Warren Buffett officially stepped down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway on January 1, 2026. In this episode of Fundamentals Unfiltered, Matt begins a two-part reflection on Buffett’s remarkable career by focusing on his early life, education, and partnership years.

We explore:

· Buffett’s early entrepreneurial instincts in Omaha

· His intellectual transformation under Benjamin Graham and David Dodd

· The foundations of value investing and margin of safety

· Buffett’s partnership years (1956–1969) and extraordinary compounding record

· The three investment “buckets” Buffett used before Berkshire Hathaway

This episode is less about headlines and more about how great investors are formed—through reading, discipline, patience, and rigorous thinking.