My Role Model — Warren Buffet & Kimberley Motley

Warren Buffett

I’ve always considered working in finance and investing which is why I hope to major in finance and economics. So when I think of a role model, I think of someone who is one the best in this field, Warren Buffett. When I created my “blue sky future”, all I wanted was money so I could travel and not have to live penny to penny. I considered money to be the only thing I needed to be successful, but Buffett, the third richest man in the world, has taught me otherwise. When you think of Warren Buffett, you would assume he measures his success based on money but you would be wrong, he bases it on love. This is best summed up with this quote from Buffett, “I tell college students, when you get to be my age, you will be successful if the people who you hope to have loved you, do love you”. Although Buffet has an estimated net worth of over $70 billion, he still lives in the 5-bedroom house he purchased for $31,500 in 1956. I admire this because he doesn’t work to make money, he works because he loves what he does.

Buffet has always had a passion for business and making money. When he was only 14 he invested into 40 acres of land, using the money he earned from his paper route and selling soda, and then he rented the land to make a profit. By the time he was 16 he had already made todays equivalent to $53,000. Buffet has always been on the path to becoming the successful investor he is today.

Buffet continually gives back to society. He has vowed to donate 99% of his money and has already donated $20 billion, the second highest amount a single person has donated to charity, next to Bill Gates. He has also started the Buffet Foundation as a way to manage his charitable donations. I hope to be able to give back to society one day as well because it is important to me that I can help those in need.

References

Elkin, K. (2015, September 23) 22 Mind-Blowing Facts about Warren. Business Insider. Retrieved December 5, 2016 from http://www.businessinsider.com/facts-about-warren-buffett-2015-9/#the-multi-billionaire-reportedly-earns-only-100000-a-year-at-berkshire-hathaway--and-spends-it-frugally-20

Smith, L. (2015, September 16) Warren Buffett: The Road to Riches. Investopedia. Retrieved December 5, 2016 from http://www.investopedia.com/articles/financial-theory/08/buffetts-road-to-riches.asp

Kimberley Motley Another field I am interested in pursuing is law, I find Kimberley Motley to be an inspiration in this field. She got her J.D. from Marquette Law School in Wisconsin. Motley litigates in Afghanistan and is the only non-native to do so. I admire that she took her skills outside of the country she studied in to practice international law in a male dominated field.

Motley helps out by defending kidnap and rape victims and she even offers free legal help to children in juvenile detention centres. In one of her most famous cases she defended a woman who was accused of burning a Koran and was then beaten to death by a mob. After she convicted eight police officers for not stepping in, she was quoted saying, “It puts people on notice that if you see a person getting hurt, you have not only a moral obligation to step in, but also a legal obligation”. I find it inspiring that she uses her knowledge of the law to help people who would otherwise have no voice get the justice they deserve. If I decide to pursue law as a career, I would hope to do the same. While she has developed a successful law career, she has also accomplished a lot in other parts of her life. She has three children and was named Mrs. Wisconsin in the Mrs. America pageant.

References

About Our Team. (n.d.) Motley Legal. Retrieved December 5, 2016 from http://www.motleylegal.com/about.html

Macnab,G. (2016, March 18) Kimberley Motley: From beauty pageants to Afghanistan' s only foreign lawyer. Independent. Retrieved December 5, 2016 from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/kimberley-motley-from-beauty-pageants-to-afghanistan-s-only-foreign-lawyer-a6940456.html&#x20;