Buffett is an investor and businessman who has been successful his entire life, who started out with nothing and went on to build a billion dollar empire. Investors pay attention when Warren Buffett speaks because the man has a proven track record in the financial and investing world, and a reputation for coming up the hard way, and expecting the same effort of everyone else. In the past he even cut off relatives so that they could learn to appreciate the value of hard work.

Warren Buffett came into the world on August 30, 1930 in the city of Omaha, Nebraska. His father Howard Buffett and mother Leila Buffett were not rich, but they lived a comfortable life. Neither parent had any idea at the time that their newborn son would be called the greatest investor ever in the future. When Warren was 11 years old he made a stock purchase in partnership with his sister. He bought 6 shares of preferred stock in Cities Service, and these were split between Warren and his sister.

The price paid per share at the time was $38, and within a short time the price dropped down to $27. Warren and his sister held on and the stock rebounded, going up to $40 per share. At this point both siblings sold, and regretted the decision a short time later when the stock skyrocketed to a price of more than $200 for every share. This is a lesson Warren has never forgotten and one of the reasons that he is such an exceptional investor.

Throughout his childhood years Warren Buffet was more interested in business than in playing like most boys his age. By the time he was 18 years old Warren Buffett was already an accomplished businessman with several successful business deals transacted. In 1947 he gave in to pressure from his father and enrolled in college, and immediately knew that higher education was not for him. In spite of this, Buffett graduated from Columbia University in 1951. By the time he was 26 years old, Warren had amassed personal savings in excess of $140,000. In 1956 Buffett Associates, Ltd was started, and from this point forward Warren Buffett would only work for himself and see even more success.

Today Warren Buffett is 82 years old and still going strong. He has built a personal worth that is estimated in the billions. In 2006 he announced to the world that his entire fortune of $44 billion would be given away, with 85% of this amount going to the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation. Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway are closely linked, because Buffett is the CEO of the company, and also the largest shareholder of stock. It was recently revealed that he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, but this diagnosis has not caused him to step down in the company or to step away from Wall Street and investing at all. If anything, he has more pep and energy, not to mention investment and financial knowledge, than anyone else.

Any time Berkshire Hathaway closed down a plant the stock movement on the market was consistent. This was noticed by Warren Buffett in 1962, and he started to buy shares in the company. Over time, Warren realized that the textile industry in America was dying, and Berkshire Hathaway was in a tenuous financial position. A verbal offer to Buffett for his shares in the company was made in 1964, and the offer was made for a share price of $11 and 1/2. The offer was accepted but when the tender offer arrived, the price per share was listed at $11 and 3/8 instead. This was viewed as an insult by Warren Buffett, and he became angry. The tender offer was refused and instead of selling the shares he owned he snapped up more shares instead.

When Warren Buffett started buying up additional shares in Berkshire Hathaway the goal was to become the largest stockholder of the company so that he could take control. When this happened Warren fired the executive who had undercut him on the deal. By 1967 Buffett could no longer maintain the core textile interests of the business because the industry had greatly declined. Berkshire Hathaway underwent an expansion into other areas. Insurance investments and other options outside of the textile industry turned the company around, and by 1996, GEICO became a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway. The last textile operations for the company were stopped in 1985, and today insurance and financial sectors make up a big part of the company holdings.

The company that started out as a small textile operation is now a multinational holding company with a number of subsidiaries. The wide range of diversity in the businesses owned by Berkshire Hathaway is astonishing. A number of regional utility companies in the gas and electric sectors have been acquired, and there are also holdings that include retail, confections, jewelry, vacuums,uniforms, journalism, and much more. Thanks to the investing genius of Warren Buffett, what was once a small company is now a conglomerate with a global reach. The company headquarters are based in Omaha, Nebraska, the hometown of Warren Buffett. He is still the CEO and largest shareholder of Berkshire Hathaway today. In 2012 the company ranked #15 on Forbes Global 2000 list, making it the 15th largest company in value in the world.