Film
Becoming Warren Buffett
- Biopic
- Light-hearted
A portrait of Warren Buffett constructed from his own archive, tracing how a Nebraska boy obsessed with numbers became an investor and philanthropist. It's intimate without being intrusive, combining home video with reflection to ask what wealth is actually for. For anyone curious about how compound interest and compound character actually work.
If you liked this
The Founder2016
Michael Keaton embodies Ray Kroc's ruthless brilliance as he builds McDonald's into an empire. A study of American ambition, obsession, and the cost of winning that doesn't look away from the uglier truths.
But It's less sympathetic to its subject than Buffett's own documentary. If you want to like the person on screen, this isn't the film.
La Casa de Papel2017
A Spanish heist series that's obsessed with planning, psychology, and the cat-and-mouse game between brilliant minds. Each character has the kind of obsessive depth Buffett himself demonstrates.
But Watching people pull off crimes, even fictional ones, is morally different from watching someone build something. The tone is thriller, not meditation.
The Wolf of Wall Street2013
Scorsese and DiCaprio burn through excess and fraud with energy that's almost beautiful. It's the shadow version of American success—ambition with no anchor, just to see how high you can fly.
But It's brutal, loud, and celebrates behavior that Buffett would regard as beneath contempt. You might just find it exhausting.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Becoming Warren Buffett
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
The Ascent of Money2008
Both are about the relationship between money, power, and meaning. Ferguson shows the history of where Buffett operates; Buffett shows what happens when someone navigates it with integrity.
Niall Ferguson's miniseries traces financial history from tulips to subprime mortgages. It's the intellectual architecture behind Buffett's world—how we got here, what went wrong, what's actually true.
But Dense, fast-moving, and assumes some comfort with economic concepts. It requires active attention; passive watching won't work.
More like this (6)
Citizen Kane1941
Welles' masterpiece about a man who built an empire and lost himself in it. The perfect meditation on what happens when you mistake power for meaning.
But It's a film, not a biographical document. The allegory can feel distant if you're looking for factual clarity about a real person.
The Big Short2015
McKay's film about the 2008 financial crisis is furious and clever—it shows what happens when the Buffett philosophy of patient, honest investing is abandoned for short-term greed.
But It's deliberately abrasive and uses breaking the fourth wall. If you want a smooth documentary experience, this shatters it on purpose.
The Pursuit of Happyness2006
Will Smith as a man clawing his way from homelessness to respectability through sheer determination. A quieter film about the American dream—not the casino version, the real grind.
But It's earnest and emotional in ways that some find heavy-handed. The sentiment can overshadow the story if you're not in the mood.
The Billion Dollar Code2021
German-made miniseries about two men who created a 3D map technology and watched Google steal it. A brilliant, underrated look at innovation, unfairness, and fighting back.
But It's three episodes, not a full season. Some storylines feel incomplete, and the legal resolution is bittersweet at best.
My Octopus Teacher2020
Like Buffett reflecting on his life through home video, this is an entire film about the act of paying attention to something for a long time. Both suggest that understanding comes from patience, not speed.
A filmmaker spends a year observing an octopus in a South African kelp forest. It's meditative, non-narrative, and becomes a conversation between observer and observed about patience and attention.
But There's no plot, no conflict, just presence. If you need dramatic structure, this will feel like it's not going anywhere.
The Secret of Kells2009
Both are about what endures: the Book of Kells survived centuries because it was made with care and intention. Buffett's life is the same kind of crafted artifact—built to last, meant to matter beyond the builder.
Gorgeously animated Irish fantasy about a boy learning the value of creation and beauty over safety and walls. Visually stunning and structurally intricate, it rewards attention.
But It's a fairy tale, not a life story. The connection to Buffett's world is thematic, not literal, and some will find that oblique.
People
Cast
Warren BuffettHimself- Susan BuffettHerself (archive footage)
Bill GatesHimself (archive footage)- Aiden LinkovWarren Buffet 9 Year Old Friend
Directing
- Brian OakesDirector
- Peter W. KunhardtDirector
Production
- Sheila NevinsExecutive Producer
- Teddy KunhardtProducer