A. King

Warren Buffett's wife left him after more than 20 years of marriage. He was already one of the greatest investors in America, but without her, his own daughter wasn't sure he could take care of himself. Susan Buffett moved from Omaha to San Francisco in 1977. In the video, Warren and several members of the Buffett family all talk about what her leaving did to him. Their daughter described the separation as devastating and said she couldn't understand how her mother could leave because, in her words, “he can't function by himself.” Susan knew it too. Even after leaving, she still loved Warren and worried about what would happen to him. Eventually, their daughter called a woman named Astrid Menks and asked her to go to Warren's house, make him some soup and look after him because she genuinely feared “he's not gonna make it.” Astrid went over. Eventually, she moved in. But Susan never divorced Warren. She remained his wife and stayed emotionally close to him while Astrid became the woman living with him in Omaha. Stranger still, Susan and Astrid became close themselves. Buffett's children later explained that their mother was happy Astrid was there because she wanted someone to take care of Warren. Susan remained married to Warren until her death in 2004. Two years later, Warren married Astrid. What makes the story hit harder is hearing the family describe it themselves. This wasn't just a strange arrangement people later wrote about. The people closest to Buffett watched him go through it and remembered how badly the separation affected him. Buffett spent his life proving that he understood businesses better than almost anyone alive. By the time Susan left, he already had more money than most people could ever imagine. But none of it could replace the person who had held his life together outside of business. Maybe that's the strangest part of Buffett's story. He could buy almost anything he wanted, but when his wife left, all the money in the world couldn't stop him from falling apart. So can money actually buy happiness, or does it only make life easier until the things that really matter disappear?