Warren Buffett's Recommended Books (The Complete Reading List)

Warren Buffett — the “Oracle of Omaha,” CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, and one of the wealthiest people in history — attributes a significant portion of his success to reading. His stated daily routine: arrive at the office, read for five to six hours. Five hundred pages a day. Every day for decades.

When asked the secret to his knowledge advantage, Buffett once showed a reporter a thick stack of reports and papers: “Read 500 pages like this every day. That’s how knowledge works. It builds up, like compound interest.”

These are the books he has most publicly and consistently recommended.

#1 — The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham

Buffett’s verdict: “By far the best book on investing ever written.”

Buffett read this at 19 and enrolled at Columbia University to study under its author. He considers Graham — the father of value investing — his intellectual mentor. The concepts of Mr Market, margin of safety, and distinguishing speculation from investment come directly from this book.

If you read only one book from this list, make it this one.

➡ Read our full review of The Intelligent Investor →

#2 — The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel

Buffett has praised Housel’s ability to articulate the behavioural side of investing that most finance books ignore. The Psychology of Money explains why smart people make bad financial decisions — and how the mental models you bring to investing matter more than the technical knowledge.

This is the book Buffett would have written if he’d focused on the why rather than the how.

➡ Read our full review of The Psychology of Money →

#3 — Poor Charlie’s Almanack by Charlie Munger

Buffett has said that Charlie Munger — his partner at Berkshire Hathaway — expanded his investment thinking more than any other person. This massive compendium of Munger’s speeches, talks, and mental models is essential reading for understanding how the Berkshire partnership thinks.

The multidisciplinary mental models Munger developed — “latticework of mental models” — are directly applicable to investing and life.

#4 — Business Adventures by John Brooks

Buffett has called this “the best business book I’ve ever read” — a statement notable given how many business books he’s consumed. Originally published in 1969 and long out of print, Buffett personally gave his copy to Bill Gates after Gates asked for a recommendation.

Brooks’s twelve episodes from the business world — including Xerox, Piggly Wiggly, and the Ford Edsel — remain eerily relevant 50 years later. Available in ebook and print after being republished thanks to this recommendation.

#5 — Security Analysis by Benjamin Graham & David Dodd

The academic companion to The Intelligent Investor, this 700-page textbook is Graham and Dodd’s definitive work on fundamental analysis. Buffett has described it as the framework for every investment decision he’s made.

Not for casual reading — this is a reference text for serious investors. But understanding the methodology it contains separates investors who know what they’re doing from those who don’t.

#6 — Tap Dancing to Work by Carol Loomis

A collection of Fortune magazine articles about Buffett spanning four decades, compiled by his close friend and editor Carol Loomis. The best single chronicle of Berkshire Hathaway’s development as a company and Buffett’s evolution as an investor.

Buffett reviewed every article and wrote the preface — as close as you can get to an authorised biography.

#7 — The Outsiders by William Thorndike

Buffett has called this “an outstanding book about CEOs who excelled at capital allocation.” Thorndike profiles eight unconventional CEOs — including Katherine Graham of the Washington Post, a Berkshire investment — who produced extraordinary shareholder returns through disciplined, unorthodox capital allocation decisions.

The book reframes what great CEO performance actually looks like: not charismatic leadership or product innovation, but the unglamorous work of deciding what to do with cash.

#8 — Of Permanent Value by Andrew Kilpatrick

The most comprehensive account of Buffett’s life and Berkshire Hathaway’s history. Kilpatrick updates it regularly (most recent edition runs to over 1,700 pages). Buffett has called it “the definitive Berkshire history.”

Not a quick read, but for anyone seriously studying how Buffett thinks and operates, there’s nothing more detailed.

What We Learn From Buffett’s Reading Habits

Two patterns stand out across Buffett’s recommended reading:

1. Foundation over tactics. Most of what Buffett recommends builds mental models — frameworks for thinking — rather than tactical trading strategies. Graham’s margin of safety, Munger’s mental models, Brooks’s business case studies: all of these develop the quality of thinking that produces good investments.

2. Historical case studies. Buffett disproportionately recommends books that examine what actually happened in business over decades — not what should have happened according to theory. The real world’s complexity and irrationality are the best teacher.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books does Warren Buffett read per day?

Buffett has said he reads approximately 500 pages per day. Early in his career, he estimates he read even more — up to 1,000 pages per day. The goal was to build what he calls a “knowledge advantage.”

What is Warren Buffett’s favourite book?

Buffett consistently names The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham as the best investing book ever written, and the most influential book on his career. He read it at 19 and calls the principles he learned from it the foundation of his entire investing philosophy.

Does Warren Buffett read fiction?

Buffett focuses primarily on business, biography, and history rather than fiction. His reading is predominantly analytical — annual reports, newspapers, business history, and investing books.

What book did Warren Buffett give to Bill Gates?

Buffett gave Gates his personal copy of Business Adventures by John Brooks, which he called the best business book he’d ever read. Gates subsequently wrote about it on his blog, which led to it being republished after being out of print for decades.

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