CVS Celebrity: Warren Buffett
Warren Buffett is considered arguably the greatest investor in American history. Just $10,000 invested in Berkshire Hathaway when Buffet took control in 1965, would be worth more than $50 million today. Even though he is one of the richest men in the world, Buffett still lives in the same house he bought three decades ago for $31,500, drives an older Lincoln Towncar, and some say downs countless cans of Coca-Cola every day.
On top of this all, Warren Buffett has pledged to give away 99% of his wealth before he passes away. He’s inspired other billionaires such as Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg to sign a “Giving Pledge” promising to give half of their wealth away in their lifetimes.
How does this frugal billionaire achieve such a level of success and fulfillment? Warren Buffet is a CVS. This became apparent right from childhood.
When Buffett was six, he bought a 6-pack of Coca-Cola for a quarter then resold each bottle for a nickel. He pocketed his first 20% profit. Even as a child, while other children were outside playing, Buffett was making money. Then at age eleven, he bought three shares of the company Cities Service Preferred at $38 per share. After watching the stock drop to $27, he held on until they rebounded which he quickly sold at $40. Buffet learned his first major lesson on investing as the shares would eventually reach up to $200 per share. He learned the virtue of patience.
The CVS has a knack of attracting, recognizing and exploiting financial opportunity. They are very resourceful and flexible when it comes to creating opportunity. During high school, Buffett made $5,000 delivering newspapers (equal to over $42,000 today).
Buffett is called the “Wizard of Omaha”, “Oracle of Omaha”, or the “Sage of Omaha” and is renowned for his value investing philosophy and for his personal frugality despite his immense wealth. These also are core CVS traits.
What is most compelling about Warren Buffett however, is his commitment to philanthropy. But to him, it isn’t about just giving money away. It’s about creating a legacy of value and impact. To the CVS, combining value and legacy is as motivational and fulfilling as it gets. We often refer to the CVS as the “gift that keeps on giving.” Warren Buffett is the epitome of this.
This quote from 1988 highlights Warren Buffett’s thoughts and whyhe is one of the most respected and famous CVS in the world:
“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.”
Please note that these are unofficial profiles only and have not been verified. Description is only based upon public information and may represent either primary or secondary MDNA profiles. This profile is intended for educational purposes only to demonstrate the possibilities of MDNA for those that have been personally assessed.
