Berkshire’s Buffett Has Grown His Wealth By $11.5B This Year, Making Him One of the Rare Winners in Recent Crash

In 2020, Barstool Sports’ Dave Portnoy tweeted — “I’m sure Warren Buffett is a great guy but when it comes to stocks he’s washed up.” Five years later, Portnoy and innumerable false idols of the retail trading boom — including ARK Invest’s Cathie Wood, Social Capital’s Chamath Palihapitiya, and Pershing Square’s Bill Ackman — are looking like the washed-up ones. And humble as ever, it’s Buffett raking in billions as discomfort seizes the market.

• Since the start of the year, Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway ($BRK.B), a conglomerate that owns 189 subsidiary businesses and invests in a handful of public equities, has been one of the market’s best-performers — up 8% on the year.
• That 8% rally has added $11.5B to Buffett’s wealth, making him one of the few ultra-rich to benefit from the recent market decline — he’s now the fourth-richest person in the world, worth $154B.

Buffett, right again: Separate from Berkshire’s expansive business, Buffett is revered for his pulse of the market — portfolio moves, corresponding commentary, and all. In recent weeks, we’ve covered how Buffett sold over $143B worth of stocks in 2024 and continued to sell into 2025. Moving to the security of Treasury bonds, many suspected the 94-year-old was gearing up for a compelling buying opportunity. Now that the S&P 500 is down 15% year-to-date, some are wondering whether some of Berkshire’s $334B will start making moves. With the company’s quarterly earnings fast approaching, many pundits will be turning to the trusty commentary of the long-time CEO and value investor for a sound voice in unsettling markets.