Synopsis

Hereis THE book recounting the life and times of one of the most respectedmen in the world, Warren Buffett. The legendary Omaha investor hasnever written a memoir, but now he has allowed one writer, AliceSchroeder, unprecedented access to explore directly with him and withthose closest to him his work, opinions, struggles, triumphs, follies,and wisdom. The result is the personally revealing and completebiography of the man known everywhere as “The Oracle of Omaha.”

Althoughthe media track him constantly, Buffett himself has never told his fulllife story. His reality is private, especially by celebrity standards.Indeed, while the homespun persona that the public sees is true as faras it goes, it goes only so far. Warren Buffett is an array ofparadoxes. He set out to prove that nice guys can finish first. Overthe years he treated his investors as partners, acted as their steward,and championed honesty as an investor, CEO, board member, essayist, andspeaker. At the same time he became the world’s richest man, all fromthe modest Omaha headquarters of his company Berkshire Hathaway. Noneof this fits the term “simple.”

When Alice Schroeder met Warren Buffett she was an insurance industryanalyst and a gifted writer known for her keen perception and businessacumen. Her writings on finance impressed him, and as she came to knowhim she realized that while much had been written on the subject of hisinvesting style, no one had moved beyond that to explore his largerphilosophy, which is bound up in a complex personality and the detailsof his life. Out of this came his decision to cooperate with her on thebook about himself thathe would never write.

Never before hasBuffett spent countless hours responding to a writer’s questions,talking, giving complete access to his wife, children, friends, andbusiness associates—opening his files, recalling his childhood. It wasan act of courage, as The Snowball makes immensely clear. Beinghuman, his own life, like most lives, has been a mix of strengths andfrailties. Yet notable though his wealth may be, Buffett’s legacy willnot be his ranking on the scorecard of wealth; it will be hisprinciples and ideas that have enriched people’s lives. This book tellsyou why Warren Buffett is the most fascinating American success storyof our time.