Warren Buffett's Biggest Mistake: Selling Disney Stock Twice
Warren Buffett, the investment guru, made a big mistake twice by selling off a large amount of Disney's stock, which may have cost him $20 billion.
In 1966, the so-called Oracle of Omaha met Walt Disney when his animation company was valued at less than $90 million, about 0.04% of its current market value.
"In Disneyland, the $17 million Caribbean Pirate amusement facility is about to open," Buffett wrote in his 1995 letter to shareholders. "Imagine my excitement, a company that only sells five times the amusement facility!"
The future chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and his partners didn't hesitate to buy 5% of Disney's stock for $4 million. By 1995, the value of these stocks had doubled.
However, in fact, Buffett sold these stocks one year after purchasing them, earning a relatively modest profit of 55%. The fact that Disney's 5% stake would be worth an astonishing $12.3 billion today would make the so-called Oracle of Omaha feel sick.
Buffett has more bad news to come. In 1995, he helped Disney acquire Capital Cities/ABC, which was one of Berkshire Hathaway's largest investments.
The group netted about $1.4 billion in after-tax cash and 3.6% of Disney's stock from this sale. The value of this portion of the stock, which was sold within three years, would soar by more than five times today, reaching $8.9 billion.
If Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway held their combined 8.6% stake in Disney, its current value would exceed $21 billion. They would also receive over $1.5 billion in dividends.
Overall, Buffett's dismal Disney deal could mean he missed out on a $20 billion return.
By the way, I'm not criticizing the stock god. Making mistakes is okay! After all, hindsight is always unrealistic and even brighter than Zhuge Liang. No one knows whether the stock god fully utilized that capital at the time.
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