Billionaire Warren Buffett, a legendary investor from the United States, is known for his approach to money management. Instead of spending it recklessly, he prefers to hoard it, and his holding company Berkshire Hathaway currently holds a record amount of cash and short-term government bonds, with $189 billion at the end of the last quarter. Buffett expects these reserves to reach over $200 billion after this current quarter.
Buffett is looking for low-risk ventures that can bring in significant returns with the money he has on hand. Berkshire owns a diverse portfolio, including Geico, BNSF, and Duracell. The insurance business was a key driver in increasing operating profit from $11.2 billion in the last quarter to just under $8.1 billion in the previous year.
At the annual shareholder meeting, Buffett announced his preferred successor as Greg Abel 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 as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He also mourned the loss of his longtime business partner Charlie Munger who passed away in November 2021.
Berkshire recently acquired a stake in Paramount Pictures but experienced a loss due to its Hollywood group acquisition. The company also reduced its stake in Apple by selling 13% of its shares during the first quarter of 2021. In addition to these investments, Buffett expressed concerns about fraud with artificial intelligence and highlighted the potential risks involved with creating deceptively realistic artificial photographs that could mislead people online.
Overall, Warren Buffett’s approach to money management continues to drive success for Berkshire Hathaway while also raising awareness about potential risks associated with emerging technologies like AI.