As a teen, he was making more money than his teachers delivering newspapers.AP Photo/Nati Harnik
- Warren Buffett, the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, has a net worth of $87.1 billion.
- He turns 88 years old on Thursday, August 30.
- Buffett is a generous philanthropist having given away more than $27 billion in the last decade.
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The billionaire is known for his frugal habits, like his daily McDonald’s breakfast and insistence on using a flip phone.
With a net worth of $87.1 billion, “The Oracle of Omaha” is currently the third-richest person in the world — but he doesn’t act like it.
His modest home in Nebraska is worth just .001% of his total wealth and he never spends more than $3.17 on his daily McDonald’s breakfast.
To those who knew him from the beginning, Buffett’s success comes as no surprise: He was picking out stocks at 11 years old and had amassed the equivalent of $53,000 in today’s dollars by the time he was 16.
But Buffett isn’t just a master at making money — he’s good at giving it away, too. Although he didn’t start donating until later in life at the insistence of his first wife, Buffett is now regarded as one of the most generous philanthropists in the world, giving more than $27 billion to causes in the last decade.
Inspired by a Quora thread asking “What are some mind-blowing facts about Warren Buffett,” we rounded up 24 astonishing facts about the legendary investor and his massive fortune.
While his elementary school classmates were dreaming about the major leagues and Hollywood, 10-year old Buffett was having lunch with a member of the New York Stock Exchange and setting life goals.
Buffett was an early bloomer, and stayed on track.REUTERS/Rick Wilking
Buffett’s legendary career all began with an epiphany at age 10 when he was on a trip to New York City with his dad.
Dining with a member of the NYSE planted the idea in young Buffett’s head to organize his life around money.
Source: Business Insider
He bought his first stock at age 11.
Buffett’s childhood home.Airbnb
He purchased multiple shares of Cities Service Preferred for $38 apiece.
Source: GOBankingRates
When Buffett was a teen, he was already raking in about $175 a month — more than his teachers (and most adults).
Buffett started tossing papers as a teen.AP Images
He pulled this off by dutifully delivering the Washington Post.
Source: Business Insider
He had amassed the equivalent of $53,000 by the time he was just 16.
Buffett knew how to make money from an early age.AP Images
Paper delivery was just one of many small businesses teenage Buffett orchestrated: He sold used golf balls and stamps, buffed cars, set up a pinball machine business, and turned a horse track into a lucrative playground.
Source: Business Insider
He was rejected from Harvard Business School.
Harvard Business School.Flickr/Florian Pilz
Buffett, confident he nailed his admissions interview, had already told a friend, “Join me at Harvard.”
“I looked about 16 and emotionally was about nine,” he recalled of the in-person interview. Forced to look elsewhere, he settled on Columbia University, which only required a written application and no interview.
Source: Business Insider
His idol refused to hire him the first time he applied.
Benjamin Graham (left).AP Images
Buffett originally wanted to work with his idol, and author of “The Intelligent Investor,” Benjamin Graham, but Graham rejected him because he wasn’t Jewish (Graham was saving a spot at his firm for someone Jewish, since at the time Jewish people had a tougher time landing work on Wall Street).
Buffett wouldn’t take no for an answer, and continued pitching Graham ideas until he eventually hired him.
Source: James Altucher
Buffett spent $100 to take a Dale Carnegie course on public speaking.
Warren Buffett and his current wife, Astrid.Brendan Hoffman/Getty
He was 21 and terrified of public speaking. It ended up being a worthy investment, as the course helped him propose to his wife.
Source: Business Insider
His house is a humble five-bedroom in Omaha, Nebraska, that he bought in 1956 for $31,500.
Omaha, Nebraska.Shutterstock
If you want to be Buffett’s neighbor, the house across the street will cost you about $2.15 million.
Source: James Altucher
Buffett doesn’t keep a computer on his desk, and he chooses to use a flip phone rather than a smartphone.
The most high-tech gadget you’ll find in his office is a land line. CBS News
There is, however, a World Book Encyclopedia set on his shelf.
Source: James Altucher, Business Insider, and CNN
In fact, he’s only sent one email in his life, to Jeff Raikes of Microsoft.
Buffett has successfully evaded technology over the years.Scott Olson/Getty
Source: CNN
His distance from technology leaves him time for bridge, which he plays about 12 hours a week.
Warren Buffett and his frequent bridge partner, Bill Gates.Reuters
Oftentimes, his bridge partner is Bill Gates.
Source: James Altucher
He spends 80% of his day reading.
80% of Buffett’s day is dedicated to reading.AP Images
When he’s not playing bridge, he’s reading. “I just sit in my office and read all day,” he says.
Source: The Week
He drinks an alarming amount of Coca-Cola each day.
Buffett loves his cherry coke.AP
The business magnate is a notoriously unhealthy eater: “If I eat 2,700 calories a day, a quarter of that is Coca-Cola. I drink at least five 12-ounce servings. I do it everyday.”
He also likes to double-fist salt shakers, and don’t put it past him to enjoy a bowl of ice cream for breakfast.
Source: Business Insider
99% of Buffett’s wealth was earned after his 50th birthday.
And he doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon.AP Images
Source: Fool
Among investing legends, Buffett has the longest track record for beating the market.
Buffett has crushed the market over the years.AP Photo/Nati Harnik
The longevity of Buffett’s outperformance is greater than that of other savvy investors, such as David Einhorn and Walter Schloss.
Source: Business Insider
$1,000 invested in Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway stock in 1964, when Buffett took over the company and shares cost just $19, would be worth about $13 million dollars today.
Buffett took the failing textile company and turned it into a legendary conglomerate.Truth Leem/Reuters
Source: Business Insider, Markets Insider
Buffett’s net worth is greater than the GDP of Uruguay.
Uruguayan soccer enthusiasts.REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi
Uruguay’s 2014 GDP was estimated to be $57,471,277,325.
Buffett has also so far donated nearly enough money in his lifetime to build six Apple ‘Spaceship’ Campuses, which are $5 billion endeavors.
Buffett has donated billions of dollars to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (Melinda Gates pictured right).Reuters
The Apple Campus, one of the last major projects Steve Jobs worked on, is a futuristic-looking company campus that will feature curved glass panels, an underground parking lot, a private auditorium for keynotes and product launches, and a 360-degree view of nature.
Buffett has donated nearly $30 billion — the second-highest amount (following that of Bill Gates).
Source: Forbes
In 2013, Buffett made on average $37 million per DAY — that’s more than what Jennifer Lawrence made the entire year.
Jennifer Lawrence.REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
According to Forbes, Jennifer Lawrence was the second-highest-paid actress in 2013, and she is estimated to have made $34 million that year.
Warren Buffett made $37 million per day in 2013.
Source: MarketWatch
In July 2016, Buffett broke his own giving record when he donated $2.9 billion to various charities, including The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, which is named for his late wife.
Source: Forbes
The multi-billionaire reportedly earns only $100,000 a year at Berkshire Hathaway — and spends it frugally.
The Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting.REUTERS/Rick Wilking
Source: GOBankingRates
People are so fascinated with the legendary Buffett that they’ll spend millions of dollars to eat lunch with him.
Buffett’s lunch place of choice, Smith & Wollensky.Art Bochevarov/flickr
Buffett has been auctioning off a “power lunch” since 2000 at his charity event for GLIDE Foundation.
The highest bidder gets to bring up to seven people to dine with the steak-loving business magnate at Smith & Wollensky steakhouse in Manhattan, and the most recent winner paid $3,456,789.
Source: CNN Money
He doesn’t think money equals success: ‘I measure success by how many people love me. And the best way to be loved is to be lovable.’
Source: James Altucher
This is an update of an article originally written by Kathleen Elkins and Emmie Martin.
As a teen, he was making more money than his teachers delivering newspapers.AP Photo/Nati Harnik
