Warren Buffett’s wealth jumps to $100BN as he joins ‘mega rich’ billionaire’s club

Warren Buffett has become the sixth richest man in the world after his net worth soared by almost $24 billion in under five months. 

The owner of the multinational conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway now joins an elite club of men worth $100billion or more, that includes Jeff Bezos, Elon Mask, Bill Gates, Bernard Arnault, and Mark Zuckerberg

Buffett’s personal wealth hit the $100bn mark on Thursday after his conglomerate’s stock price soared by over 34 per cent in the past year, from $196.40 on March 9, 2020 to $263.99 yesterday. Shares increased by 15 per cent in 2021 alone after Berkshire Hathaway bought stakes in Chevron and Verizon in February.

Buffett personally added around $23 billion to his net worth between September 2020 and today, according to CNN Business.  

The company owned a 5.5 per cent stake of Apple – worth an estimated $125 billion. It sold around four per cent of those shares towards the end of the year, according to Markets Insider.

Berkshire Hathaway is a holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska that owns outstanding stocks for a number of different companies. It also completely owns GEICO, Duracell, and Dairy Queen, among several other companies.

It also partially owns at least five percent of several companies, including American Express, Bank of America, and The Coca-Cola Company – many of which have done well despite the pandemic lockdowns.

Warren Buffett has hit the $100 billion wealth mark, the sixth man worth at least 12-figures

Share value for Berkshire Hathaway have risen steadily YTD, despite a drop at end of January

Share value for Berkshire Hathaway have risen steadily YTD, despite a drop at end of January

From this time a year ago, share values are at a new high, despite reaching as low as $293,440

From this time a year ago, share values are at a new high, despite reaching as low as $293,440

Over just the past month alone, share values have soared by almost $40,000

Over just the past month alone, share values have soared by almost $40,000

Reuters reports the stock price of Berkshire Hathaway soared on Wednesday, likely riding a high from the passage of the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package.  

Class A shares for the company surpassed $400,000 on Wednesday and Bloomberg shows Buffett made $1.5 billion on Wednesday alone.

Buffett is now the sixth richest man behind the likes of Bezos – who remains in the top spot as Amazon CEO, worth around $180 billion.

The market summary for Apple saw a major rise in 2020, a big plus for Berkshire Hathaway

The market summary for Apple saw a major rise in 2020, a big plus for Berkshire Hathaway

Bezos is followed by Tesla CEO Musk ($173 billion), Microsoft co-founder Gates ($138 billion), LVMH chief executive Bernard Arnault ($122 billion), and Facebook CEO Zuckerberg ($101 billion).

THE RICHEST MEN IN THE WORLD  

1. Jeff Bezos: $180 billion as of March 11

2. Elon Musk: $173 billion

3.  Bill Gates: $138 billion

4. Bernard Arnault: $122 billion 

5.  Mark Zuckerberg: $101 billion

6. Warren Buffett: $100 billion

7. Larry Page: $94.2 billion

8. Sergey Brin: $91.1 billion

9. Larry Ellison: $86 billion

10. Mukesh Ambani: $84.7 billion 

Source: Bloomberg Billionaire’s Index

Zuckerberg surged ahead of Buffett back in May 2020 after Facebook stock soared 48 percent over the course of two months.

The Facebook CEO was at $80 billion at the time, meaning he has amassed over $20 billion more in wealth over the last 10 months. 

Buffett’s rise to the $100 billion club comes despite massive financial losses taken in the first quarter of 2020.

Berkshire Hathaway lost nearly $50 billion that quarter according to Reuters, the largest loss in the history of the company.

Berkshire’s first-quarter net loss was $49.75 billion, or $30,653 per Class A share. Net earnings were $21.66 billion, or $13,209 per share, in 2019. 

Quarterly operating profit, which Buffett considers a better performance measure for his company, rose six percent to $5.87 billion from $5.56 billion, or about $3,388 per share.  

Buffett also allowed Berkshire’s cash stake to rise to a record $137.3 billion from $128 billion at the end of 2019.

Buffett has signed The Giving Pledge and vowed to give 99 percent of his wealth to philanthropic causes during his lifetime or when he dies.

In July, Buffett donated $2.9 billion to causes through class B shares of Berkshire Hathaway.

According to CNBC, Buffett has now given at least $37 billion in charitable donations since 2006.

Most of his charitable donations are earmarked for a charity founded by his late wife, Susan Thompson Buffett, charities run by each of his three children, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. 

Jeff Bezos is the richest at $180 billion

Tesla CEO Elon Musk ranks second at $173 billion

Jeff Bezos is the richest at $180 billion, followed by Tesla CEO Elon Musk at $173 billion

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates ranks third ($138bn)

LVMH chief executive Bernard Arnault is fourth ($122bn)

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates ranks third ($138bn) and LVMH chief executive Bernard Arnault is fourth ($122bn), the only non-American to crack the top six

Mark Zuckerberg is fifth at $101 billion, having surpassed Buffett in wealth back in May

Mark Zuckerberg is fifth at $101 billion, having surpassed Buffett in wealth back in May