How Warren Buffett built his fortune

Warren Buffett is considered by many to be the best investor of all time. We examine how much Buffett is worth and how he made his fortune.

Warren Buffett
Warren Buffett’s net wealth exceeds $100bn  
(Image credit: © Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Warren Buffett is considered by many to be the best investor of all time. When he set out on his own in the mid-1950s, investors entrusted him with just $100,000 (around $1m today) of their capital. Over the course of the past 70 years, he has grown this capital into a conglomerate with just under $1trn of assets.

Buffett started investing when he was 11 years old, buying six shares of Cities Service preferred stock (three shares for himself and three for his sister) at a cost of $38 per share. He made a small profit on this investment and went on to build several other businesses.

He filed his first tax return at just 13 years of age. It was for the 1944 calendar year. He’d earned $592.50 in total, more than half of it from a paper round, the rest from investments. (He paid $7 in tax). The young businessman attended the University of Nebraska before moving to Columbia University, where he met his mentor, professor Benjamin Graham.

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CompanySymbolHoldingsValue% of portfolio
Apple IncAAPL911,347,617$155,564,138,000.0042.79%
Bank of America CorpBAC1,032,852,006$41,636,348,000.0011.45%
American Express CompanyAXP151,610,700$28,351,201,000.007.80%
Chevron CorporationCVX159,178,117$25,918,973,000.007.13%
Coca-Cola CoKO400,000,000$24,799,999,000.006.82%
Kraft Heinz CoKHC325,634,818$12,826,755,000.003.53%
Moody’s CorporationMCO24,669,778$8,323,829,000.002.29%
Occidental Petroleum CorporationOXY143,162,392$7,737,804,000.002.13%
US BancorpUSB144,046,330$6,719,111,000.001.85%
Activision Blizzard, Inc.ATVI74,187,400$5,152,292,000.001.42%
Davita IncDVA36,095,570$4,082,770,000.001.12%
HP IncHPQ121,092,418$3,792,480,000.001.04%
Bank of New York Mellon CorpBK74,346,864$3,591,100,000.000.99%
Kroger CoKR57,985,263$3,326,615,000.000.92%
Citigroup IncC55,244,797$2,945,319,000.000.81%
Verisign, Inc.VRSN12,815,613$2,850,961,000.000.78%
General Motors CompanyGM62,045,847$2,713,886,000.000.75%
Paramount Global Class BPARA68,947,760$2,606,915,000.000.72%
Itochu CorporationITOCF81,304,200$2,330,991,414.000.64%
Charter Communications IncCHTR3,828,941$2,088,764,000.000.57%
Liberty Sirius XM Group Series CLSXMK43,208,291$1,975,915,000.000.54%
Visa IncV8,297,460$1,840,128,000.000.51%
Amazon.com, Inc.AMZN533,300$1,738,531,000.000.48%
Aon PLCAON4,396,000$1,431,470,000.000.39%
Mastercard IncMA3,986,648$1,424,748,000.000.39%
Snowflake IncSNOW6,125,376$1,403,507,000.000.39%
Celanese CorporationCE7,880,998$1,125,958,000.000.31%
Liberty Sirius XM Group Series ALSXMA20,207,680$923,692,000.000.25%
McKesson CorporationMCK2,921,975$894,504,000.000.25%
Nu Holdings LtdNU107,118,784$826,957,000.000.23%
RHRH2,170,000$707,615,000.000.19%
T-Mobile Us IncTMUS5,242,000$672,811,000.000.19%
Globe Life IncGL6,353,727$639,185,000.000.18%
Markel CorporationMKL424,343$620,034,000.000.17%
Liberty Media Formula One Series CFWONK7,722,451$539,336,000.000.15%
Store Capital CorpSTOR14,754,811$431,283,000.000.12%
Ally Financial IncALLY8,969,420$389,990,000.000.11%
Floor & Decor Holdings IncFND4,780,000$387,180,000.000.11%
StoneCo LtdSTNE10,695,448$125,137,000.000.03%
Verizon Communications Inc.VZ1,380,111$70,303,000.000.02%
Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc.MMC404,911$69,005,000.000.02%
Royalty Pharma plcRPRX1,496,372$58,299,000.000.02%
Johnson & JohnsonJNJ327,100$57,972,000.000.02%
Procter & Gamble CoPG315,400$48,193,000.000.01%
Diageo plcDEO227,750$41,650,920.000.01%
Mondelez International IncMDLZ578,000$36,287,000.000.01%
Liberty Latin America Ltd Class ALILA2,630,792$25,518,000.000.01%
Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETFVOO43,000$17,852,000.000.00%
SPDR S&P 500 ETF TrustSPY39,400$17,795,000.000.00%
United Parcel Service, Inc.UPS59,400$12,739,000.000.00%
Liberty Latin America Ltd Class CLILAK1,284,020$12,314,000.000.00%
Rupert Hargreaves
Contributor and former deputy digital editor of MoneyWeek

Rupert is the former deputy digital editor of MoneyWeek. He's an active investor and has always been fascinated by the world of business and investing. His style has been heavily influenced by US investors Warren Buffett and Philip Carret. He is always looking for high-quality growth opportunities trading at a reasonable price, preferring cash generative businesses with strong balance sheets over blue-sky growth stocks.

Rupert has written for many UK and international publications including the Motley Fool, Gurufocus and ValueWalk, aimed at a range of readers; from the first timers to experienced high-net-worth individuals. Rupert has also founded and managed several businesses, including the New York-based hedge fund newsletter, Hidden Value Stocks. He has written over 20 ebooks and appeared as an expert commentator on the BBC World Service.