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The mega-rich are mostly getting richer as stocks hit record highs, but Warren Buffett’s net wealth is down by around $28 billion since he announced his retirement as Berkshire Hathaway’s CEO three months ago.
The famed investor’s fortune fell from $169 billion going into the company’s annual meeting on May 3, when he dropped his retirement bombshell, to $141 billion at Wednesday’s close. He’s fallen from fifth to 10th place on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The fall is partly because of a $6 billion charitable donation but mostly because his company’s stock has fallen.
Berkshire Class A stock was up 20% year to date ahead of Buffett’s surprise announcement, after investors piled into the haven asset amid fears that tariffs would reignite inflation, trigger a recession, and drag down the broader market.
But it has dropped 13% since then, as investors have grappled with Berkshire losing its CEO of 60 years, balked at lackluster second-quarter earnings, and shifted back to riskier technology stocks that are driving record highs in the S&P 500.
Buffett made his annual donation of about $6 billion of Berkshire stock to the Gates Foundation and four family foundations in late June.
This explains why his net worth is down almost $1 billion since January, despite Berkshire’s stock being up 3% in the same timeframe.
Buffett is one of only four of the 20 richest individuals on Bloomberg’s rankings who are in the red this year.
Elon Musk and Bernard Arnault are down $68 billion and $25 billion each due to declines in Tesla and LVMH stock. Bill Gates has shed $35 billion after Bloomberg revised his wealth to reflect his charitable giving.
The rest are up as their respective companies have jumped in value.
Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison’s wealth has soared by $115 billion to surpass $300 billion, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has gained $64 billion, and former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is up $33 billion. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is $42 billion in the green.
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