2.Warren Buffett

Warren Buffett

Warren Buffett

 Net Worth

$46 B As of September 2012

At a Glance

• Chairman, Berkshire Hathaway
• Age: 82
• Source of Wealth: Berkshire Hathaway, Self-made
• Residence: Omaha, NE
• Country of Citizenship: United States
• Education: Master of Science, Columbia University; Bachelor of Arts / Science, University of Nebraska Lincoln
• Marital Status: Widowed, Remarried
• Children: 3

Forbes Lists 

#2 Forbes 400

#3 Forbes Billionaire

 #2 in United States

#20 Powerful People

Profile:

Buffett recently completed radiation treatment for prostate cancer, five months after he notified Berkshire Hathaway shareholders of his condition, assuring them that it was "not remotely life-threatening." Still, he has gotten his house in order: In December he chose his farmer son, Howard, as the future non-executive chairman and "guardian of the firm's values." In February he said he'd picked his CEO replacement but has declined to give a name. He's also stepping up philanthropically. He gave $1.5 billion to the Gates Foundation in July, bringing his total giving to $17.25 billion. On his birthday in August he pledged $3 billion of stock to his children's foundations. His fortune is up $7 billion as class A shares jumped more than 20% since last year. After studying under Benjamin Graham at Columbia Business School, Buffett offered to work for his former professor's investment partnership, Graham-Newman Corporation, for free. According to Buffett, "he turned me down as overvalued." It was only after several years of "pestering" that the father of value investing agreed to take on the younger man in 1954. When Graham retired two years later, Buffett returned to Nebraska to launch his own partnership. In 1962 Buffett began buying up shares of a struggling textile company called Berkshire Hathaway. Though Buffett has called Berkshire "the dumbest stock" he ever bought, the firm has long since shed its textile assets and today serves as Buffett's famed investment vehicle. In May, Berkshire snapped up dozens of local newspapers from Media General after announcing a deal for the Omaha World-Herald in November 2011.