Warren Buffett, the 94-year-old chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, is the only major investor on Wall Street who isn’t losing money right now.
While Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page, Bill Gates, Larry Ellison, Bernard Arnault, and Michael Dell are seeing billions wiped from their portfolios, Warren is sitting on a $334 billion cash pile that is untouched by the stock market collapse.
Warren has spent the past nine quarters selling stocks instead of buying, including massive exits from Apple, Bank of America, and Citigroup.
The decision was confusing at first, but now, as Wall Street tanks and tech stocks crumble due to fears that president Donald Trump’s tariff policies and trade war threats would send the economy into a recession, Warren was clearly one step ahead—again.
Warren dumped Apple and banks before the collapse
As per usual, Warren saw what others didn’t. While investors were still riding the highs of a Trump-driven market rally, he was cashing out. Apple had just topped, Wall Street was setting records, and everyone thought stocks would keep climbing, but Warren wasn’t convinced.
He sold billions in Apple shares and cut his stakes in Bank of America and Citigroup right before Trump took office again. His cash reserves surged to $334 billion, making up one-third of Berkshire Hathaway’s portfolio.
To put that into perspective, that’s more than the entire value of every single company on the FTSE 100 combined together.
Then came the crash on Monday when the Nasdaq dropped by 4% in a single day, its biggest decline in three years. Tech stocks tumbled, and the investors who had doubled down on the AI boom got crushed, but oh not Warren.
Wall Street panics, but Warren waits
Warren has been in the game long enough to know when to bet big and when to hold back. His strategy is simple: “Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful,” he has said.
In the 90s, when LTCM, a major hedge fund, collapsed, Warren tried to bail it out with a $250 million rescue offer.
In the 2008 financial crisis, when Goldman Sachs was on the verge of collapse, Warren stepped in with $5 billion, securing a deal that earned him a $3 billion profit. Warren also partnered with 3G Capital to buy Kraft Heinz, a decision he justified with one word: “Ketchup.”
In 2017, Warren tried to acquire Unilever for $143 billion, but the company’s board shut him down.
This time, though, he’s not looking to save anyone. While other investors are scrambling for cover, Warren is sitting back and waiting for better opportunities. His greatness is truly unfathomable.
Berkshire’s next moves and Warren’s latest bets
But Warren hasn’t completely walked away from stocks. In Q4 2024, he opened a position in Constellation Brands (STZ), the parent company of Corona beer, while dumping Ulta Beauty (ULTA) just a few quarters after buying it.
Warren held onto Apple and Chevron after making major cuts earlier in the year. But he reduced more of his holdings in Bank of America, Nu Holdings, and Citigroup, showing that he’s still wary of the financial sector.
And then there’s crypto. Warren has made it very clear that he hates crypto, but through Nu Holdings, a major crypto-friendly bank, he technically has exposure to it. The irony? Trump, the only pro-crypto president the U.S. has ever had, is back in office—but Warren doesn’t like him either.
One thing Warren isn’t doing? Buying back Berkshire Hathaway shares. Despite record earnings, Berkshire has halted stock buybacks for two straight quarters. Warren seems to believe there are better places to put his money, and right now, that doesn’t include his own company.
Instead, he’s increasing his stake in five Japanese trading houses, a move he started nearly six years ago. He’s not saying how much he’ll buy, but in his words, “Over time, you will likely see Berkshire’s ownership of all five increase somewhat.”
Warren’s instincts have made him a key player in some of Wall Street’s biggest deals as well as the greatest investor of all time.
The market is falling apart, but Warren? He’s just waiting.
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