The cash pile of Berkshire grew by $9bn (£7.1bn) in the fourth quarter of 2024 - that’s bigger than the entire size by market capitalisation of Marks and Spencer or Admiral Group in the UK stock market.
Additionally, the Berkshire report showed an income of $11.6bn (£9.2bn) of interest earned, largely from holding Treasury bills - shorter term version of bonds - which was noted as a “predictable large gain in investment income as Treasury Bill yields improved and we substantially increased our holdings of these highly liquid short-term securities.”.
In fact, Buffett - or Berkshire rather - has been a net seller of stocks and shares for nine consecutive quarters, a process which has included selling billions of dollars worth of Apple and Bank of America, among others.
To put that number into some sort of everyday context, consider some high-profile names involved in big-money headlines over the last year in the UK: Jim Ratcliffe buying a stake in Manchester United last year valued the entire club at around £5.2bn.
While our ownership in marketable equities moved downward last year from $354bn to $272bn (£280bn to £215bn), the value of our non-quoted controlled equities increased somewhat and remains far greater than the value of the marketable portfolio.”.
