How could you possibly amass a $62-billion fortune with a salary of $100,000 per year? It would take you 620,000 years to do that. Well, Warren Buffett isn't quite that old, but he is the world's richest man, surpassing the 10+ year title holder Bill Gates. And the most amazing thing about Buffett is that he really does live off of a $100k annual salary.

Instead of buying record-setting yachts and immersing himself in the finest luxuries, Buffett admittedly feels guilty about traveling via a private jet. This humble investor still lives in the same house he purchased in 1958 for $31,000. Buffett has been married twice and has three children.

Warren Edward Buffett was born August 30, 1930 in Omaha, Nebraska. His father was a stockbroker who went on to become an influential member of the United States Congress. Warren is rumored to have shown his affinity for entrepreneurship at a very young age. He was involved with financial dealings as a child, buying bottles of Coke and reselling for a profit.

By the time he was 11, Buffett had entered his first dollar into the Stock Market. After high school, Buffett went to Pennsylvania to study at the Wharton School of Finance, eventually transferring and graduating from the University of Nebraska. After that, he went to Columbia University where he Mastered in economics and met the investor Benjamin Graham.

Buffett was intrigued by Graham and soon went to work with his company, Graham-Newman. Warren was unlike any employee at the company. He showed almost a mystic quality when dealing in stocks. His investment skills were second to none, and he even helped Graham develop a method which made it easier for laymen to understand the market.

After Graham retired, Warrant promptly returned to Nebraska and got involved with a group of friends and formed an investing fund partnership. Although it was a small venture, the Buffett Partnership Ltd fund turned in astonishing results within a 10-year period. Buffett's methods were seeing returns that measured 10-times higher than the Dow Jones average.

Eventually, Buffett liquidated the fund and soon took complete control of the textile company Berkshire Hathaway. Buffett found that he had enormous success in the insurance industry, and he would soon take advantage of undervalued companies like Coca-Cola, The Washington Post, Gillette, and American Express.

Part of Buffett's gigantic fortune comes from the 5% he owns of each of the listed companies. Other companies Warren owns a stake in include the Acme Brick Company, Buffalo News, Fruit of the Loom, Geico, Helzberg Diamonds, and See's Candies, among many others.

Buffett is a well-known charitable figure. He gives away in excess of $12-million annually to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, and he plans to give a large percentage of his wealth - while he's still living - to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Buffett is a massive celebrity in the chic world of upscale socialites. A lunch with Buffett was auctioned off in 2008 where the winning bid raked in $2.1-million.