Warren Buffett AILCUnlike someone like Donald Trump–who despite his billions, everything about him comes across as fake–Warren Buffett is a natural authentic wealth builder; what can we learn from Warren?

In relation to our recent theme of money–and that money is not inherently bad or “evil”– I meant to write about the famous billionaire Warren Buffett as an example of someone who is a genuine and natural wealth builder who does so because that seems to be  his life purpose; not because he loves money. Luckily I came across this post about Warren Buffett by Alex Malley who knows a lot more about money than I do.

Alex Malley FCPA is the chief executive of CPA Australia and the host of the Nine Network television series The Bottom Line. He describes what he calls “The Four states of Warren Buffett”* which are Authenticity, Instinct, Leadership, and Community.

There is a cult of personality around Warren Buffett, the revered, even fabled chairman and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway. It is not something he has cultivated, but his billions of dollars no doubt fuel a large measure of interest. If you fall for all the hoopla, you miss the real Warren Buffett – a leader in business and the community virtually without peer.

The tens of thousands of shareholders in his company, attending their annual meeting at CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Nebraska, are not fooled. They all know about what I like to describe as A.I.L.C. – or the four states of Warren Buffett.

…… money is a by-product of his passion, rather than the core of his focus. Therein lies an extraordinary lesson for those young and ambitious people who are at that stage perhaps of being blinded by “success”. It comes with passion and focus, not from a quick trade.

* Alex Malley’s article on LinkedIn does not exist any longer.