Who Is Warren Buffett?

By Scott Levine – Updated Sep 22, 2026 at 2:41 PM EST | Fact-checked by Margo Winton Parodi

Key Points

Warren Buffett's investment success is marked by a 6,099,294% gain in Berkshire Hathaway from 1965 to 2025.
Buffett emphasizes long-term value investing and seizing opportunities during market downturns.
He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011 for his contributions to investing and philanthropy.

When compiling a list of the world's most famous investors, it's not just a guarantee that Warren Buffett's name will appear -- it's a near certainty. He is one of the most acclaimed value investors of all time and will be one of the most recognizable.

It's essential for both novices and veterans interested in gaining insights into the world of investing to familiarize themselves with Warren Buffett.

Loading paragraph...

Warren Buffett smiling. — Image source: The Motley Fool.

Loading image...

Loading paragraph...

Buffett recognizes the value of doing your due diligence and investing with a long time horizon -- a marathon, not a sprint. Similarly, Buffett is emphatic about the power of compound interest and reinvesting dividends, which require time and patience yet yield powerful results.

In the same vein, Buffett knows that stock market crashes are part and parcel of investing. Instead of fearing them, Buffett recognizes that they can present great opportunities to scoop up quality stocks at deep discounts.

Buffett is enthusiastic about finding value opportunities. However, he's equally attentive to identifying high-quality companies as investments.

His adage, "It's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price," is well-known among investors. There are a variety of ways in which Buffett identifies high-quality companies, ranging from their competitive advantages to their ability to generate strong returns on equity without relying heavily on debt.

Loading paragraph...

The key to investing is not assessing how much an industry is going to affect society, or how much it will grow, but rather determining the competitive advantage of any given company and, above all, the durability of that advantage.
Warren Buffett

Loading quote...

Career highlights

For multidecade owners of Berkshire Hathaway stock, the returns have been extraordinary. From 1965, when Buffett took the reins at Berkshire Hathaway, through 2024, the company produced a compounded annual gain of 19.7% -- almost twice the 10.5% results of the S&P 500 during the same period.

And if that track record isn't impressive enough, consider that Berkshire Hathaway produced an overall gain of 6,099,294% from 1965 through 2025.

Loading paragraph...

Philosophy & legacy

In examining the investing career of Warren Buffett, it's clear that he has faith in the resiliency of the market. His conviction in the market's long-term success is perhaps best illustrated by one of his more famous quips: "Be fearful when others are greedy and be greedy only when others are fearful."

It's hard to overstate the impact that Buffett has had on generations of investors. While he hasn't authored any books, the annual letters that he penned to shareholders and included in Berkshire Hathaway's annual reports are the stuff of legends, a wellspring of wisdom that includes Buffett's investing acumen.

Awards, honors, & recognition

Buffett has received numerous awards. In 2011, President Obama awarded Buffett the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest award the U.S. government grants to a civilian, for his generosity and compassion.

Buffett has also received distinction from peers. As the 1900s drew to a close, financial services firm The Carson Group surveyed a broad cross-section of finance professors in 1999. When the results came in, Warren Buffett earned the top spot on The Top Money Managers of the 20th Century list.

And it's not only industry professionals who recognize Buffett's impact on society. In 2007, Time magazine named him one of the 100 Most Influential People of the year.

Loading paragraph...

Personal notes

Buffett's disdain for living a life of excess is well-known. He drives an unassuming car and still lives in the same house in Omaha, Nebraska, that he bought for $31,500 in 1958.

Buffett is committed to helping others through his philanthropy. In 2010, Buffett co-founded the Giving Pledge with his longtime friend Bill Gates and his then-wife, Melinda French Gates. The community members -- wealthy philanthropists located around the globe -- who have signed on to the Giving Pledge promise to give away the majority of their wealth over the course of their lifetimes.

In taking the pledge, Buffett stated, "More than 99% of my wealth will go to philanthropy during my lifetime or at death. Measured by dollars, this commitment is large. In a comparative sense, though, many individuals give more to others every day."

Loading paragraph...

Related investing topics

Loading paragraph...

Who Is Bill Ackman?

Bill Ackman is an activist investor and the founder of Pershing Square Capital Management.

Who Is Israel "Izzy" Englander?

Israel "Izzy" Englander is the founder, chairman, and CEO of hedge fund Millennium Management. Read about his investment strategy.

Who Is David Gardner?

Learn about David Gardner, co-founder of The Motley Fool, and how he finds winning stocks with his Rule Breaker investing method.

Who Is Carl Icahn?

Carl Icahn is well-known among financial professionals and ranks among the world's most famous investors. Learn more here.

Loading hub_pages...

About the Author

Scott Levine is a contributing Motley Fool stock market analyst covering energy, industrials, technology, and materials. He is also a high school English teacher and a small business owner. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English and creative writing from Binghamton University, a master’s degree in secondary education from Adelphi University, and an advanced certificate in school building leadership from CUNY Queens College. A crossword puzzle enthusiast, he has solved more than 3,100 New York Times puzzles with a 97% solve rate.

TMFProudMonkey

@TMFProudMonkey

Scott Levine has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.