Warren Buffett's Book Recommendations (Updated for 2025)

Want to know what books Warren Buffett recommends on their reading list? We've researched interviews, social media posts, podcasts, and articles to build a comprehensive list of Warren Buffett's favorite book recommendations of all time.

Business Adventures

Twelve Classic Tales from the World of Wall Street

John Brooks | 3.96

"Business Adventures remains the best business book I've ever read." --Bill Gates, The Wall Street Journal

What do the $350 million Ford Motor Company disaster known as the Edsel, the fast and incredible rise of Xerox, and the unbelievable scandals at General Electric and Texas Gulf Sulphur have in common? Each is an example of how an iconic company was defined by a particular moment of fame or notoriety; these notable and fascinating accounts are as relevant today to understanding the intricacies of corporate life as they were when the events happened. more

Recommended by Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Michael Dell, and 8 others.

Warren BuffettIn 1991, Bill Gates asked Buffett for his favorite book. In reply, Buffett sent the Microsoft founder his personal copy of Business Adventures, a collection of New Yorker stories by John Brooks. (Source)

Bill GatesBrooks’s work is a great reminder that the rules for running a strong business and creating value haven’t changed. For one thing, there’s an essential human factor in every business endeavor. It doesn’t matter if you have a perfect product, production plan, and marketing pitch; you’ll still need the right people to lead and implement those plans. (Source)

Michael DellIn this 1960s classic, Brooks, a longtime New Yorker contributor, tells the stories of 12 notable companies and how they navigated the trials and tribulations of corporate life in America back in the day. (Source)

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The Outsiders

Eight Unconventional CEOs and Their Radically Rational Blueprint for Success

William N. Thorndike | 4.43

”It is impossible to produce superior performance unless you do something different.” — John Templeton

What makes a successful CEO? Most people call to mind a familiar definition: a seasoned manager with deep industry expertise. Others might point to the qualities of today’s so-called celebrity CEOs—charisma, virtuoso communication skills, and a confident management style. But what really matters when you run an organization? What is the hallmark of exceptional CEO performance? Quite simply, it is the returns for the shareholders of that company over the long term.

In this refreshing, counterintuitive book, author Will Thorndike brings to bear the analytical wisdom of a successful career in investing, closely evaluating the performance of companies and their leaders. You will meet eight individualistic CEOs whose firms’ average returns outperformed the S&P 500 by a factor of twenty—in other words, an investment of $10,000 with each of these CEOs, on average, would have been worth over $1.5 million twenty-five years later. You may not know all their names, but you will recognize their companies: General Cinema, Ralston Purina, The Washington Post Company, Berkshire Hathaway, General Dynamics, Capital Cities Broadcasting, TCI, and Teledyne. In The Outsiders, you’ll learn the traits and methods—striking for their consistency and relentless rationality—that helped these unique leaders achieve such exceptional performance.

Humble, unassuming, and often frugal, these "outsiders” shunned Wall Street and the press, and shied away from the hottest new management trends. Instead, they shared specific traits that put them and the companies they led on winning trajectories: a laser-sharp focus on per share value as opposed to earnings or sales growth; an exceptional talent for allocating capital and human resources; and the belief that cash flow, not reported earnings, determines a company’s long-term value.

Drawing on years of research and experience, Thorndike tells eye-opening stories, extracting lessons and revealing a compelling alternative model for anyone interested in leading a company or investing in one—and reaping extraordinary returns. less

Recommended by Warren Buffett, Charles T. Munger, Charlie Munger, and 12 others.

Warren BuffettIn his 2012 shareholder letter, Buffett praises The Outsiders as "an outstanding book about CEOs who excelled at capital allocation." Berkshire Hathaway plays a major role in the book. One chapter is on director Tom Murphy, who Buffett says is "overall the best business manager I've ever met." (Source)

Michael DellThorndike explores the importance of thoughtful capital allocation through the stories of eight successful CEOs. A good read for any business leader but especially those willing to chart their own course (Source)

Michael Mauboussin3/Will Thorndike's book, "The Outsiders," was a deep influence on the prize and selection process. Stiritz called it a "classic" in his acceptance speech. It is, and should at the top of the reading list for CEOs and investors. Bonus: Will's a great guy. https://t.co/Ih1eoUPSAe (Source)

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The Moment of Lift

How Empowering Women Changes the World

Melinda Gates | 4.51

A debut from Forbes' third most powerful woman in the world, Melinda Gates, a timely and necessary call to action for women's empowerment.

For the last twenty years, Melinda Gates has been on a mission. Her goal, as co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, has been to find solutions for people with the most urgent needs, wherever they live. Throughout this journey, one thing has become increasingly clear to her: If you want to lift a society up, invest in women.

In this candid and inspiring book, Gates traces her awakening to the link between... more

Recommended by Reid Hoffman, Warren Buffett, Barack Obama, and 9 others.

Reid HoffmanIn her instructive and inspiring book #TheMomentOfLift, @melindagates explains why effective "delivery systems" are key to achieving massive impact, and what the secret is to creating them. https://t.co/UBOXhZxFp8 https://t.co/eHeNHurocx (Source)

Warren BuffettI think this is one of the best books I've ever read. (Source)

Barack ObamaIn her book, Melinda tells the stories of the inspiring people she’s met through her work all over the world, digs into the data, and powerfully illustrates issues that need our attention―from child marriage to gender inequity in the workplace. (Source)

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Shoe Dog

A Memoir by the Creator of NIKE

Phil Knight | 4.64

In this candid and riveting memoir, for the first time ever, Nike founder and CEO Phil Knight shares the inside story of the company’s early days as an intrepid start-up and its evolution into one of the world’s most iconic, game-changing, and profitable brands.

In 1962, fresh out of business school, Phil Knight borrowed $50 from his father and created a company with a simple mission: import high-quality, low-cost athletic shoes from Japan. Selling the shoes from the trunk of his lime green Plymouth Valiant, Knight grossed $8,000 his first year. Today, Nike’s annual sales top $30... more

Recommended by Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Brad Feld, and 42 others.

Warren BuffettThe best book I read last year. Phil is... a gifted storyteller. (Source)

Bill GatesThis memoir, by the co-founder of Nike, is a refreshingly honest reminder of what the path to business success really looks like: messy, precarious, and riddled with mistakes. I’ve met Knight a few times over the years. He’s super nice, but he’s also quiet and difficult to get to know. Here Knight opens up in a way few CEOs are willing to do. I don’t think Knight sets out to teach the reader... (Source)

Andre AgassiI've known Phil Knight since I was a kid, but I didn't really know him until I opened this beautiful, startling, intimate book. And the same goes for Nike. I've worn the gear with pride, but I didn't realize the remarkable saga of innovation and survival and triumph that stood behind every swoosh. Candid, funny, suspenseful, literary - this is a memoir for people who love sport, but above all... (Source)

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Stress Test

Reflections on Financial Crises

Timothy F. Geithner | 4.22

From the former Treasury Secretary, the definitive account of the unprecedented effort to save the U.S. economy from collapse in the wake of the worst global financial crisis since the Great Depression

On January 26, 2009, during the depth of the financial crisis and having just completed five years as President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Timothy F. Geithner was sworn in by President Barack Obama as the seventy-fifth Secretary of the Treasury of the United States. Now, in a strikingly candid, riveting, and historically illuminating memoir, Geithner takes readers behind the scenes during the darkest moments of the crisis. Swift, decisive, and creative action was required to avert a second Great Depression, but policy makers faced a fog of uncertainty, with no good options and the risk of catastrophic outcomes.

Stress Test: Reflections on Financial Crises takes us inside the room, explaining in accessible and forthright terms the hard choices and politically unpalatable decisions that Geithner and others in the Obama administration made during the crisis and recovery. He discusses the most controversial moments of his tenures at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and at the Treasury, including the harrowing weekend Lehman Brothers went bankrupt; the searing crucible of the AIG bonuses controversy; the development of his widely criticized but ultimately successful plan in early 2009 to end the crisis; the bracing fight for the most sweeping financial reforms in seventy years; and the lingering aftershocks of the crisis, including high unemployment, the fiscal battles, and Europe’s repeated flirtations with the economic abyss.

Geithner also shares his personal and professional recollections of key players such as President Obama, Ben Bernanke, Hank Paulson, and Larry Summers, among others, and examines the tensions between politics and policy that have come to dominate discussions of the U.S. economy. An insider’s account of how the Obama administration saved the economy but lost the American people, Stress Test reveals a side of Timothy Geithner that only few have seen. less

Recommended by Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, John Ashcroft, and 3 others.

Warren BuffettBuffett says that the former secretary of the U.S. Treasury's book about the financial crisis is a must-read for any manager. (Source)

Bill GatesThe central irony of Stress Test is that a guy who was accused of being a lousy communicator as U.S. Treasury Secretary has penned a book that is such a good read. Geithner paints a compelling human portrait of what it was like to be fighting a global financial meltdown while at the same time fighting critics inside and outside the Administration as well as his own severe guilt over his... (Source)

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Security Analysis

Benjamin Graham, David Dodd, et al. | 4.37

"A road map for investing that I have now been following for 57 years."
--From the Foreword by Warren E. Buffett

First published in 1934, "Security Analysis" is one of the most influential financial books ever written. Selling more than one million copies through five editions, it has provided generations of investors with the timeless value investing philosophy and techniques of Benjamin Graham and David L. Dodd.

As relevant today as when they first appeared nearly 75 years ago, the teachings of Benjamin Graham, the father of value investing, have withstood the test of time across a wide diversity of market conditions, countries, and asset classes.

This new sixth edition, based on the classic 1940 version, is enhanced with 200 additional pages of commentary from some of today s leading Wall Street money managers. These masters of value investing explain why the principles and techniques of Graham and Dodd are still highly relevant even in today s vastly different markets. The contributor list includes: Seth A. Klarman, president of The Baupost Group, L.L.C. and author of "Margin of Safety" James Grant, founder of "Grant's Interest Rate Observer," general partner of Nippon Partners Jeffrey M. Laderman, twenty-five year veteran of "BusinessWeek" Roger Lowenstein, author of "Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist" and "When America Aged" and Outside Director, Sequoia Fund Howard S. Marks, CFA, Chairman and Co-Founder, Oaktree Capital Management L.P. J. Ezra Merkin, Managing Partner, Gabriel Capital Group . Bruce Berkowitz, Founder, Fairholme Capital Management. Glenn H. Greenberg, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Chieftain Capital Management Bruce Greenwald, Robert Heilbrunn Professor of Finance and Asset Management, Columbia Business School David Abrams, Managing Member, Abrams Capital

Featuring a foreword by Warren E. Buffett (in which he reveals that he has read the 1940 masterwork at least four times ), this new edition of "Security Analysis" will reacquaint you with the foundations of value investing more relevant than ever in the tumultuous 21st cent

Warren Buffett's Top Book Recommendations

Business Adventures

The Outsiders

The Moment of Lift

Shoe Dog

Stress Test

Security Analysis