If you have even the slightest interest in investing, you have heard of Warren Buffet. He is undoubtedly one of the best investors of our time, if not the best. The “Oracle of Omaha” has reached a staggering net worth of approximately $120 Billion as of December 2023.
However, how his net worth has grown over time is one of the best examples of the power of compound interest. In this article, we’re going to take a look at the growth of Buffet’s net worth from his early career to today. Let’s jump in.
Key Takeaway’s
- Warren Buffet amassed 99% of his wealth after his 50th birthday.
- Warren gradually built his net worth from an early age, understanding the power of compounding returns over long periods.
- Warren reportedly said that he would be a millionaire by age 30. If he didn’t reach it, he would “jump off the tallest building in Omaha”.
Warren Buffet Net Worth Over Time
The below chart & table shows how Warren’s Net Worth has grown over time.
| Age | Net Worth |
|---|---|
| 14 | $5,000 |
| 15 | $6,000 |
| 19 | $10,000 |
| 21 | $20,000 |
| 26 | $140,000 |
| 30 | $1,000,000 |
| 33 | $2,400,000 |
| 35 | $7,000,000 |
| 37 | $10,000,000 |
| 39 | $25,000,000 |
| 43 | $34,000,000 |
| 44 | $19,000,000 |
| 47 | $67,000,000 |
| 52 | $376,000,000 |
| 53 | $620,000,000 |
| 56 | $1,400,000,000 |
| 58 | $2,300,000,000 |
| 59 | $3,800,000,000 |
| 66 | $17,000,000,000 |
| 72 | $36,000,000,000 |
| 83 | $58,500,000,000 |
| 92 | $109,000,000,000 |
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What Age Did Warren Buffet Become A Millionaire?
Warren Buffet became a millionaire at age 30. However, that was in 1960. $1,000,000 in 1960 is worth approximately $10,373,344 in 2024 dollars. That’s a fairly significant difference. $1 Million today does not go nearly as far as it used to due to inflation. At age 30, Warren was already extremely wealthy.
Warren Buffets Net Worth By The Decade
Now we know how Warren’s Net Worth has grown over his lifetime, let’s look a little further into how he did it. Below we are going
Warren Buffet Early Career
Net Worth: $0 to $10k
Warren showed a lot of interest in business in his teenage years. He supposedly bought his first stock for $38 when he was only 11 years old.
At 14 he purchased a 40-acre farm for $1,200 giving him a profit-sharing stake in the business and also bought a pinball machine and started a business renting it to local barber shops and restaurants. He went on to sell this business making his first business sale. It’s clear Warren showed a great interest in business from an early age.
Warren Buffet’s 20s: Reaching His First £100k
Net Worth: $21k – $140k
In the 1940s, Buffett continued his education and attended the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania for a brief time before transferring to the University of Nebraska. He also read extensively on investing and began his investment partnership in the later part of this decade.
He repeatedly tried to land a job with his well-known mentor Benjamin Graham. After being turned down multiple times, he returned home to work with his father as a stock broker.
However, that didn’t stop Warren from sending Benjamin investment ideas. Eventually, Benjamin took a chance on Warren Buffet and hired him a couple of years later on a $12,000 per year salary.
Eventually, Benjamin retired and Warren applied what he had learned to an investment partnership he formed with friends and relatives. At 26 years old, Warren is reported to have had a net worth of $140,000. In the same year, he also bought a house in Omaha for $32,000. He still lives in this house today.
Warren Buffet’s 30s: Reaching His First Million
Net Worth: $1M – $25M
Warren reached the elusive $1M mark in his early 30’s but he didn’t stop there. By the end of his 30s he was worth over $25 Million.
Early in 1962 Warren made a large bet placing most of his net worth (around $450,000) into his partnership. This proved to be a great move for Buffet as the partnership had grown to over $17 million of which his stake was $1.8 Million.
In 1965 Buffet bought a controlling share of stock in Berkshire Hathaway, obtaining the company he would continue to grow until this day. He then closed his partnership to new investors in 1966 and retired from managing it completely by 1969 focusing his time on Berkshire Hathaway.
Warren Buffet’s 40s: Financial Troubles
At 43 years old Warren Buffet had amassed a fortune of $34 Million. In today’s dollars that’s the equivalent of $235 Million. In 1972 he purchased See’s Candies for $25 Million. Over the next 50 years See’s candies pulled in over $2 billion in profits.
The mid-1970s was a turbulent time for Berkshire Hathaway. Buffet’s net worth saw a drastic decrease from $34 Million to $19 Million just a year later. That’s a serious loss in a single year.
However, he managed to turn things around later in his 40s reaching a net worth of $67 Million at 47 and reaching his first $100 Million before his 50s.
Warren Buffet’s 50s: The Billionaire Club
Warren’s 50s mark the decade in his life when he became a billionaire. His 50s were a significant decade of growth for his net worth. At 52 he had a Net Worth of $376 Million and by the time he reached 58, he had grown his net worth to over $3.8 Billion. That’s a 10x in just 6 years.
Today $3.8 Billion is worth approximately $9.4 Billion.
Warren Buffet’s 60s: Massive Gains
Warren did not slow down as he reached his 60s. Things really started to snowball as Warren became wealthier than ever. By the time he was 66 years old his net worth had skyrocketed to $17 Billion.
Warren Buffet’s 70s: Philanthropy and Growth
In just 6 years, from 66 to 72, Buffet’s Net Worth more than doubled from $17 Billion to over $36 Billion. It’s extremely impressive that Warren was able to keep up this rate of growth with a portfolio value of this size.
It was in his 70’s Warren started to think about what he was going to do with all this wealth he was amassing. In 2006, he released pledge letters where he stated that he would donate 85% of his wealth to 5 foundations over time.
Warren Buffet’s 80s: The Rich List
In early 2018, Buffet landed the number 3 spot on the Forbes Rich list, only topped by Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos. At the time his Net Worth was estimated to be $84 Billion.
Warren Buffet’s 90s: The Level He’s Reached
As of 2024, Warren has an estimated Net Worth of $120 Billion. This places him at number 7 on the rich list. His total charitable giving has now topped $50 Billion and still heads Berkshire Hathaway as CEO.
Wrapping Up
As you can see, Warren didn’t become one of the richest men in the world overnight. It literally took a lifetime. While most of us will never reach these insane levels of wealth, the way his wealth has grown over time shows you the extreme power of compounding returns. Patience is key when you are growing your wealth. If you haven’t started investing yet, I would recommend checking out our guide to investing for beginners.
I would also recommend reading this article on why it is so important to invest early in your life. The difference 10 years makes to your wealth is shocking.
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