Warren Buffett: life and investment philosophy

Warren Buffett

If you could meet anyone in the world, from history or present day, who would it be and why?

The one person in the world I would like to meet is Warren Buffet. This is because he and I share a common connection in growing up in an environment that expects you to be responsible for your own future. As a young Jewish man who was raised in Brooklyn I have always admired individuals that could start out with nothing and focus their lives on creating something more.

Warren Buffet is the classic example of this. While he was in college, these ideas created a new foundation of investing. However, at the same time, his family came from a background of affluence with his father being a Congressman (i.e. Howard Buffett). He was opposed to the New Deal and influenced his beliefs by helping him to see how he is responsible for his own future. ("Warren Buffett," 2012) (Morio, 2011)

In my case, I do not have a relative that shaped these views. Yet, I was taught by the elders in the community and at the synagogue. They showed me how I have special attributes which I possess and that I have a responsibility to do something more. This is because everyone realized that I can communicate effectively, influence others and have a desire to be successful. The combination of these factors made me realize that I can make a difference in the world.

Moreover, Buffet was impacted by the ideas of his college professor at Columbia University (i.e. Ben Graham). He was a Wall Street veteran who created the philosophy of value investing. This is when you can identify companies that have been oversold by the markets. This is achieved by: analyzing its free cash flow, dividend history, debt, demand for products / services, risks and earnings. ("Warren Buffett," 2012) (Morio, 2011)

At an early age I was impacted by meeting different individuals who worked on Wall Street. However, they were not of the same mindset as Graham. Instead, they believed that taking large risks will provide them with tremendous rewards. Prior to the financial crisis I was in awe of them and the lifestyle they were living. Then, once the economy shifted is when they faced tremendous financial challenges and were unable to maintain this standard. This taught me that a new approach must be taken to investing.

Since this time, I have been studying what characteristics made someone start out with nothing and those ideas they used to build / maintain their wealth. Over the course of time, I discovered that one of the keys to success was taking a more long-term approach and looking at the quality of investments that are being purchased.

Warren Buffett is the one individual who was able to withstand the changes in economy over the course of many decades. The reason why is because he was focused on creating long-term value. This meant that he took a different mindset in comparison with everyone else. These ideas helped him to start an organization that was able to achieve his larger objectives (i.e. Berkshire Hathaway). ("Warren Buffett," 2012) (Morio, 2011)

After realizing this, I started thinking about how I could apply these ideas to my life. This meant that I had to go to college and study business. However, it cannot be at any university or school that is popular. Instead, I need to find a school which has a proven track record of success. Baruch is the one place that is rivaling many of the top business schools in the country (i.e. Harvard and Yale). The difference is they are catering to a large demographic of students from a variety of backgrounds.

Instead, they are concentrating on finding those individuals who are determined to be successful. The way that this is taking place, is through seeking out someone with the same attributes as Warren Buffett. I believe that I possess these characteristics. This is because I come from a background that taught me to be self-sufficient, overcome the challenges I am facing and making decisions that will help to change society for the better.

Another reason why I admire Warren Buffett is from his ability to support causes and ideas which will benefit society as a whole. Evidence of this can be seen with Buffett's views on wealth with him saying, "I don't have a problem with guilt about money. The way I see it is that my money represents an enormous number of claim checks on society. it's like I have these little pieces of paper that I can turn into consumption. If I wanted to, I could hire 10,000 people to do nothing but paint my picture every day for the rest of my life. And the GDP would go up. But the utility of the product would be zilch, and I would be keeping those 10,000 people from doing AIDS research, or teaching, or nursing. I don't do that though. I don't use very many of those claim checks. There's nothing material I want very much. And I'm going to give virtually all of those claim checks to charity when my wife and I die. A market economy creates some lopsided payoffs to participants. The right endowment of vocal chords, anatomical structure, physical strength, or mental powers can produce enormous piles of claim checks (stocks, bonds, and other forms of capital) on future national output. Proper selection of ancestors similarly can result in lifetime supplies of such tickets upon birth. If zero real investment returns diverted a bit greater portion of the national output from such stockholders to equally worthy and hardworking citizens lacking jackpot-producing talents, it would seem unlikely to pose such an insult to an equitable world as to risk Divine Intervention." (Landon, 2006)

These insights are showing how everyone must be focused on giving something back to society. The way that this is taking place, is to illustrate how these ideas are addressing the disparities that are created in society. In order to help future generations, requires contributing to the long-term growth of communities. When this happens, everyone will benefit from these changes through increased knowledge and the ability to support themselves.