Warren Buffett

Warren Buffett : Then and Now (http://www.businessinsider.com/warren-buffetts-4-i (Woodrow Wilson High School; Bill Pugliano/Getty))

The Inspirational Work of Warren E. Buffett

Warren Edward Buffett is an investor and the CEO of the conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway. Born in 1930, he was exposed to finance at a very young age, buying his first stock at age 11. When Buffett was twenty, he received his MBA from Columbia University and shortly afterwards, he was hired by his idol, famed investor Benjamin Graham. After Graham retired, a 26-year old Buffett formed an investment partnership in which his investment was multiplied by thousands of times before he decided to close it in 1969. Later that year, he bought control of a failing textile business known as Berkshire Hathaway which he transformed into an investment company. Over the next few decades, the company acquired various other businesses, becoming one of the biggest investment firms, making Buffett one of the wealthiest people in the world. He helped  improve lives  by giving away large portions of his immense fortune to charitable organizations, especially the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Warren Buffett is a hero because he uses this influence and his generosity for the benefit of others, rather than himself.  

Buffett has built up a tremendous amount of influence through his business success and has used it for the benefit of those who are less fortunate.  One way he was able to do this was through his ownership of media outlets. Buffett, "... once took umbrage when Boys Town of Omaha continued to plead poverty and exploit orphaned and homeless children to gain contributions, which Buffett found were simply hoarded by the home. He forced an expose in the Omaha papers that compelled the home to change its practices" (Schlager, para 14).  Buffett used his influence on the media to reveal the home's wrongdoing to the public. He used his power to put pressure on the home to stop the exploitation of orphans in Omaha. Buffett also used political influence to foster change.  "During the California recall election of Gray Davis, Buffett served as a senior economic advisor to Republican gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger. Buffett, a registered Democrat, was asked in part because he was a personal friend of Schwarzenegger. Among Buffett's suggestions for solving California's ongoing fiscal crisis was the raising of property taxes in the state. Schwarzenegger won the election" (Carson and Bonk, para 12). Schwarzenegger was impressed by Buffett's financial acumen and asked him to join his campaign. Even though Buffett was a member of a different political party, he agreed to work with Schwarzenegger in order to help the people of California. This shows that Buffett uses his influence to change the situations of the less fortunate, regardless of his political beliefs.  

Warren Buffett with Bill Gates (http://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/02/warren-buffett-and- (Monica Schipper))

Warren Buffett lives a very simple life in spite of his immense wealth and prefers to give to charitable causes rather than spend money on himself.  Buffett once devised a philanthropy plan for Berkshire Hathaway which, "called for each shareholder to designate charities which would receive $2 for each Berkshire share the stockholder owned. This was in response to a common practice on Wall Street of the CEO choosing who received the company's hand-outs (often they would go to the executive's schools, churches, and organizations). The plan was a huge success and over the years the amount was upped for each share. Eventually, the Berkshire shareholders were giving millions of dollars away each year, all to their own causes" (Kennon, para 30). With his plan, Buffett facilitated Berkshire Hathaway shareholders to easily give money to the causes that meant the most to them. This allowed more people to experience generosity and inspired them to give away even more. In 2006, Buffett, "announced that he was re-writing his will so that the stock donations, which are projected eventually to encompass more than 70 percent of Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway stock, would continue after his death. His first year's gift of 500,000 shares, made in August of 2006, was estimated to be worth more than $1.5 billion" (Carson and Bonk, para 15). Buffett wanted to make sure a portion of money generated by his company continued to go to good causes. This action of his shows that Buffett always wants to find ways to channel billions of dollars to philanthropy even if he is not there to see it. Instead of using his money to further enrich himself , he has chosen to use it to enrich the lives of others through his philanthropic work.

Warren E. Buffett has benefited many through his generosity and the influence that came with his wealth.  Through control of the media and his political acquaintances, he was able to change the way people were treated and to improve their lives. His frugality with his wealth has allowed him to give away billions to many charities and nonprofit organizations.  He inspires people such as myself to stop thinking about just ourselves and use our capabilities, material or not, in order to improve the lives of others, especially the less fortunate.

Works Cited

Kennon, Joshua. "Learn About the Life and Business of Billionaire, Warren Buffett." The Balance, The Balance, 29 Dec. 2016, www.thebalance.com/warren-buffett-biography-356436. Accessed 1 May 2017.

"Warren Buffett." Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History, edited by Thomas Carson and Mary Bonk, Gale, 1999. Biography in Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ1667000022/BIC1?u=powa9245&xid=c80a3041. Accessed 29 Apr. 2017.

"Warren E. Buffett." International Directory of Business Biographies, edited by Neil Schlager,

vol. 4, St. James Press, 2005. Biography in Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K2440303062/BIC1?u=powa9245&xid=dd15f6ea. Accessed 1 May 2017.