Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist

Seen this recommended everywhere and now I know why. A great little read if you want to understand how Warren Buffet was 'made' and the roots of his success. A much more balanced portrait that those which just concentrate on his financial performance.

Roger Lowenstein tells the interesting story of Buffett, his family, friends and business associates while highlighting the decision points he made throughout his career which made him so successful. Plenty of lessons to learn about Buffett's investment strategy in an easy to read format.

I like this book. It is not about Buffet's investment methodology, but about his life and especially his investment philosophy. By describing both the personal and business life of Buffett, the author tells us a lot about Buffett's way of thinking. I can't tell you if this book is better than other biographies of Buffet, but this one is complete and especially interesting for those who study Buffet's methodology of investing. I think the author is a little bit harsh on contemporary finance theory and it is funny when he accuses Buffett of confusing intrinsic and bookvalue in a certain investment decision in the 60's. However, I hope the author is working on a second edition, because this story ends in 1995 and what happened the last eight years with Berkshire Hathaway, the company of Buffet, is interesting, just as this book.

What a great biography about a great person. This book gives a really superb insight into a very gifted man who is passionate about his business. Unlike many rich people he has an air of humility which is very refreshing. I have read it many times and always enjoy the experience. I bought this copy for one of my sons in the hope he will glean some wisdom from it to help him make his way in life - at the moment money falls through his fingers like water. Here's hoping!

Received the package on time without any issues. this book is just amazing.

I have read a few books on Warren Buffett, including Snowball. This is a bit dated but still the best.

This book is not as detailed about Warren Buffett's life as The Snowball by Alice Schroeder, but it is still an excellent read. From early childhood, Warren learned the value of a dollar by working hard at numerous jobs. He was never a spendthrift, but instead saved as much as possible so that he could invest it long-term. His determination and focus made him what he is today. Warren Buffett's investment philosophy is just so simple. Just buy excellent companies at reasonable prices and hold them long-term. This philosophy shows readers that they can do it themselves and become successful just like Warren Buffett. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in investing. - Mariusz Skonieczny, author of Why Are We So Clueless about the Stock Market? Learn how to invest your money, how to pick stocks, and how to make money in the stock market

Pages 260 - 340 have been misprinted with page orders being messed up. Hence, cannot read a large chunk of the book.

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This book is probably literally worth it's weight in gold. As an insider's perspective on Buffet's journey, it is filled with rich background, captivating stories, and nowdays unique but none-the-less good old-fashioned investing principles. I'm struck by the simplicity of the investment approach, coupled with diligence, integrity and focus - and its proven ability to yield massive returns. Thank you Mr. Lowenstein for a fantastic book, and thank you Mr. Buffett for demonstrating beyond dispute how well these principles work!

The fact that Buffett is a genius and has similar raw brain power like Shakuntala Devi becomes pretty clear from the start in the book. This book does a good job of succinctly putting WEB's investment philosophy (for details there are many other books) and how he used to frame his opinion on businesses. It is very detailed with respect to his life, personality, his business journey and has many interesting nuggets of information. Though this book is dated now, but according to many investors (and I agree with their opinion), still presents the best biography on WEB and shows how he built layer upon layer of knowledge in his unprecedented investment journey. This is the one to read!

As the title indicates this book is a biography of the self-made billionaire investor Warren Buffett. It takes us through his family upbringing, his early years, his eduction and the building of his capitalist empire in Berkshire Hathaway. The author focuses on the people that were influential in his life, particularly his mentor in value investing: Benjamin Graham. This theme is central to Warren's investment strategy (with adaptation on intangibles - such as brand, reputation etc.) . Through the years, despite all the macro-economics event, changes to the business landscape and technological advances this strategy has driven unparalleled sustained business returns over a period of over 40 years which the book covers. The book is full of non-investment business advice, relationship building, career management etc. Below are some excerpts from the book I found particularly insightful: -"One sees in Buffett a strongly similar suspiscion of public opinion. Buffett viewed a crowd as a potential source of a sort of intellectual contagion. It was the author of acts and feelings which, rather than being a summing-up of the parts, no one individual among the crowd would have subscribed alone." -"Regardless of price, we have no interest at all in selling any good business that Berkshire owns, and are very reluctant to sell sub-par businesses as long as we expect them to generate at least some cash and as long as we feel good about their managers and labor relations. We hope not to repeat the capital allocation mistakes that led us into such sub-par businesses....Nevertheless, gin rummy managerial behavior (discard your least promising business at each turn) is not our style." -"A compact organization lets all of us spend our time managing the business rather than managing each other." -"Buffett's guides to finding such a stock could be summarized quickly: a) Pay no attention to macroeconmic trends or forecasts, or to people's predictions about the future of stock prices. Focus on long-term business value - on the size of the coupons down the road. b) Stick to stocks within one's "circle's of competence." For Buffett, that was often a company with a consumer franchise. But the general rule was true for all: if you don't understand the business - be it a newspaper or a software firm - you couldn't value the stock. c) Look for managers who treated the shareholders' capital with ownerlike care and thoughfulness. d) Study prospects - and their competitors - in great detail. Look at raw data, not analysts' summaries. Trust your own eyes, Buffet said. But one needn't value a business too precisely. A basketball coach doesn't check to see if a prospect is six foot one or six foot two; he looks for seven-footers. e) The vast majority of stocks would not be compelling either way - so ignore them. Merrill Lynch had an opinion on every stock; Buffett did not. But when an investor had conviction about a stock, he or she should also show courage - and buy ton of it. -"I want employees to ask themselves whether they are willing to have any contemplated act appear on the front page of their local paper the next day, to be read by their spouses, children and friends...If they follow this test, they need not fear my other message to them: Lose money for the firm and I will be understanding; lose a shred of reputation for the firm, and I will be ruthless." -"Among history's great capitalists, Buffett stands out for his sheer skill at evaluating businesses. What John D. Rockefeller, the oil cartelist, Andrew Carnegie, the philanthropic steel baron, Sam Walton, the humble retailer, and Bill Gate, the software nerd, have in common is that each owes his fortune to a single product or innovation. Buffett made his money as a pure investor: picking diverse businesses and stocks." -"More than most, he reclaimed the rewards that spring not from trading commitments one for the next, but from preserving them." For anyone interested in the field of investment, it goes without saying that this is a must read book. Given that I had read another book by Roger L. (When Genius Failed - The Rise and Fall of Long Term Capital Management), I had very high expectations from him and he did not dissapoint. Don't let the size of the book discourage you, once you get started you will have a hard time stopping.

El libro que todo inversor debe leer...., pero no pude acabarlo. Se me hizo monótono y pesado. Tras sus inicios, y su comienzo de éxito, el libro se vuelve repetitivo y a mí no me deja ninguna enseñanza en el plano moral sobre esta persona. Hará ricos a muchos pero deja mucho que desear sobre su forma de tratar a su familia. No recomiendo su lectura, mejor comprarlo de segunda mano y te ahorras unos cuantos euros