Warren Buffett said he would hand over the CEO job at Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-B) to Greg Abel. Buffett has a large retirement nest egg near $151 billion, which has risen by $9 billion in 2025. Most of the increase is due to his significant stake in the company. This makes Buffett the eighth richest person in the world, just behind his friend Bill Gates ($177 billion).
24/7 Wall St. Key Points:
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Warren Buffett has a retirement nest egg near $151 billion, mostly due to his significant stake in Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-B).
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It is the world’s eighth most valuable company, and Buffett is the world’s eighth richest person.
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Recent major market movements have slightly shaken Buffett’s belief in stocks. He is not alone. Worries about a global recession have driven people out of stocks. Some investors have even sold U.S. Treasury bonds, which are supposed to be among the safest investments in the world. The money from these sales has begun to move into cash.
At the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting, Buffett said his company had $345 billion of cash on hand. He said recently he was close to a “$10 billion deal.” For reasons he did not give, he dropped the plan. He also said he has been selling stocks. It’s unclear whether this is because he is concerned about the market or if he is waiting for better prices on stocks he already favors.
Buffett’s net worth gain is clearly due to the rise in Berkshire Hathaway shares this year. They are up 19%, while the S&P 500 is off almost 7%. It is the eighth most valuable company in the world, with a market cap of $1.16 trillion.
Buffett has Berkshire holdings in about 30 stocks, some of which he has held for decades. Among them are stakes in American Express, Chevron, Chubb, Coca-Cola, Occidental Petroleum, Visa, and other public companies. Berkshire also has substantial investments in private companies, including insurance company giant GEICO and BNSF Railway, the largest freight railroad in the United States.
Buffett also favors insurance companies. He owns Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance Group, National Indemnity, and Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance, which focuses on business and commercial insurance. Describing these investments, he said, “It’s so much fun because you get the money at the start, you know, and then find out whether you’ve done something stupid later on.”
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