00:00 Speaker A
Investors have collectively lost $10 trillion since President Trump’s Rose Garden address unveiling his tariff plans, and the richest among the US billionaires are shedding massive amounts of wealth. But one standout among the billionaires, Warren Buffett. Buffett’s net worth has grown by $11.5 billion this year for a total of $153.5 billion, making him the fourth richest person alive, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index. A majority of Buffett’s net worth is derived from his shares in Berkshire Hathaway. Berkshire outperforming the S&P 500 year to date. It’s up more than 10% versus the index’s more than 10% decline. The market downturn comes at an interesting time for Buffett, who is sitting on a $334 billion cash pile, a decision he defended in his annual letter to Berkshire shareholders in February. He didn’t mention tariffs or predict any market turmoil in the letter, but in a March interview, he did call tariffs a quote, act of war to some degree. He has also heavily reduced his position in Apple, trimmed his holdings in Bank of America in 2024, both of these stocks down double digits year to date. Other billionaires are not faring well in 2025. Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the richest man alive has lost more than $134 billion. Recent declines pushed Musk’s wealth below the $300 billion mark. Amazon executive chairman, Jeff Bezos has lost more than $42 billion, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has lost over $24 billion.