The Influence Warren Buffett Has Had on Society
I have neither given nor received help on this work nor am I aware of any infractions of the Honor Code.
Danny Cross
Reilly
ENGL 150: Writing and Research
11/17/2014
The Influence Warren Buffett has had on Society
Warren Buffett has not affected day to day society, he dictates it. Evaluated at seventy one point one billion dollars, Warren Buffett is the second richest American, trailing Bill Gates. (www.forbes.com)The world only turns for money, and seventy one point one billion is a lot of rotations. His effect and influence is felt in both the political realm and the business realm. Warren has exhibited his blunt ability to swing the outcome of any election that is not going the direction he pleases. His backing and funding does not come alone, his beliefs are also included in this care package. Any remotely intelligent politician with the intention of running for a second or third term would try to enact laws and reforms that fit his beliefs. Warren Buffett helped determine the winner of the 2012 presidential election between Mitt Romney and Obama. In addition to funding his favorite presidential candidate win, he also dictated their public policies and laws. In addition to his political influence he is thought of as an economic oracle, owning the fifth largest company in America. He has stakes in more businesses than one can count on one hand. Owning companies such as Dairy Queen, Fruit of the Loom, and GIECO, his influence is felt in the business world also. Controlling the production of an array of products ranging from underwear to the condiments used on food. His influence knows no limits or boundaries.
With a mountain of money as tall as seventy one billion the possibilities are endless as to what one is capable of. Bill Gates, the current wealthiest man in America only leads Warren Buffett by eleven billion dollars. While this gap may seem insurmountable Warren has given a staggering twenty billion to charity over his life time, almost dwarfing the deficit. (www.biography.com) As mentioned before with money comes power, he was also placed on the list of the most powerful people in the world. Forbes magazine ranked Buffett as the twelfth most powerful man on this planet. Warren’s influence and reach is unimaginable. This incredible fortune was not inherited or lucked into. With some of his investments yielding 700 percent or higher returns, Warren Buffet is undebatable one of the greatest investors to ever walk the face of the Earth.
As important as his current multibillionaire status is, to comprehend the prodigy that is Warren Edward Buffett one must be familiar with his education and childhood. His education is important to understand just how sharp Buffett really is and his childhood showcases his natural born ability with money and numbers. Born the second of three children and the only boy on August 30th 1930, in the humble town of Omaha, Nebraska. Warren Edward Buffett was born to the loving parents, Howard and Leila Buffett. His mother was a homemaker and his father was a stockbroker who also served as a U.S. Congressmen. (www.biography.com) Warren had a natural talent with mathematics, some even claimed he was a math prodigy wielding the ability to add up unapproachably big columns of numbers in seconds, it was painfully obvious that this was no ordinary child. At the age of eleven he invested in six stocks of “Cities Service Preferred” at thirty eight dollars through his dad’s stockbrokerage firm, three for him and three for his sister. Immediately after buying the stock at thirty eight dollars it plummeted down to a price of twenty seven dollars, the young economic mogul was off to a bad start. (www.biography.com) Holding back the urge to sell and cut his losses Warren decided to keep a hold of the stocks. They eventually raised to forty dollars a share and he immediately sold them. This investment venture left Buffett feeling accomplished and proud. Although the warm fuzzy feeling was short lasted as the same stock shortly shot up to 200 dollars a share.
Young Buffett just learned the lesson of patience, which will be important to his astronomical success as an adult. Subsequently Buffett was running his own business by the age of thirteen delivering newspapers. (www.biography.com) After graduation he founded the Buffett Partnership, right at home in Omaha, this is where the astronomical numbers start to happen. By the year 1958 Buffett, age twenty eight, doubled his money. Only four years later the Buffett Partnership was worth seven point two million dollars. What had originally been worth 105,000 dollars of investors’ money was now worth seven point two million dollars, after inflation seven point two million comes out to fifty-six point seven million dollars today to give you an idea of the wealth this thirty-two year old has access to. A short two years later Buffett bought Hathaway Berkshire. Buffett did not see one cent of profit out of Hathaway Berkshire, a textile company, for four years. In 1967 Berkshire Hathaway paid out its first dividend of ten cents. This is where the lesson of patience learned earlier comes in clutch, Buffett choses to keeps the company instead of cutting his losses and selling it. Also this year is when Buffett gets his first taste of the capital that insurance business brings when he acquires for eight point six million dollars. (www.beginnersinvest.about.com)