The 2023 Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting will be held on May 6. In the past year, Buffett sold BYD and TSMC but increased his stake in five Japanese trading houses.
Here are 10 key events from April 2022 to date:
Buffett Visited Japan and Intended to Add to Japanese Stock Holdings
Buffett visited Japan and recently revealed that he raised his stakes in the country’s top trading houses which were Mitsubishi Corp., Mitsui & Co., Itochu Corp, Marubeni Corp., Sumitomo Corp, saying he was “confounded” by the opportunity to buy them two years ago.
Buffett confirmed he added roughly another percentage point to his holdings. Berkshire Hathaway’s stakes in all five trading houses is now 7.4%.
Buffett Was in Talks With Biden Team on the Banking Crisis
Warren Buffett has been in contact with senior officials in US President Joe Biden’s administration to lend assistance during the banking crisis.
Buffett has had multiple conversations with Biden’s team in recent days.
While no formal statement has been released, the discussions have reportedly centred around the possibility of Buffett investing in the US regional banking sector, and Buffett is said to have given advice and guidance about the crisis.
Buffett's Planned Successor Plowed $25 Million Into Berkshire Hathaway
Greg Abel, the man expected to succeed Warren Buffett as Berkshire Hathaway's CEO, bought 55 of the company's Class A shares on Friday for about $447,000 each, or $25 million in total.
The purchases, made via Abel's family trust, increased his Berkshire stake to 228 "A" shares. Abel also owns around 2,400 of the much cheaper "B" shares, worth about $716,000.
Abel's increased stake will undoubtedly please Buffett. The 92-year-old investor wrote in his recent shareholder letter that "our future CEOs will have a significant part of their net worth in Berkshire shares, bought with their own money."
Buffett Said Berkshire Hathaway’s $23 Billion Loss Is an Accounting Fiction
Berkshire Hathaway reported a net loss of $22.8 billion in 2022, driven by a nearly $54 billion decline in the value of its stock portfolio. But Buffett said that figure is highly misleading and doesn’t reflect the true state of Berkshire’s financial performance.
When excluding losses on stock investments, which were unrealized, Berkshire Hathaway actually recorded $30.8 billion in operating earnings in 2022, a record high and 12 percent more than the previous year’s $27.5 billion.
Berkshire Boosted Its Stake In Five Japanese Trading Houses
Berkshire Hathaway Inc has raised its stakes in Japan's five biggest trading houses, regulatory filings showed.
The move is in line with Berkshire's statement in 2020 that its investments in the Japanese trading houses were for the long term and the stakes could rise to 9.9%.
Berkshire's stakes have increased to 6.59% from 5.04% in Mitsubishi Corp to 6.62% from 5.03% in Mitsui & Co Ltd to 6.21% from 5.02% in Itochu Corp to 6.75% from 5.06% in Marubeni Corp, and to 6.57% from 5.04% in Sumitomo Corp.
Buffett Dumped $4.1 Billion Stake in TSMC Within the Space of One Financial Quarter in 2022
Buffett said he dumped the bulk of his $4.1 billion stake in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) within the space of one financial quarter last year in part owing to the risk of war in the island nation.
Rising geopolitical tensions were “a consideration”, he said in an interview, arguing that he had better places to invest his firm’s capital even if the world's largest chipmaker by volume is a well-managed company.
Berkshire Hathaway’s Stake in BYD Dropped to 10.9% and Sold 105 Million Shares
Berkshire Hathaway has disposed of a total of 105 million shares and carried out at least 10 reductions in BYD since August 24 2022. The firm bought 225 million shares in BYD at HK$8 a piece during the 2008 global financial crisis, earning an about 30-fold return over a 14-year holding period.
Its interest in BYD has dropped to 10.9%, compared with 19.92% when it began trimming its exposure last year.
Warren Buffett’s Final Charity Lunch Fetched Winning Bid of $19 Million
A lucky, and likely wealthy, person bid more than $19 million to dine with Warren Buffett, in the 21st and final time that the billionaire businessman auctioned a private lunch to benefit a San Francisco charity.
The winning bid in the eBay auction that ended on Friday night far surpassed the previous record of $4.57 million, paid in 2019 by cryptocurrency entrepreneur Justin Sun, although the new winner’s identity could not immediately be determined.
Buffett Said the Best Thing You Can Do Is to Be Exceptionally Good at Something
There is little that individuals can do to avoid inflation at the cash register, but Berkshire Hathaway CEO and legendary investor Warren Buffett says that people can make certain moves to protect against its effects.
Speaking at the 2022 Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders meeting, Buffett repeated his long-held advice that one of the strongest protections against inflation is sharpening your skills and working to be at the top of your field.
Buffett Said He Has No Plans to Step Down as Berkshire CEO
Warren Buffett says he is in excellent health and has no plans to step down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway as he eagerly anticipates what could be a record turnout at the company’s annual meeting on April 30, 2022.
Asked about a successor, Buffett said there is one in place—an apparent reference to Berkshire Hathaway executive Greg Abel—and said: “He’s not warming up. I’m still in overtime, but I’m out there.”
