Wally Weitz

Wally Weitz
Born	Wallace R. Weitz
Nationality	American
Occupation	Investor, fund manager, philanthropist
Title	Founder and Co-Chief Investment Officer
Employer	Weitz Investment Management
Known for	Founder of Weitz Investment Management; board member of Berkshire Hathaway
Education	Carleton College

Wallace R. "Wally" Weitz is an American investor, fund manager, and philanthropist who founded Weitz Investment Management, an Omaha, Nebraska-based investment firm. A practitioner of value investing, Weitz has spent decades managing mutual funds and institutional portfolios guided by the principle of purchasing securities trading below their intrinsic value. His career in finance has placed him among a notable circle of Omaha-based investors, and in 2022, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. nominated him to join its board of directors, a distinction that underscored his standing in the investment community. Beyond his investment career, Weitz is known for substantial philanthropic contributions, particularly to Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, where he and the Weitz family have contributed over $45 million in total gifts, and to the University of Nebraska, where he and his wife Barbara committed $25 million in 2023. His career has encompassed fund management, corporate governance, and significant engagement with nonprofit institutions across the Midwest.

Education

Wally Weitz is an alumnus of Carleton College, a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota. He is a member of the Class of 1970. His connection to Carleton has remained strong throughout his career, as evidenced by his extensive philanthropic engagement with the institution. In 2020, the Carleton Class of 1970 announced the largest 50th Reunion class gift in the history of the college, contributing $64.2 million, a total to which Weitz was a notable contributor.

Weitz's undergraduate education at Carleton, a college known for its rigorous academic curriculum and emphasis on critical thinking, appears to have laid a foundation for the analytical approach he would later apply to investment management. His subsequent career in Omaha, Nebraska, placed him in proximity to one of the most prominent investment communities in the United States.

Career

Weitz Investment Management

Wally Weitz founded Weitz Investment Management, based in Omaha, Nebraska. He has served as the firm's co-chief investment officer. The firm operates as an investment management company, managing mutual funds and investment portfolios. Weitz's investment philosophy is rooted in value investing, an approach that emphasizes the identification and purchase of securities that trade at prices below their estimated intrinsic value. This approach shares intellectual lineage with the investment philosophies of Benjamin Graham and Warren Buffett, the latter of whom is also based in Omaha.

Weitz Investment Management has operated from Omaha for decades, making it part of a notable cluster of investment firms and financial institutions headquartered in the city. The firm's presence in Omaha, alongside Berkshire Hathaway and other investment operations, has contributed to the city's reputation as a center of value-oriented investing.

Berkshire Hathaway Board Nomination

On March 11, 2022, Berkshire Hathaway Inc., the multinational conglomerate holding company led by Warren Buffett, announced that it had nominated Wally Weitz to fill an open seat on its board of directors. The nomination was reported by major financial news outlets including Reuters and The Wall Street Journal.

The nomination to the Berkshire Hathaway board represented a significant recognition of Weitz's standing in the investment community. Berkshire Hathaway's board has historically included individuals with deep expertise in investing, business management, and corporate governance. Weitz was identified in the announcement as the founder and co-chief investment officer of Weitz Investment Management.

Berkshire Hathaway's selection process for board members has been closely watched by investors and financial analysts, given the company's prominence and the personal involvement of Warren Buffett in governance decisions. The nomination of Weitz, a fellow Omaha-based value investor, reflected the close-knit nature of the Omaha investment community and the shared intellectual framework that connects many of its leading figures.

Philanthropy

Carleton College

Wally Weitz and the Weitz family have been among the most significant benefactors of Carleton College. The family's total contributions to the college have exceeded $45 million. This philanthropic relationship has shaped the physical campus of the college and supported a range of academic and experiential learning programs.

The Weitz Center for Creativity

The most visible expression of the Weitz family's support for Carleton College is the Weitz Center for Creativity, an academic building on the Carleton campus. The building, which formerly housed a middle school and high school, was renovated and repurposed as a center for the arts. It opened in the fall of 2011.

The Weitz Center for Creativity houses a range of facilities designed to support interdisciplinary arts education. These include classrooms, the Perlman Teaching Museum, a theater, and two dance studios. The Perlman Teaching Museum serves as an educational space where art is integrated into the broader liberal arts curriculum, allowing faculty from various disciplines to use the museum's collections and exhibitions in their teaching.

In 2017, a new addition to the Weitz Center was completed, expanding the facility to include music and performing arts spaces. The addition incorporated a performance hall, rehearsal spaces, and faculty offices, significantly broadening the scope of creative activities supported by the building. The building has been certified as LEED Gold, reflecting its adherence to environmental sustainability standards in design and construction.

The Weitz Center has become a central hub for the arts at Carleton, bringing together programs in visual arts, theater, dance, music, and cinema and media studies under one roof. Its design and programming reflect an emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration, a hallmark of the liberal arts approach to education that Carleton espouses.

The Weitz Fellowship

The Weitz family's philanthropy at Carleton College extends beyond physical infrastructure to include experiential learning programs. The Weitz Fellowship is a program that provides graduating Carleton seniors with one-year, paid, full-time positions within the nonprofit sector in Nebraska.

The fellowship program connects Carleton graduates with nonprofit organizations in Omaha and elsewhere in Nebraska, providing participants with professional experience while supporting the work of community-based organizations. In 2025, eight Carleton seniors were awarded the fellowship. The program has operated for multiple years, with fellows reporting on their experiences working in Nebraska's nonprofit sector.

Each cohort of Weitz Fellows travels to Nebraska for an introduction to their fellowship year, meeting with current and former fellows, the Weitz family, and members of the Career Center staff at Carleton. The program reflects the Weitz family's commitment to both Carleton College and the state of Nebraska, serving as a bridge between the educational institution and the communities where the family has deep roots.

Class of 1970 Reunion Gift

In 2020, the Carleton Class of 1970—Weitz's graduating class—set a new record for 50th reunion giving, contributing a total of $64.2 million to the college. This was announced as the largest 50th Reunion class gift in Carleton's history. While the gift represented the collective contributions of the entire class, Weitz's status as the class's most prominent philanthropist and his established pattern of major giving to Carleton indicate his role as a significant contributor to this total.

University of Nebraska

In 2023, Barbara and Wally Weitz committed $25 million to the University of Nebraska. The gift was intended to create an endowed institute at the university. Barbara Weitz has served as a regent of the University of Nebraska, further connecting the couple to the institution. The gift represented one of the larger individual commitments to the University of Nebraska system and underscored the Weitz family's philanthropic focus on educational institutions in their home state.

Nebraska Journalism and Nonprofit Support

The Weitz family's philanthropic interests in Nebraska extend beyond higher education. The Nebraska Journalism Trust, which operates the Flatwater Free Press, a nonprofit news organization covering Nebraska, has been part of the broader ecosystem of nonprofit engagement in the state. In 2024, the Flatwater Free Press announced expansions to its board and staff, reflecting the growth of nonprofit journalism in the region where the Weitz family has been active philanthropically.

Personal Life

Wally Weitz is married to Barbara Weitz. The couple resides in Omaha, Nebraska, where Wally has based his investment management firm. Barbara Weitz has been involved in public service, serving as a regent of the University of Nebraska. Together, the couple has engaged in philanthropic activities focused on education, the arts, and the nonprofit sector, with particular emphasis on institutions in Nebraska and Minnesota.

The Weitz family's philanthropic activities have been a collaborative endeavor, with Barbara and Wally jointly committing significant resources to institutions including Carleton College and the University of Nebraska. Their giving has reflected a consistent set of priorities: supporting liberal arts education, fostering creativity and the arts, and strengthening the nonprofit sector in Nebraska.

Recognition

Wally Weitz's career in investment management and his philanthropic activities have brought him recognition in both the financial and educational communities.

His nomination to the Berkshire Hathaway board of directors in 2022 represented one of the most prominent acknowledgments of his stature as an investor. Berkshire Hathaway, with a market capitalization among the largest of any publicly traded company, selects its board members with care, and the nomination was covered by Reuters, The Wall Street Journal, and other major financial publications.

At Carleton College, the naming of the Weitz Center for Creativity in honor of the Weitz family serves as a lasting recognition of the family's contributions to the institution. The building's LEED Gold certification and its role as a central arts facility on campus have made it one of the most prominent structures at the college. The Weitz Fellowship program further carries the family name, connecting it to the professional development of Carleton graduates working in Nebraska's nonprofit sector.

The $25 million commitment to the University of Nebraska in 2023 also brought public recognition to the Weitz family's philanthropic efforts, with the gift announced through major philanthropy news outlets.

Legacy

Wally Weitz's legacy encompasses his contributions to value investing and his philanthropic impact on educational and cultural institutions. As the founder of Weitz Investment Management, he built an investment firm in Omaha that has operated for decades, managing capital according to the principles of value investing. His nomination to the Berkshire Hathaway board placed him in the governance structure of one of the most prominent companies in the world, further cementing his position within the Omaha investment community.

His philanthropic legacy is anchored by the Weitz Center for Creativity at Carleton College, a facility that has transformed the arts experience at the college. The center's interdisciplinary design, housing visual arts, theater, dance, music, and cinema under one roof, reflects an approach to arts education that emphasizes collaboration across traditional disciplinary boundaries. The 2017 expansion of the center to include music and performing arts spaces extended this vision further.

The Weitz Fellowship program represents another dimension of his legacy, creating a pipeline between Carleton College and Nebraska's nonprofit sector. By funding paid, full-time positions for recent graduates in nonprofit organizations, the program has supported both the professional development of young people and the capacity of Nebraska's nonprofit institutions.

Together with Barbara Weitz, Wally has directed substantial resources toward strengthening educational institutions in both Minnesota and Nebraska, with total giving to Carleton College exceeding $45 million and a $25 million commitment to the University of Nebraska. This pattern of giving has positioned the Weitz family as one of the most significant philanthropic forces in the Midwestern educational landscape.