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The Education of
Warren Buffett
V
ery few people can come close to Warren Buffett ’s investment
record, and no one can top it. Through four decades of market
ups and downs, he has continued on a steady course with un-
matched success. What he does is not f lashy, even at times very much
out of favor, and yet over and over, he has prevailed over others whose
exploits gave them temporary, f lash-in-the-pan stardom. He watches,
smiles, and continues on his way.
How did Buffett come to his investment philosophy? Who inf lu-
enced his thinking, and how has he integrated their teachings into ac-
tion? To put the question another way, how is it that this particular
genius turned out so differently?
Warren Buffett’s approach to investing is uniquely his own, yet it
rests on the bedrock of philosophies absorbed from four powerful f ig-
ures: Benjamin Graham, Philip Fisher, John Burr Williams, and Charles
Munger. Together, they are responsible for Buffett’s f inancial education,
both formal and informal. The f irst three are educators in the classic
sense, and the last is Buffett’s partner, alter ego, and pal. All have had a
major inf luence on Buffett’s thinking; they have much to offer modern-
day investors as well.