Warren Buffett
.jpg) Buffett at the SelectUSA Investment Summit, 2015. Photo: USA International Trade Administration, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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| Net worth | $149 billion Forbes 2026 list, March 24, 2026[1] |
|---|---|
| World rank | 9th (Forbes 2026)[1] |
| Source of wealth | Berkshire Hathaway |
| Companies | Berkshire Hathaway (chairman emeritus, former CEO) |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Born | August 30, 1930, Omaha, Nebraska, US |
| Education | University of Nebraska (BS); Columbia Business School (MS) |
| Known for | Investing; the Giving Pledge |
| Net worth figures are estimates by the source named and change every day. | |
Warren Buffett is an American investor who built the conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway and is one of the best-known investors in the world.[2] On the Forbes 2026 billionaires list, a snapshot taken on March 24, 2026, he was ninth in the world with an estimated $149 billion.[1] He is often called the "Oracle of Omaha".[2]
Net worth
Almost all of his fortune is his stake in Berkshire Hathaway.[2]
How the fortune was made
Buffett was born in Omaha, Nebraska, the son of congressman and businessman Howard Buffett, and bought his first shares at 11.[2] He studied at the Wharton School and the University of Nebraska, then at Columbia Business School, where he learned from the investor Benjamin Graham.[2] He started Buffett Partnership Ltd. in 1956; it bought shares in the textile maker Berkshire Hathaway from $7.60 a share, and he turned Berkshire into a holding company, becoming its chairman and largest shareholder in 1970.[2]
Under Buffett, Berkshire bought whole companies and large stakes in others; in 1988 he began buying Coca-Cola stock, eventually about 7% of the company, for $1.02 billion.[2] In May 2025 he asked the board to make Greg Abel chief executive by the end of that year, and in September 2026 he stepped down as chairman.[2]
Giving
Buffett has pledged to give away 99% of his fortune.[2] In June 2006 he said he would give 85% of his Berkshire shares to five foundations in yearly gifts of stock, the largest share going to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.[2] In 2010 he started the Giving Pledge with Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates, asking billionaires to give away at least half of their wealth.[2]
Photos
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Warren Buffett with Kathy Ireland and Bill Gates at the 2015 Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting. Photo: Jon Carrasco, CC BY-SA 4.0
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All photos are from Wikimedia Commons; click a photo for its full credit and license.
Sources
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Forbes, "Warren Buffett", 2026 World's Billionaires list (snapshot of March 24, 2026), read November 3, 2026. Net worth is a Forbes estimate.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 Wikipedia, "Warren Buffett", read November 3, 2026. Billionaire Wiki's text is written in its own words; facts are checked against this article and its sources.