Reading this biography clarifies some of the traits that have contributed to Warren Buffett's astounding business success: his laser-like focus, his unusual capacity to perform math in his head, and his appreciation for true value as opposed to what I'll call "bling appeal." Insightful and meticulously researched, Lowenstein sheds light on the personality and thought process of one of the world's richest men, who started off in his in-laws' basement with little more than $800 and parlayed it into many billions.

There were many unexpected aspects to Buffett's story. Unlike many wealthy people, he is not obsessed with collecting glamorous possessions. This exchange is typical:

"He did ask Susie to upgrade his VW, explaining that it looked bad when he picked up visitors at the airport. But he didn't have the slightest interest in it.

'What kind of car?' Susie asked.

'Any car. I don't care what kind.' (She got him a wide-finned Cadillac.)" True, this was early in his career, but it is revealing of his attitude.

I also did not expect a man like this to have a healthy marriage, but Lowenstein confirms, he does, although he seems slightly distant from his children.I particularly enjoyed the section on his first major acquisition where Buffett and the indomitable, 4 foot 10 inch Mrs. B, an immigrant who created the largest furniture business in Omaha from nothing, hammered out a sixty million dollar deal. Upon closing Mrs. B stated, "Mr. Buffett, we're going to put our competitors through a meat grinder." This was Buffett's ideal--a partner who was totally focused, competitive, and very shrewd. Lowenstein skillfully escorts the reader through many fascinating incidents, showing the human side of his subject, while helping one grasp his unique financial genius.

Shira S. (Reader's Services)

I'm kicking myself for not reading this book earlier. This is a fair portrait of Warren Buffett's life and career as an investor. He is simultaneously seen as universal and unapproachable. His easygoing, folksy nature appeals to any student of capitalism. His photographic memory, gift for mental math, and singular dedication to studying makes one wonder if anyone else could achieve what he has. Lowenstein (author of When Genius Failed, also a wonderful book) paints a picture of his motivations as both deeply personal (Buffett's innate desire to wanting to maintain continuity, connections to his past) and strictly logical (his refusal to treat small sums of money any differently from large sums, judging everything by the yardstick of return on capital). Across a career spanning nearly 7 decades, Buffett has turned a small stream of cash originally generated by a poor textile business into one of the largest conglomerates the world has ever known. While doing so, he evolved from a Ben Graham disciple focused on statistical cheapness (companies trading at a fraction of their net working capital) towards a focus on high quality businesses like Coca-Cola. There are many lessons in the book that I only appreciate now having worked in the industry, and I'm sure there are many more to be revisited in the future when I come to understand many of the things that Buffett has already known. For any student of investing, this is a must read.

I love reading books about investing or money or financial aspects of our lives. This was more of a deep biographical look into the greatest investment mind of our generation and probably ever. This was written back in the 90s, so the fact that he's 4x his wealth is even more astounding. I liked this book as it went back to his childhood as a Congressman's son, working a paper route in DC, and using his money to start a vending machine business in a barbershop. He thought of money from the time he was 11 and never stopped. His compounding wealth is a movie in itself and just an unbelievable life of patience, learning the market and being strong in your beliefs.

Excellent chronicling of the life of Warren Buffett through 1995. This book was helpful in learning both about the specifics of Buffett's life over time as well as the broader economic landscape, a time period that I am less familiar with. As needed to cover Buffett, the geographic focus away from the large city metropolis' also made provided coverage that I was not previously familiar with.

I respect the detail of Lowenstein's coverage of specific deals and aspects of Buffett's personal life as well as providing commentary on trends that existed over time. The book was well paced and I remained thoroughly engaged while reading. I was especially impressed with the ability of these trends to fit the out of sample period since the publishing of the book. I felt that the aspects of Buffett's more recent endeavours that I am familiar with fit well with the background that was profiled in the book. This helps to elevate this book from a story of the past, to one with direct application for thinking about the future. Beyond the ability to understand Buffett better the book also provided a framework for thinking about investments and financial markets more broadly.

An inspiring story of a man who seems to focus almost exclusively on what he loves to do, and has made himself and thousands of others tons of money in the process.

Book Review: Buffett
The Making of An American Capitalist
Roger Lowenstein
This book was written back in 1995, so it is severely dated. It does, however, give us an idea of what Buffett was like at that time. He may have changed since then.

I used to be able to say I liked almost everything about Buffett. I would use the word “almost” because, since I don’t know him personally, there could have been something I did not like about him. In reading this book, I found out what that was.

I am a Fundamental Christian. By that term, I mean I believe that the Bible is true in every word. I do agree that there are errors in my understanding of the Word. But, God does not make mistakes and where there are translation errors God had a reason for that. I believe that life begins at the split second of conception and that no one, other than God, has the right to end that life, no matter what the reason.

Buffet, as far as this book states, does not believe in God. He is very afraid of dying. Now, I don’t want to die, but I know when I die I will be in heaven. Since Buffett does not have that to look forward to, he has reason to believe that when you die you cease to be.

Buffett is also said to be a large supporter of Planned Parenthood. The book states that Buffett sees donating to Planned Parenthood as an investment in the well-being of the world. The book states that Buffett sees this as a way to prevent over population of the world. If Planned Parenthood’s only ways of preventing over population was to provide sex education as well as to teach abstinence and, barring that, barrier methods to birth control, I would agree with him. However, I believe that God has a reason for every conception. Every life has meaning and every child should have a chance to make their mark on the world.

All of that being said the book is great. Buffett the man has a great sense of business and a great success record. Companies call on him to bail them out when they are in a jam. Buffett studies business models constantly and has an amazing head for business figures.

Buffett sort of compares with Commodore Vanderbilt in that he took an approach to money that was hands-off. When Buffett’s children need to borrow money, he tells them to borrow it from a bank or he has them sign a promissory note and they pay prevailing interest rates, according to the book.

All-in-all, I think this is a good book, well worth reading and a great addition to my library.

Book Review Policy
My policy on book reviews is to give you my honest opinion of the book. From time to time publishers will give me a copy of their book for free for the purpose of me reading the book and writing a review. The publishers understand when they give me the book that I am under no obligation to write a positive review.

If you will look at all my reviews, you will see that there have been occasions when I have written a negative review after having been given a book.

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“Giá là thứ ta phải trả, giá trị là thứ ta thu về.”

Cuốn sách đầu tiên đọc về Warren Buffett. Lần đầu tiên tiếp cận một lượng thông tin đầy đủ về cuộc đời, sự nghiệp và triết lý của Warren, một nhà tư bản cổ điển theo phong cách Adam Smith. Hiếm có nhà đầu tư nào có được sự chính xác gần như tuyệt đối trong hầu hết các quyết định đầu tư như Warren. Cách ông nghĩ về kinh doanh bằng một kỷ thuật thép, sự kiên nhẫn hiếm có cùng với giác quan nhạy bén đã giúp ông thành công.

Từ thời trẻ cho tới cuối sự nghiệp, Warren luôn chứng tỏ mình là học trò xuất sắc nhất của Ben Graham. Triết lý của Graham là phân tích kỹ càng công việc kinh doanh của mỗi doanh nghiệp để tìm ra giá trị thực sự của nó và chỉ cân nhắc mua khi giá cổ phiếu nằm trong biên độ đủ an toàn. Không những thế, Warrent còn phát triển triết lý Graham lên một cấp độ mới khi nhìn nhận định về tiềm năng công ty cũng như tiềm năng của những người lèo lái nó.

I am testing out this idea: that Trump and Warren Buffett are 2 sides of the capitalist coin and each has done remarkably well with their talents.

We all think we know who Trump is – imaginative, crafty, funny (hopefully you get his humor), courageous, and seemingly insensitive to those who disagree with him as well as bombastic, egotistical and sometimes bordering on bullying.

Buffett, on the other hand, is congenial, loyal, generous, and devoted.

They both are hard-working, very intelligent, sensitive to other's talents, and highly regarded by his admirers. Each is amazingly successful if we judge them by their business success.

We live in a capitalist society. Buffett is a self-proclaimed capitalist. Trump is a self-proclaimed capitalist. How much do you think they are the same? I suggest this book as a beginning primer on recognizing Buffett's amazing talents. We can go to the newspaper and see what Trump is doing every day. I would love to hear your thoughtful response to my idea.

Must reread. So much to learn

4/5 | Roger Lowenstein’s “Buffet: The Making of an American Capitalist” offers a compelling and detailed examination of Warren Buffet’s journey from his early entrepreneurial ventures in Omaha to his pivotal role in reviving companies.

Published in 1995 and read almost two decades later, the book strikingly captures the enduring nature of Buffet as a titan of investment, whose strategies are as relevant today as they were years ago.

Lowenstein's narrative is underpinned by meticulous research, drawing on interviews with Buffet’s family, friends, and colleagues, as well as a wealth of material including annual letters, writings, and even SEC filings. His portrayal of Buffet not only chronicles the financial triumphs but also paints an intimate portrait of the man behind the legend. As Buffett continues to leverage time, this book too remains a timeless piece.

The book is replete with intriguing anecdotes, from Buffet’s early ventures such as his paper routes, which he expanded into a minor empire, to the history of Berkshire, his epic battle for Buffalo newspaper dominance and his critical role during the Salomon Brothers crisis. It also offers a clear exposition of his investments and strategies, providing invaluable insights for entrepreneurs, financiers, and anyone with an interest in business literature.

While it is a dense read, the book is rich with lessons and business sagas that are both educational and engaging. Highly recommended for those looking to understand the person and principles behind one of the great enigmas of the investing world.

-tBuffet had one keen interest – investing based on fundamental analysis of businesses – and thoroughly enjoyed his life and achieved unbelievable success by being laser focused on pursuing it
-tHe had a remarkable ability to focus on the essence of things. Make a very small set of very important decisions within his realm of competence to achieve great success
-tOtherwise he kept his life super simple. He owned businesses but didn’t manage them. He didn’t manage people, and he made all key decisions directly instead of by leveraging others – no stock brokers or analysts, no public relations people, etc. His calendar was wide open to spend his time as he wanted. He chose, as much as possible, to only to work with people that he liked
-tEssence of value-based investing:
ot(1) price is what you pay, value is what you get
ot(2) buy based on the fundamental value of a business and not based on speculation – i.e. how you predict the crowd will value a business at any given time
ot(3) buy with a margin of safety – good businesses for cheap, or great businesses for average price
ot(4) have managers run businesses with an owner mindset, i.e. with a focus on return to capital
-tThe companies that Buffet invested in benefited greatly – Buffet would own a large share of the company’s stock near indefinitely, and let executives run the show – as long as executives operated as owners and remained laser focused on returns to capital. This gave these companies a large advantage compared to companies who had to stay vigilant wrt quarterly earnings or PE-owned companies who operated with an eye toward maximizing company value at a 5-7 year time horizon
-tBuffet captured the public imagination by acting in direct contrast to the Wall Street stereotype. Folksy, principled, focused on long-term relationships vs. short-term results, and operating with high integrity. He also communicated his vision and principles through his annual letters and shareholder meetings
-tBuffet also had many flaws. He was remote and not particularly empathetic. His wife separated from him, one can speculate in large part because he was not there emotionally for her. He was not fully there for his children
-tBuffet is often portrayed as a principled investor who was highly successful at capitalism and in turn helped make capitalism function effectively – through a patient and efficient allocation of capital. That said, Buffet also (1) helped facilitate the formation of a newspaper monopoly in Buffalo – thereby reducing the diversity of reporting and opinions, (2) invested in tobacco and sugary drink companies, and (3) bought junk bonds as long as they were cheap. It is clear that Buffet is no saint and capitalism is not perfect
-tBuffet realized he was not well suited for philanthropy, and after many years decided to give his wealth to the Gates Foundation to fight global diseases. Aligned with Buffet sticking to his realm of competence and trusting a few key people

What an interesting life.

Warren has made some of the most intelligent investments decisions of any investor of all time. And it isn’t because he gets lucky on small stocks that randomly boom.

He takes a different approach to investing, either purchasing majority or outright buying companies that he believes are undervalued for their assets, profits, or other metrics.

He started as a newspaper delivery boy, and grew to an investing icon.

Starts exciting, but tapers off as things get monotonous and you find yourself just reading about the next company he invests in over and over

This book was well written, but at times dry, but being a biography, it is about what you would expect. Several times the financial information as over my head, but it is a book about a financial guru, so that is to be expected as well. I was shocked by some of the things that Buffett did in a negative way (funding abortions for one), but I was also not shocked by some things (he's an atheist or agnostic with a financial moral compass). It was an interesting book, but not my favorite. The author did a good job of writing the story. I would recommend this book if someone is wanting to learn about Warren Buffett's life.