Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway

At 77 years of age, the world’s #1 billionaire, Warren Edward Buffett, or the “Oracle of Omaha,” continues to head Berkshire Hathaway, America’s 2nd most admired company (Fortune). Currently, he has a net worth of $62 billion.

The story of self-made man Warren Buffett is one that inspires hard workers and risk takers. Although the son of a Nebraskan Congressman, he did not depend on his father’s reputation for his own success. He filed his first income tax return at the age of 13 and as if it were a foreshadowing of his financial management prowess, at that age he already knew how to claim a $35 deduction for the bicycle he was using as a newspaper delivery boy.

Warren Buffett went on to study at the Wharton Business School for two years, after which he transferred to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He graduated in a matter of only three years while handling a full-time job. He turned to Columbia University for post graduate studies, where he would meet his mentor, value investing guru Benjamin Graham.

In 1956, he created Buffett Associates Ltd. with his Sister Doris and Aunt Alice and five other partners. By the end of the first year they had a meager $300,000 in capital. However, within five years this amount would grow to $7.2 million. The company had more than 90 limited partners across the US but Warren Buffett merged the partnerships into one — Buffett Partnerships Ltd.

Then on May 10, 1965, with 49% shares, Warren Buffett took the lead in becoming the director of textile firm Berkshire Hathaway. He managed to increase the company’s book value from $20 per share to around $95 in a span of a decade. In fact, if one had invested $10,000 into Berkshire in 1965, at present that would amount to $ 51 million.

Today, the world renowned stock market investor has expanded the company to jewelry (Borsheim’s), utilities (MidAmerican Energy), insurance (Geico, General Re), and food (Dairy Queen, See’s Candies). Warren Buffett has also invested in established companies like Anheuser-Busch, Coca-Cola, Gillette and Wells Fargo.