Warren Edward Buffett Historical timeline

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1930:
o born August 30, 1930, in Omaha, Nebraska
1943: (13 years old)
Buffett filed his first income tax return, deducting his bicycle as a
work exense for !3"#
$1%&
1945: (15 years old)
'n his senior year of high school, Buffett and a friend sent !(" to
urchase a used inball machine, which they laced in a barber
sho# )ithin months, they owned three machines in different
locations#
1949: (19 years old)
'n 19*9, he was initiated into Alha +igma ,hi -raternity while an
undergraduate at the )harton Business +chool at the .ni/ersity of
,ennsyl/ania# 0is father and uncles were also Alha +igma ,hi
brothers from the chater at Nebraska, where )arren e/entually
transferred#
1950: (20 years old)
Buffett enrolled at 1olumbia Business +chool after learning that
Ben2amin 3raham and 4a/id 4odd, two well5known securities
analysts, taught there#
1951: (21 years old)
Buffett disco/ered 3raham was on the Board of 36'1O insurance
at the time# After taking a train to )ashington, 4#1# on a +aturday,
Buffett knocked on the door of 36'1O7s head8uarters until a 2anitor
allowed him in# 9here, he met :orimer 4a/idson, the ;ice
,resident, who was to become a lasting influence on him and life5
long friend#
$19&
Buffett graduated from 1olumbia and wanted to work on )all
+treet# Buffett offered to work for 3raham for free but 3raham
refused# 0e urchased a +inclair gas station as a side in/estment,
but that /enture did not work out as well as he had hoed#
<eanwhile, he worked as a stockbroker# 4uring that time, Buffett
also took a 4ale 1arnegie ublic seaking course# .sing what he
learned, he felt confident enough to teach a night class at the
.ni/ersity of Nebraska, ='n/estment ,rinciles#= 9he a/erage age
of the students he taught was more than twice his own#
1952: (22 years old)
Buffett married +usan 9homson#
1954: (24 years old)
Ben2amin 3raham offered Buffett a 2ob at his artnershi with a
starting salary of !1(,000 a year# 0ere, he worked closely with
)alter +chloss#
+usan had her first child, 0oward 3raham Buffett#
195: (25 years old)
Ben2amin 3raham retired and folded u his artnershi#
Buffett7s ersonal sa/ings are now o/er !1*0,000#
Buffett returned home to Omaha and created Buffett Associates,
:td#, an in/estment artnershi#
195!: (2! years old)
Buffett had three artnershis oerating the entire year#
Buffett urchased a fi/e5bedroom, stucco house on -arnam +treet
for !31,"00#
+usan was about to ha/e her third child#
195": (2" years old)
Buffett had fi/e artnershis oerating the entire year#
1959: (29 years old)
Buffett had six artnershis oerating the entire year#
Buffett was introduced to 1harlie <unger#
190: (30 years old)
Buffett had se/en artnershis oerating the entire year#
9he artnershis were> Buffett Associates, Buffett -und, 4acee,
6mdee, 3lenoff, <o5Buff, and .nderwood#
Buffett asks one of his artners, a doctor, to find ten other doctors
who will be willing to in/est !10,000 each into his artnershi#
6/entually, ele/en doctors agreed to in/est#
191: (31 years old)
Buffett re/ealed that +anborn <a 1omany accounted for 3"? of
the artnershis7 assets#
Buffett exlained that in 19"%, +anborn sold at !*" er share when
the /alue of the +anborn in/estment ortfolio was !@" er share#
9his meant buyers /alued +anborn at =minus !(0= er share, and
buyers were unwilling to ay more than A0 cents on the dollar for
an in/estment ortfolio with a ma business thrown in for nothing#
Buffett re/eals that he earned a sot on the board of +anborn#
192: (32 years old)
Buffett7s artnershis, in Banuary 19@(, had in excess of
!A,1A%,"00 of which o/er !1,0(",000 belonged to Buffett#
Buffett merges all artnershis into one artnershi#
Buffett disco/ered a textile manufacturing firm, Berkshire
0athaway# Buffett7s artnershis began urchasing shares at !A#@0
er share#
195: (35 years old)
)hen Buffett7s artnershis began aggressi/ely urchasing
Berkshire they aid !1*#%@ er share while the comany had
working caital Ccurrent assets minus liabilitiesD of !19 er share,
this did not include the /alue of fixed assets Cfactory and
e8uimentD#
Buffett took control of Berkshire 0athaway at the board meeting
and named a new ,resident, Een 1hace, to run the comany#
19: (3 years old)
Buffett closes the artnershi to new money#
Buffett wrote in his letter Funless it aears that circumstances ha/e
changed Cunder some conditions added caital would imro/e
resultsD or unless new artners can bring some asset to the
artnershi other than simly caital, ' intend to admit no additional
artners to B,:#G
'n a second letter, Buffett announced his first in/estment in a
ri/ate business H 0ochschild, Eohn, and 1o, a ri/ately owned
Baltimore deartment store#
19!: (3! years old)
Berkshire aid out its first and only di/idend of 10 cents#
199: (39 years old)
-ollowing his most successful year, Buffett li8uidated the
artnershi and transferred their assets to his artners# Among the
assets aid out were shares of Berkshire 0athaway#
19!0: (40 years old)
As chairman of Berkshire 0athaway, began writing his now5famous
annual letters to shareholders#
19!3: (43 years old)
Berkshire began to ac8uire stock in the )ashington ,ost 1omany#
Buffett became close friends with Eatharine 3raham, who
controlled the comany and its flagshi newsaer, and became a
member of its board of directors#
19!9: (49 years old)
Berkshire began to ac8uire stock in AB1# )ith the stock trading at
!(90 er share, Buffett7s net worth neared !1*0 million# 0owe/er,
he li/ed solely on his salary of !"0,000 er year#
Berkshire began the year trading at !AA" er share, and ended at
!1,310# Buffett7s net worth reached !@(0 million, lacing him on the
-orbes *00 for the first time#
19"": (5" years old)
Buffett began buying stock in 1oca51ola 1omany, e/entually
urchasing u to A ercent of the comany for !1#0( billion# 't
would turn out to be one of Berkshire7s most lucrati/e in/estments,
and one which he still holds#
1999: (9 years old)
Buffett is named the to money manager of the (0th century in a
sur/ey by the 1arson 3rou, ahead of ,eter :ynch and Bohn
9emleton#
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2002: (!2 years old)
Buffett entered in !11 billion worth of forward contracts to deli/er
.+ dollars against other currencies# By Aril (00@, his total gain on
these contracts was o/er !( billion#
2004: (!3 years old)
0is wife, +usan, dies#
200: (!5 years old)
Buffett announced in Bune that he would gi/e away more than %0?,
or about !3A billion, of his !"( billion fortune to fi/e foundations in
annual gifts of stock, starting in Buly (00@# 9he largest contribution
will go to the Bill and <elinda 3ates -oundation#
200!: (! #ears old)
'n a letter to shareholders, Buffett announced that he was looking
for a younger successor or erhas successors to run his
in/estment business#
$(1&
Buffett had re/iously selected :ou
+imson, who runs in/estments at 3eico, to fill that role# 0owe/er,
+imson is only six years younger than Buffett#
200": (!! #ears old)
Buffett becomes the richest man in the world according to -orbes#
$((&
$d%cation>
)oodrow )ilson 0igh +chool, )ashington 4#1# in 19*A
9he )harton +chool, .ni/ersity of ,ennsyl/ania, 19*AI19*9
B#+# .ni/ersity of Nebraska, 19"0
<#+# in 6conomics, 1olumbia .ni/ersity, in 19"1#
$mployment>
19"1I19"* Buffett-Falk & Co., Omaha 5 'n/estment +alesman
19"*I19"@ Graham-Newman Corp., New Jork 5 +ecurities Analyst
19"@I19@9 Buffett Partnership, Ltd., Omaha 5 3eneral ,artner
19A0I,resent Berkshire 0athaway 'nc, Omaha 5 1hairman, 16O