Warren Buffett is 95 years old (August 30). However, the diet of billionaires investors never grew. His dedication to Coca-Cola is well known, as is his love for ice cream, candy and hamburgers. Buffett never tried to hide it. “I found out everything I loved to eat when I was six,” he told CNBC in an interview in 2023. “I mean, why am I fooling all these other foods?”
Chairman Berkshire Hathaway established one of the greatest destinies in the world. But when it comes to food, he keeps it simple. While other billionaires may celebrate milestone birthdays with luxury meals, Buffett is more likely to find them at McDonald’s or local Omaha steakhouse.
Here are some of Omaha’s favorite orders:
Gorat’s Steakhouse
Buffett is a loyal customer of the steakhouse in Gorat, Omaha, Nebraska. The restaurant has become a tourist attraction. Every May, Buffett’s fans flooded Gorat at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder meeting, generating up to one to two months of sales in just a few days.
The menu ranges from $12 onion rings to $99 for lobster dinners. However, most visitors stick to Buffett’s first choice: a rare T-bone steak with tan on one side, cherry coke and occasionally draft beer.
Smith and Warrensky
Steak, Hash Browns and Cherry Coke are also Buffett’s standard orders at Smith & Wollenksy, a New York steakhouse that hosted its annual “Power Lunch” auction between 2000 and 2022. While winners paid more than $25,000 in the early days, bids often exceeded $1 million after 2008. The final lunch made the record $19 million.
Some of these meals fell on Buffett’s birthday. In 2018, the restaurant ranked 88th with a Coca-Cola-themed cake. A year ago, Smith & Wollensky baked a dessert decorated with some of his favorite snacks.
Piccolo Pete’s
Not every charity lunch is held in Smith & Wollensky. When guests want a quiet environment, Buffett often chooses Piccolo Pete in Omaha, an Italian steakhouse that closed in 2016. His preferred meal is served with lemon, chicken parmesan or steak.
At Piccolo Pete’s, hedge fund manager Ted Weschler dined with Buffett in 2010 and 2011, with two auctions worth $5.2 million. Lunch eventually led Wesler to join Berkshire Hathaway as investment manager.
McDonald’s
Most mornings, Buffett sways on McDonald’s way to work. His orders rotate between three options: two sausage pies for $2.61; sausage, egg and cheese cookies for $2.95; or bacon, egg and cheese cookies for $3.17. (Price as of 2017.)
In the 2017 documentary Be Warren Buffett, He revealed that his wife Astrid Menks has made a complete change in the car cup holder, regardless of which option he chooses. Buffett said he splurged based on the stock market’s mood: “When I don’t feel very prosperous,” he explained, choosing the cheapest $2.61 meal.
Cow Queen
Buffett also has a special connection with the Cow Queen. Berkshire Hathaway acquired the chain for $585 million in 1998, and Buffett has been a loyal customer ever since. He often goes to Omaha locations with his great-grandson, usually ordering vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup and malted milk powder.
His loyalty even led to unusual moments. In 2014, he tried to order dairy queen ice cream in four seasons before settling down on chocolate chip cookies.
Buffett also introduced the billionaire to the chain store. In 2019, he made a transformation with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. In 2020, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban shared a photo of eating together at Dairy Queen – Buffett with chicken sandwiches, Cuba and the snowstorm.
