CEOs Celebrate Buffett as He Calls a Close on 5,500,000 Pct Run

Apple’s Tim Cook called him inspiring. Oaktree’s Howard Marks dubbed him “the Isaac Newton of investing.” JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon said he’s “everything that is good about American capitalism.” 

As Warren Buffett called an end to his historic run atop Berkshire Hathaway Inc., luminaries from the technology and banking worlds rushed to praise the man whose lessons they partially credit for their success. 

The famed investor delivered a return of more than 5,500,000% on Berkshire’s stock as he turned a once-failing textile firm into the most valuable company in the world that isn’t either a tech giant or state oil producer. In the process, he became the rare investor who crossed over into public consciousness through his folksy wisdom and witticisms. 

Buffett, 94, has drawn scores of imitators and become synonymous with many of the investing themes that still dominate the financial industry: being greedy while others are fearful, practicing patience in allowing investments to compound and identifying insurance as a source of stable funds.

Cook, Bank of America Corp.’s Brian Moynihan and JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Dimon were among those who said they had personally learned from Buffett. 

Will Danoff, who has managed Fidelity’s market-beating Contrafund since 1990, holds Berkshire shares in the portfolio and first met Buffett in 2002. He said Buffett taught him to never take management’s view at face value — a lesson the Berkshire chairman underscored at a fundraiser more than a decade ago when discussing the Enron scandal.

“Following management’s lead was something I’d never really thought about,” Danoff said. “I had been running Contrafund for 12 years and thought I knew what I was doing.” Danoff said he learned that while he was seeing over the hill, “Warren was seeing over the mountain.”

Oaktree Capital Management’s Marks called Buffett “the single most influential investor” of all time.

“He says when he started in the early 1950s, he was able to buy dollars for 50 cents — and he makes it sound easy,” Marks said in a statement. “But the thing is, even if the opportunities were there, nobody else did it. There weren’t multiple Warren Buffetts.”

Cook echoed the sentiment. 

“There’s never been someone like Warren,” the Apple Inc. CEO said on social media after Buffett surprised his investors Saturday with the announcement that he will step down as CEO at year-end. “Countless people, myself included, have been inspired by his wisdom.”

Berkshire racked up many measures of its success and heft as it branched into more and more sectors, with some 180 operating businesses now driving annual revenue of almost $400 billion. The conglomerate holds railroads, power utilities, gas stations, auto dealerships, home builders, chemical producers and real estate brokers. It also owns household brands including Geico, Dairy Queen, Fruit of the Loom, Duracell, Helzberg Diamonds and See’s Candies. 

Buffett is known most widely for his public stock-picking prowess, and a small group of stocks — Apple, American Express Co., Coca-Cola Co., Bank of America and Chevron Corp. — accounted for roughly 70% of its $263 billion stock portfolio at the end of March. As Buffett put it: “One wonderful business can offset the many mediocre decisions that are inevitable.”

Berkshire has also amassed a formidable pile of cash, a record $347.7 billion. That’s bigger than all of the Ivy League university endowments combined. It also owns roughly 5% of the Treasury bills in circulation and last year paid what Buffett himself called the biggest corporate tax bill in US history at almost $27 billion.

Lately, Buffett has been waiting for a big opportunity to deploy his growing cash pile, a decision he apparently will pass to Greg Abel, his hand-selected successor as CEO. Berkshire’s shares fell as much as 6.8% on Monday. 

While Cook and others have expressed confidence in Abel, 62, his boss will be a tough act to follow. 

“Warren Buffett represents everything that is good about American capitalism and America itself — investing in the growth of our nation and its businesses with integrity, optimism and common sense,” Dimon said. “I’ve learned so much from him to this very day, and I am honored to call him a friend.”

“His life lessons delivered to young and old are as valuable as his business acumen,” Moynihan said. “I have personally learned so much from him and look forward to continuing to benefit from his insights.”

Here’s a look at what Buffett built — with his longtime business partner, the late Charlie Munger — over his six-decade run. 

5,502,284%

Overall gain from 1964 to 2024 in per-share market value of Berkshire Hathaway. (The same figure for the S&P 500, with dividends included, is 39,054%.) That translates to an annualized return of nearly 20%, almost double that of the S&P over the same period.

$1.2 Trillion

The market capitalization of Berkshire, the eighth-highest in global public markets, at the end of last week. 

392,396

Number of people Berkshire companies employed at year-end.

$167 billion

Value of Buffett’s Class A shares in Berkshire Hathaway as of Friday’s market close.

1

Number of times Berkshire paid a dividend between 1965 and 2024. Buffett wrote in his most recent letter to investors that paying a dividend in 1967 “seems like a bad dream.”