Once again, Warren Buffett is one of the top five wealthiest people in the world.
In the recent Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the 91-year-old investor ranks fifth in global wealth with a $125 billion fortune, behind Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bernard Arnault and Bill Gates.
Within a day, the world’s most respected investor increased his wealth by more than $16 billion on record appreciation of his assets.
Founded by Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway looks even more solid this year. In the face of increased geopolitical uncertainty, its stock is up 15%. The S&P 500 has fallen 6% this year.
Most recent stakes
Warren Buffet has been sitting on a mountain of cash for years. Due to record highs in the stock market, he had a hard time finding deals.
- As many other investors are in the process of selling, he is taking the opportunity to shop.
- As of yesterday, Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway disclosed its purchase of almost 121 million shares of HP worth $4.2 billion worth of stocks, giving it a stake of more than 11% in the technology company.
- In premarket trading on Thursday, HP (HPQ) shares rose 14%.
- Buffett has made a string of large investments in the past month.
- As recently as March, Berkshire increased its stake in Occidental Petroleum (OXY) and announced a $11.6 billion agreement to purchase Alleghany Corporation, an insurance company.
Warren Buffett’s personal profile
- Buffett is chairman and largest shareholder of Berkshire Hathaway, a group of investment companies that has seen market value rise 20% annually since 1965.
- Dairy Queen and Clayton Homes are part of the Omaha-based firm, which also owns Coca-Cola and American Express.
- Nebraskan, Warren Buffett showed a flair for making money young by selling candy and magazines door-to-door and delivering newspapers.
- At age 11, he purchased his first stock from the New York Stock Exchange: three preferred shares of Cities Service. Following the publication of Benjamin Graham and David Dodd’s book Arcadia, he applied to Columbia University
- Among the courses taught there was “The Intelligent Investor.” Following a master’s degree in economics, he worked as a securities analyst and stockbroker before founding the Buffett Partnership.
- Berkshire Hathaway, a manufacturer of distressed textiles, was acquired by him in 1962. He eventually became its chairman and used it as a holding company. Since then, he has returned over 20% compounded annually.
- As a buy-and-hold value investor, Buffett typically invests in – or buys outright – companies whose business operations he believes are easily understood.
