Buffet was a student of Ben Graham 'the dean of wall street' at Columbia University. Buffett was often touted as one of Graham's brightest young pupils. Initially a stockbroker for his father's firm, a situation he is reported to have felt uncomfortable with, he eventually managed to join his mentor in New York. He later returned to his home town in Omaha, Nebraska to start a partnership. From a standing start, he raised some money for his partnership, then grew it over the course of the last forty years to become the world's second richest person with wealth of over $40b and rising. All this purely through investing.

One of his early purchases was a textile mill called Berkshire Hathaway. It was selling at a large discount to its net asset value.

Later Buffett would say 'It is better to buy a great business at a fair price than a fair business at a great price'.

Buffett bought the stock at an average price of around $16 and while the original textile mill no longer exists the company is still going strong. If you wish to buy shares in Berkshire Hathaway today you will have to part with nearly $100,000 for each share. The market capitalisation of Berkshire is now around $120b.

Such is the scale of his success that each May bank holiday Omaha becomes the focus of much attention as thousands of shareholders flock to Buffett's home town of Omaha to experience and share with others the thrill of being a Berkshire Hathaway shareholder. Buffett and his partner Charlie Munger host the best attended AGM in the world and answer questions about the company investing world in general.

Copyright 2005 Peter Webb