"It is only when the tide goes out that you learn who has been swimming naked. "

He's a Money Making Machine!

Warren Buffet is a legendary American investor, businessman and philanthropist, the long time chairman of the Berkshire Hathaway company.

Buffet's father was a stockbroker and member of Congress. He grew up with two sisters, Doris and Bertie. He began working at his father's brokerage when he was 11, and made his first stock purchase that year. At the age of 14 he used his paper route money to purchase 40 acres of farmland for $1,200, which he rented to tenant farmers.

In 1956, Buffet did not have career plans until found someone who wanted his expertise in handling his investments; the relationship encouraged him to begin his own investment partnership with the help of friends and family. Initially, the partnership was run out of his bedroom and named Buffet Partnership Limited. The small company made around 30% gains year-over-year between 1956 and 1969.

In 1962, Buffet started a partnership with Berkshire Hathaway and ended up purchasing every share for sale until it established a 49% position. His focus was then on running Berkshire Hathaway, which became one of the largest holding companies in the world.

Buffet has been nicknamed "the oracle of Omaha" and "the sage of Omaha" because of the huge fortune he has earned through his shrewed investments and business dealings, particularly through Berkshire Hathaway, where he holds a 38% stake.

Buffet has an estimated net worth of $42 billion and is ranked by Forbes as the second-richest person in the world, behind Microsoft's Bill Gates. In June 2006, he announced that he was giving away 85% of his fortune to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the largest charitable act in American history.

He was married to Susan Thompson in 1952 and had three children: Susie, Howard, and Peter. Buffet lives with his long-time partner, Astrid Menks. Buffet is known for his frugal way of living. He lives in the same house in Omaha, Nebraska that he purchased in 1958 for $31,500.