This is a good biography of Warren Buffett, but it could have been better. While it depicted his personal life and his character well, it could have done a better job with his investment philosophy. Roger Lowenstein's earlier biography was better, in this regard.
Buffett is a complex character, as Schroeder portrays him. He inveighs against privilege, inherited wealth and nepotism, but gives his kids $1 million a year as birthday gifts and appoints them as directors of his company, Berkshire Hathaway. He protests loudly and often about the inequality of wealth in the US, but has himself been one of the greatest contributors to that inequality, through his own massive accumulation of wealth and his reluctance to give to charity in his own lifetime. And while he preaches "social justice" he practices hard-nosed capitalism, laying off workers and breaking strikes to add to his already enormous profits. Moreover, while he pushes for higher taxes on the wealthy, he takes every legal measure to minimize his own taxes.
So Buffett is open to charges of hypocrisy, as Schroeder makes clear. Hers is no work of hagiography. But he also deserves much of the praise he gets, as an honest and highly capable businessman who takes his fiduciary responsibilities seriously. Through shrewd investments in companies like See's Candies, GEICO, Coca Cola and Gillette, he built enormous wealth for himself and his shareholders. And he did so honestly and conservatively, not exploiting inside information like Bernie Madoff or George Soros, nor through "greenmail" and risky levereged bets like Michael Milken and his acolytes.
This biography depicts Buffet as a very limited man. He cares little for art, philosophy or literature. He would rather ponder the balance sheet of General Electric than the beauty of the ocean. But he is the greatest in the world in his own limited sphere.
In sum, this is a good biography, but it's too long and should do more to explain Buffett's investing ideas. For example, when describing his investment in Coca Cola, Schroeder mentions Coke's price, but not its P/E ratio, nor does she explain sufficiently why he thought that price was attractive. In 900 pages, one would expect more.
Buffett is a complex character, as Schroeder portrays him. He inveighs against privilege, inherited wealth and nepotism, but gives his kids $1 million a year as birthday gifts and appoints them as directors of his company, Berkshire Hathaway. He protests loudly and often about the inequality of wealth in the US, but has himself been one of the greatest contributors to that inequality, through his own massive accumulation of wealth and his reluctance to give to charity in his own lifetime. And while he preaches "social justice" he practices hard-nosed capitalism, laying off workers and breaking strikes to add to his already enormous profits. Moreover, while he pushes for higher taxes on the wealthy, he takes every legal measure to minimize his own taxes.
So Buffett is open to charges of hypocrisy, as Schroeder makes clear. Hers is no work of hagiography. But he also deserves much of the praise he gets, as an honest and highly capable businessman who takes his fiduciary responsibilities seriously. Through shrewd investments in companies like See's Candies, GEICO, Coca Cola and Gillette, he built enormous wealth for himself and his shareholders. And he did so honestly and conservatively, not exploiting inside information like Bernie Madoff or George Soros, nor through "greenmail" and risky levereged bets like Michael Milken and his acolytes.
This biography depicts Buffet as a very limited man. He cares little for art, philosophy or literature. He would rather ponder the balance sheet of General Electric than the beauty of the ocean. But he is the greatest in the world in his own limited sphere.
In sum, this is a good biography, but it's too long and should do more to explain Buffett's investing ideas. For example, when describing his investment in Coca Cola, Schroeder mentions Coke's price, but not its P/E ratio, nor does she explain sufficiently why he thought that price was attractive. In 900 pages, one would expect more.