KW: everyone loves Warren Buffett
Billionaire Warren Buffett is one of the richest investors in the world, with a net worth of $67 billion, according to Forbes. The "Oracle of Omaha" is an idol to many for his investing success and apparent normalcy. From living modestly, to his love for Coca-Cola, consider these 50 reasons why everyone loves Warren Buffett.
1. He Owns a Modest Home
KW: Warren Buffett's home
Billionaire indeed, but Buffett chooses to live in the same modest five-bedroom Omaha, Neb., home he bought in 1958 for $31,500. It's worth just under $1 million today, according to Time.
2. He Mastered the Art of Philanthropy
KW: Warren Buffett's philanthropy
He is the ultimate gift-giver. Buffett broke a personal giving record in 2014 with his $2.8 billion donation to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, according to Forbes.com.
3. He Looks for a Fair Price
KW: Warren Buffett's investing
Buffett is a successful investor, yet never pays more "than a fair price," according to Stansberry Reseach. "It's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price," he said, according to The Motley Fool. If you can grasp that, you, too, have the potential to be a smart investor.
4. He Doesn't Spend His Fortune on Toys
KW: Buffett and luxury items
Buffett doesn't own a yacht or other stereotypical luxury items. "Most toys are just a pain in the neck," he said, according to Business Insider.
5. He Gives Simple Financial Advice
KW: Buffett's financial advice
When financial advice comes from Buffett himself, it's golden. "The first rule of investing is don't lose money; the second rule is don't forget rule No. 1," he's often quoted as saying.
6. He Knows the No. 1 Best Investment
KW: best investment
Buffett believes one of the best investments one can make is in themselves. He said that investing in yourself is the best thing you can do because "nobody can tax it or take it away from you," according to Lifehacker.
7. He's Relatable
KW: Buffett's stock choices
As one Forbes writer put it: "Buffett is not a simple person, but he has simple tastes." We already know he lives modestly, but he invests much in the same way. For example, his stock choices are in companies that might be considered rather ordinary -- like American Express.
8. He's Witty
KW: Buffett's sense of humor
Even when he's giving sound advice, he adds a touch of humor. "It's nice to have a lot of money, but you know, you don't want to keep it around forever. I prefer buying things. Otherwise, it's a little like saving sex for your old age," he said, according to The Motley Fool.
9. He Keeps a Cash Reserve
KW: Buffett's cash reserve
One of Buffett's financial tips is to always have enough cash available. He always has at least $20 billion available with Berkshire Hathaway -- or more, he said in the 2014 Berkshire Hathaway annual report. Although most people won't come close to that billion-dollar amount, this simple principal can be applied to anyone's funds.
10. He's Optimistic
KW: Buffett's optimism
In his annual shareholders letter released in February, Buffett expressed his optimism for the country's economy. "Many Americans believe that their children will not live as well as they themselves do," he said. "That view is dead wrong. The babies being born in America today are the luckiest crop in history."
11. He Makes Personal Finance Fun
KW: Buffett's best lines
Buffett knows how to put a fresh spin on personal finance. "Only when the tide goes out do you discover who's been swimming naked," he said. He was, of course, referring to leveraged portfolios during recessions, according to MarketWatch.com.
12. He Likes Markdowns
KW: Buffett likes markdowns
He likes a good markdown just like most people do. "Whether we're talking about socks or stocks, I like buying quality merchandise when it is marked down," he said, according to John Wiley and Sons publishing. That's what value investing is all about.
13. He Knows the Difference Between Price and Value
KW: Buffett and value
"Price is what you pay. Value is what you get," Buffett said, according to Wiley and Sons. Buffett bases his decisions on this simple principal.
14. He Uses Good Common Sense
KW: Buffett and common sense
Buffett has a straightforward, sensible approach to deal with money losses. "The most important thing to do if you find yourself in a hole is to stop digging," Buffett said, according to Huffington Post.
15. He's a Triple Threat
KW: Buffett and managing
Buffett is a great investor, manager and communicator. He makes millions per hour on investments, according to Huffington Post, which only a great investor can do. He's also an exceptional leader at Berkshire Hathaway. As for his words, he appears to always choose them carefully.
16. He's an Idol
KW: Buffett and respect
Buffett "can be summed up in two words: experience and respect," said Preston McSwain, founder and managing partner of Fiduciary Wealth Partners in Boston, Mass.
17. He Believes in Self-Improvement
KW: Buffett and self-improvement
Buffett offers pretty good advice on self-improvement. "It's better to hang out with people better than you," he said, according to Forbes. "Pick out associates whose behavior is better than yours and you'll drift in that direction."
18. He Has a Healthy View of Failure
KW: Buffett and success
"You only have to do a very few things right in your life, so long as you don't do too many things wrong," he said, according to Forbes. Failure is inevitable, but this is a reminder to focus on your strengths, too.
19. He's Smart but Unpretentious
KW: investor success
He doesn't think that high intelligence has everything to do with investor success. "You don't need to be a rocket scientist. Investing is not a game where the guy with the 160 IQ beats the guy with 130 IQ," he said, according to Business Insider.
20. He Values Integrity
KW: Buffett's ethics
In his 1991 Senate subcommittee testimony as chairman of Salomon Brothers for the firm's securities trading investigation, he said, "Lose money for the firm, and I will be understanding; lose a shred of reputation for the firm, and I will be ruthless."
"He puts ethics and his word above all else," said Robert Johnson, president and CEO of The American College of Financial Services.
21. He Created the "Giving Pledge"
KW: Warren Buffett's Giving Pledge
Warren Buffett created the "Giving Pledge" to encourage more of the country's rich to leave their wealth to charities rather than to inheritance.
22. His Annual Stockholders Letter Is Entertaining
KW: Buffett's stockholders letter
Buffett's annual stockholders letters always contain humorous and wry bits of wisdom that are fun to unearth. In this year's letter, he referenced the problems that led to the Great Recession and noted, "When Wall Street gets "innovative," watch out!"
23. He's Well-Versed in Just About Everything
KW: Buffett and Tinder
And that means everything. All chuckles aside, the 85-year-old even knows what Tinder is, although jokes he's not ready for it in this year's annual stockholder letter.
24. He Loves to Play Bridge
KW: Buffett plays bridge
He can do whatever he wants, whenever he wants -- like playing bridge for hours at a time, according to Business Insider.
25. He Proves "Age Is Just a Number"
KW: Buffett's wealth
At 85, he's still killing it in investments and not slowing down one bit. He accrued 99 percent of his wealth after age 50, according to Business Insider.
26. He Loves Compound Interest
KW: compound interest
Buffett credits compound interest as a major factor in his investor success, according to Market Watch.
27. There Are Two Buffetts and They're Great Friends
KW: Warren and Jimmy Buffett
Warren and Jimmy Buffett aren't related, but they are great pals. A DNA test in 2007 showed there is no relation between the two, according The Wall Street Journal.
28. He Is Related to President Obama, Though
KW: Buffett and Obama
Buffett and President Barack Obama are seventh cousins, three times removed, as a genealogist at Ancestry.com told CNBC in 2009.
29. He Stresses the Importance of Habits
KW: Buffett's habits
In a 2007 speech at the University of Florida, Buffett said, "and they say that the chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken." Of course, saving properly is one of the best habits you can form, according to him.
30. He Eats Junk Food
KW: Buffett eats junk food
As Buffett told Fortune in an interview, he has the diet of a 6-year-old. It consists of: Frito-Lay, including Cheetos and Munchos, with a lot of Coca-Cola.
31. He Unplugs From Technology
KW: Buffett and technology
Buffett doesn't keep a computer on his desk or even own a smartphone, according to Time.com. He prefers spending his time in other ways, such as reading. Or playing bridge.
32. He's Patient
KW: Buffett's investing strategy
Buffett looks for the right opportunity, and is willing to wait for it. "If you aren't willing to own a stock for ten years, don't even think about owning it for ten minutes," he stated in his 1996 shareholders letter. "Put together a portfolio of companies whose aggregate earnings march upward over the years, and so also will the portfolio's market value."
33. He's a Mathematical Prodigy
KW: Buffett and math
As a student, Buffett was known for his ability to calculate complex math in his head, according to Biography.com.
34. He Makes Millions Every Day
KW: Buffett's hourly earnings
He is the master of investing, making $37 million per day in 2013, according to wealth research firm Wealth-X.
35. He Started Investing at 11
KW: Buffett's first stock
Buffett purchased his first stock at age 11, according to Fox Business News. He reportedly bought six shares of oil refiner Cities Service, which is now known as CITGO.
36. He Looks Toward the Future
KW: planning for the future
Buffett has a way with words that really puts planning for the future in perspective. "Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago," he said.
37. He Doesn't Want You to Take That Boring Job
KW: Buffett on jobs
Buffett thinks it's a waste of time to pursue things you don't love. "I think you are out of your mind if you keep taking jobs that you don't like because you think it will look good on your resume," he said.
38. He's Selective About Investing
KW: smart investing
Buffett and his partner Charlie Munger practice what they call "do nothing investing," which is essentially not making a move until a great opportunity presents itself. This, of course, is different from choosing simply not to invest.
39. He Doesn't Follow the Latest Wave
KW: Buffett's investing logic
Buffett's logic is simple. In his 2014 letter to shareholders, he said the mistake most people make is not thinking long term, and catching the rising price wave at the moment -- which always gets people into trouble. Instead, he said, "invest with a multi-decade horizon."
40. He Knows That Timing Is Everything
KW: Buffett's timing
Here's another way of looking at his investing philosophy. "No matter how great the talent or efforts, some things just take time," he said, according to Wiley and Sons. "You can't produce a baby in one month by getting nine women pregnant."
41. He Knows When to Say No
KW: Buffett says no
When you're Warren Buffet, you can easily have others do work for you while you do whatever you please. Although that's not the point here. Buffett said that very successful people know how to say no to things -- and that's the difference between successful and very successful individuals, according to The Motley Fool.
42. He Was an Entrepreneur at 13
KW: Buffett's first business
At age 13, he had his own business as a paper boy and sold horse racing tip sheets, according to Biography.com. That year, he claimed his very first tax deduction -- $35 for his bike.
43. He Sets His Mind to Do Something and Does It
KW: young Warren Buffett
At the age of 10, he had lunch with a member of the New York Stock Exchange, and realized he needed to set his life goals around money, according to Time.com. He's certainly followed through on that.
44. He's a Hustler
KW: Buffett's jobs
Buffett worked hard for the money he's accrued today. By the time he was 16, he'd earned the equivalent of $53,000 through various odd jobs, according to Business Insider.
45. He Devotes Time to Reflection
KW: Buffett's reflection time
He spends time daily thinking and reading, which he believes contributes to his non-impulse decisions, according to CNN Money.
46. He Has a Strong Track Record
KW: Buffett's track record
Buffett has the longest track record for beating the market, more than 50 years, making him a legendary investor, according to Business Insider.
47. People Spend Millions to Lunch With Him
KW: lunch with Buffett
He's so fascinating that people will spend millions of dollars to have lunch with him. In auctions for the lunch meeting, the winning bids were for $2.35 million in 2015, $2.2 million in 2014 and $3.5 million in 2012, according to Business Insider. The best part is the money goes to charity.
48. He Turned Rejection Into a Job
KW: Buffett and Benjamin Graham
Buffett's idol, investor Benjamin Graham, denied him a job. However, Buffett continued to pitch ideas until Graham hired him, according to Time.
49. Harvard Business School Rejected Him
KW: Harvard rejected Buffett
Buffett thought getting into Harvard Business School was a sure thing, even telling a friend to join him there, according to Time.com. However, that was not the case. He went to Columbia instead.
50. He Knows Money Isn't Everything
KW: Buffett on love
He makes sure not to lose sight of the most important things in life. "I tell college students, when you get to be my age, you will be successful if the people who you hope to have love you, do love you," he said, according to The Motley Fool.
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 50 Reasons Everyone Loves Warren Buffett