Berkshire Hathaway has turned out to be an island of stability. The market has been roiled by aggressive tariff policies, and while something like this is impossible to predict, Buffett saw a market downturn from a mile away. He was a net seller for more than two years. As a result, the cash pile has grown fatter and fatter.
Most billionaires have watched their fortunes shrink in 2025's market turbulence, but Buffett’s move to cash has allowed him to grow his net worth despite the stock market going down. This is not because Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A, BRK.B) isn’t making losses on the stocks it is still holding, but it’s because investors have rewarded Warren Buffett’s foresight by piling into BRK.
Buffett's decision to accumulate a $334 billion cash pile has proven prescient as markets reel from tariff-induced volatility. This cash will now allow him to grab stocks for much cheaper for a long-term position.
Not only that, this isn’t “cash.” It is largely invested in Treasury bills that are yielding much higher than inflation due to interest rates being held high and Treasury yields not coming down. The scale here is remarkable considering Berkshire now owns approximately 5% of all U.S. Treasury bills. It is larger than what the Federal Reserve itself holds.
The selling spree over the past few quarters has definitely led to some missed opportunities, but history suggests it's more like dry powder for future acquisitions. Buffett is famous for his disciplined approach to capital deployment, and his next quarterly report will likely show that he has already snapped up some names for cheap.
It is always a good idea to hold some BRK in your portfolio. Unlike the S&P 500 ETFs, Buffett can move away from stocks as needed, and that’s exactly what has happened and led to BRK.B stock gaining 16.8% year-to-date compared to the SPY’s 8.42% decline.
