Warren Buffett, the iconic US investor, has a penchant for hoarding money instead of spending it. His company, Berkshire Hathaway, currently holds an unprecedented level of reserves, with $189 billion in cash and short-term government bonds at the end of the quarter. Buffett is optimistic that these reserves will continue to grow and expects them to reach over $200 billion after the current quarter.
Berkshire is looking for investment opportunities that have low risk but can generate significant returns. The company’s diverse portfolio includes insurers such as Geico, railways like BNSF, and battery manufacturers like Duracell. In the last quarter, Berkshire’s insurance business was a major contributor to the increase in operating profit from $8.1 billion to $11.2 billion.
At Berkshire’s annual shareholder meeting, Buffett announced his preference for Greg Abel as his designated successor to make investment decisions. However, the final decision will be made by Berkshire’s board of directors. Buffett expressed no plans for retirement and hopes to continue in his role. He also mentioned missing his long-time business partner Charlie Munger who passed away in November.
Recently, Berkshire acquired a stake in Paramount Studios which experienced a loss during the last quarter. The company also reduced its stake in Apple by selling 13 percent of its shares during the first quarter of this year. Additionally, Buffett expressed concerns about fraud with artificial intelligence and how it can create deceptively realistic artificial photographs of people which can pose potential harm despite its benefits.
In conclusion, Warren Buffett continues to follow his philosophy of hoarding money while looking for low-risk investments that generate significant returns through his holding company Berkshire Hathaway. His company’s diverse portfolio and strong financial performance are key factors that contribute to its continued success despite some recent setbacks such as losses with certain investments and passing away of some key members like Charlie Munger and concerns about new technologies like AI that may cause fraudulent activities or uncertainty about their future impact on society as a whole .