Mario Anzuoni/Reuters
- Warren Buffett stepped in to reassure investors and bail out struggling companies during the 2008 financial crisis, but has been quiet during the novel coronavirus meltdown.
- The Berkshire Hathaway boss may be investing most of the conglomerate’s $128 billion cash pile and not shouting about it to avoid raising prices, hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman told Vanity Fair.
- “After he invests that $100 billion and change,” the Pershing Square chief told the magazine, “he’ll let everybody know.”
- Pershing boosted its stakes in Berkshire Hathaway and other companies last quarter, while Berkshire has only revealed sales in recent weeks.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
After bailing out distressed companies and penning columns to calm investors during the 2008 financial crisis, Warren Buffett has kept a low profile so far during the market’s coronavirus driven meltdown in 2020.
The billionaire boss of Berkshire Hathaway might be busy plowing a big chunk of the conglomerate’s $128 billion cash pile into stocks, and keeping quiet to avoid spiking prices, hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman told Vanity Fair.
“After he invests that $100 billion and change,” the Pershing Square chief told the magazine, “he’ll let everybody know.”
Buffett might also prefer to work in the shadows rather than shoulder the responsibility of reassuring Wall Street again.
“Maybe he doesn’t want to be the hero this time around,” an unnamed “longtime Buffett watcher” told Vanity Fair.
Ackman, a longtime admirer of Buffett, certainly capitalized on the recent sell-off.
After the value of Pershing Square’s shares in Hilton, Burger King-parent Restaurant Brands, Lowe’s, and Berkshire Hathaway plunged, he boosted its stakes in all four companies by more than 25%. Ackman also reinvested about $720 million into Starbucks after exiting a position in the coffee giant in January.
Meanwhile, Berkshire has sold about $390 million worth of Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines stock and trimmed its stake in Bank of New York Mellon in recent weeks.
Buffett has been “circling the hardest-hit companies in the travel, lodging and entertainment sectors,” The Wall Street Journal reported this month, but no deals have been made public.
Berkshire’s cash pile exceeded the individual market capitalizations of Tesla, Starbucks, Nike, and McDonald’s at points in March, underscoring its wealth of opportunities.
