The amazing home of Warren Buffett whose net worth is over $36 billion

by newsbird July 20, 2009

Mr. Buffett  is the 3rd richest man at this time, his net worth is $47 billion. So far he has donated 1,855,000 of the 10 million shares he has pledged to the Bill and Melinda Foundation, the value of those shares today would be $6.5 billion so adding that back to his net worth would make him almost the richest man today with $53.5  billion, while #1 Carlos Slim Helu, Mexico is worth $54.5 billion.

I am stunned by Warren Buffett’s home. Is big better? “No” seems to be what Mr. Buffett thinks. For him a home is a house. He does not need a castle, palace or a mansion.

But then again this is just more proof that the man understands investments and has more common sense than most. His family is frugal but generous: he has made the largest donation to charity in modern history, 10 million B shares over several years.

After looking at the world’s most expensive residence and the world’s largest residence, this home was a welcome surprise. The world’s most expensive home was built by Mukesh Ambani, and largest residence of any kind belongs to the Sultan of Brunei whose palace is more than 4 times bigger than the Windsor Castle.

He paid $31,500.00 for his home in 1958. Back then that was a rather expensive home and Mr. Buffett was 29 – but he had been in business since he was 13 years old. The building booms and the housing bubbles were in their early developmental stages as ever larger homes were built for the American Dream (which 50 years later turned into this financial nightmare – but that just proves again that we can’t do anything without unintended consequences).

The home is 6,000 sqft, and has 5 bedrooms. It does not even compare well with the McMansions built for the buyers with subprime 100% loan financing during the last decade. The American Dream now is being able to sell them somehow, even if it is at a wholesale level.

I am really amazed to see a rich man who is not into conspicuous consumption. The home is not even on a gated property, but an intruder was thwarted by security. The driveway looks like it is original: no gobble stones laid by hand in the courtyard here, no fantastic view windows, and looks like there is a plain composite shingle roof too, nothing has been added to the home to make it look like a multi-billionare lives there.

Buffett opposes the transfer of great fortunes from one generation to the next (I am sure Obama agrees with that as long as his children are excluded). Buffett once commented, “I want to give my kids just enough so that they would feel that they could do anything, but not so much that they would feel like doing nothing”. His children will inherit only a fraction of his fortune. In 2006, he announced a plan to give away his fortune to charity, with 83% of it going to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In June 2006, Buffett pledged approximately 10 million Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation(worth approximately USD 30.7 billion as of 23 June 2006) making it the largest charitable donation in history and Buffett one of the leaders in the philanthrocapitalism revolution.

WOW — A really great man with all the right stuff. They don’t make them like that anymore.