Of Permanent Value: The Story of Warren Buffett

Warren Buffett, who inherited no money from his parents, is the richest person in the country. His next goal? "That's easy: to be the oldest person in the country!" After all, it's in the later years that the joys of compound interest really multiply. As an enterprising youngster, he sold Cokes & delivered newspapers. Now he is one of the largest shareholders of some of the nation's best- known companies: Coca-Cola, Gillette, Capital Cities/ABC & The Washington Post, to name a few. From his bedroom in Omaha, he started an investment partnership that bought Berkshire Hathaway, a now defunct New England textile mill. That business died but the name lived on. With money from the textile operations, Buffett - the Michelangelo of business - drew investment masterpieces of great value. "The best is yet to come," he says. Taught by the legendary Ben Graham, Buffett became the greatest practitioner of value investing. And he has held many investments for decades. "Our favorite holding period is forever," he says. Finally, Buffett plans to give his wealth back to society, another of his many gestures of permanent value.