economics from Columbia University. At Columbia, he studied under Benjamin Graham, whose value-investing philosophy became a major influence on Buffett’s career.

After graduating from Columbia, Buffett worked in investment sales before joining Graham’s investment firm, Graham-Newman Corp. Following Graham’s retirement, Buffett returned to Omaha and established Buffett Partnership Ltd. in 1956.

His investment partnerships produced strong returns, and Buffett eventually acquired control of Berkshire Hathaway, then a struggling textile manufacturer. He gradually moved Berkshire away from textiles and transformed it into a diversified holding company with businesses in insurance, railroads, energy, manufacturing and retail. Berkshire also accumulated major investments in publicly traded companies.

Buffett’s investing strategy emphasized purchasing strong businesses at attractive prices and holding them for long periods. His partnership with Berkshire vice chairman Charlie Munger, who died in 2023, helped shape that approach toward buying high-quality companies with durable competitive advantages.

Buffett became one of the world’s richest people but maintained a reputation for relatively modest personal spending. In 2006, he pledged to give away the vast majority of his fortune. He later joined Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates in establishing the Giving Pledge, which encourages billionaires to commit most of their wealth to philanthropy.

Buffett stepped down as Berkshire Hathaway’s CEO at the end of 2025, with longtime executive Greg Abel succeeding him. In September 2026, Buffett also stepped down as chairman after more than five decades leading the company. His son Howard Buffett became non-executive chairman, while Warren Buffett remained on Berkshire’s board as chairman emeritus.

Buffett married Susan Thompson in 1952. They had three children: Susan, Howard and Peter. The couple remained married until Susan’s death in 2004, although they had lived separately for many years. Buffett married his longtime companion, Astrid Menks, in 2006.

Despite his enormous wealth, Buffett has remained closely associated with Omaha and continued living for decades in the house he purchased there in 1958. His personal interests include playing bridge and following University of Nebraska football.

Warren Buffett's Religious Beliefs

Buffett was raised in a Presbyterian household and was baptized in the church as a child. His parents were religious, but Buffett did not retain their traditional Christian beliefs as an adult. He has instead publicly identified himself as agnostic.

During Berkshire Hathaway’s 2008 annual meeting, Buffett was asked whether he believed in Jesus Christ and had a personal relationship with Him. Buffett replied that he was an agnostic and had grown up in a religious household. He described himself as a “true agnostic,” explaining that he was neither closer to theism nor atheism because he simply did not know whether God exists.

Buffett does not practice an organized religion and has generally avoided judging the beliefs of others. At the same meeting, he said he had “no opinion on anybody else’s religion” and wished others well in following their own beliefs. His public philosophy has instead placed considerable emphasis on ethical behavior, personal integrity, relationships and using wealth to benefit others.