When Warren Buffett stepped down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway at the end of 2025, the company held an enormous stash of cash. Berkshire reported more than $370 billion in cash equivalents on the books at year-end, largely held in Treasury bills.
It wasn’t a matter of simply being more conservative with his investments in his old age, 95-year-old Buffett told CNBC’s Becky Quick in “Warren Buffett: A Life and Legacy.” Rather, he explained, it would take an enormous investment to move the needle in a portfolio of Berkshire’s size. And he hadn’t been able to find an investment worth spending his large cash pile on.
“It’s external circumstances,” he told Quick. “Believe me, if after we get finished talking you say, ‘I’ve got a great $100 billion new idea.’ I would say, ‘Let’s talk.’”
All in all, Buffett said he would rather be putting his money to work making more money. While the cash on the company’s books brings in a modest amount of interest, Buffett prefers productive investments, such as stocks, that can grow at a compounding rate over time above and beyond the rate of inflation.
“It’s at certain levels necessary, but cash is not a good asset,” he said. It’s like oxygen for your portfolio, he added — cheap to obtain and necessary, if unexciting. Essentially, Buffett likes to keep some level of cash to pay obligations and as “dry powder” for any attractive acquisitions.
