Warren Buffett.
Gerald Miller | CNBC
Warren Buffett’s net worth exceeded $ 100 billion for the first time, while Berkshire Hathaway shares rallied to record highs.
Berkshire’s Class A shares closed at a record high of $ 399,650 on Wednesday, bringing its 2021 advance to over 14%. This put the massive “Oracle of Omaha” stake in the conglomerate at a market value of over $ 99.5 billion. Considering Buffett’s other holdings, Forbes estimated that the legendary investor’s fortune reached about $ 100.5 billion as of Thursday, making him the sixth richest person in the world.
Buffett, 90, currently owns 249,000 Berkshire Class A shares, giving him 38% ownership of the conglomerate, according to FactSet. On Wednesday, at a high of $ 407,750, Buffett’s stock was $ 101.5 billion.
His fortune was estimated at $ 73.5 billion in September 2020, according to Forbes.
Buffett contributed Berkshire “B” shares to the Gates Foundation and other family foundations in 2006, totaling more than $ 37 billion, Berkshire said in a statement in July.
Wall Street analysts and investors have grown in Berkshire after the conglomerate turned into a better-feared 2020, even though some of its businesses, such as railways and retail, were damaged by the pandemic. Revenues totaled $ 245.5 billion in 2020, just a 3.5% year-over-year decline.
Many said Berkshire is well positioned to benefit from the historic economic reopening, as its range of large companies is on track to grow above average, including insurance, transport, utilities, retail and production.
Berkshire shares returned to a record high after the conglomerate repurchased a record high of its shares in 2020, totaling $ 24.7 billion.
Its strong gains from its equity portfolio also helped the conglomerate offset some of the impact of the pandemic. Berkshire is still in a huge cash war chest, with over $ 138 billion by the end of 2020.