Warren Buffett's net worth grows by $24B in 2025 while $5T vanishes from US markets; here’s how

The U.S. stock market is having a brutal year. As of April 2025, nearly $5 trillion in market capitalization has been wiped out from U.S. equities, according to CompaniesMarketCap data. From tech titans to consumer giants, nearly every major stock has felt the sting of higher interest rates, global economic uncertainty, reciprocal tariff blows, and regulatory pressures.

Yet in the middle of this storm, one name stands out—not for losses, but for gains and that is Warren Buffett.

While household names like Tesla boss Elon Musk and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos saw their fortunes shrink by tens of billions, Berkshire Hathaway’s legendary CEO Warren Buffett has actually grown richer. In fact, he’s one of only two billionaires in the top 10 who added to their net worth in 2025.

Let’s unpack how he pulled this off.

Who is Warren Buffett?

Warren Buffett, aged 94, is one of the world’s most successful investors and the chairman of Berkshire Hathaway with a net worth of $166B. Known as the "Oracle of Omaha," he is famous for his value investing philosophy and long-term wealth-building strategies.

Warren Buffett’s net worth vs Top 10 billionaires’ in 2025

Here’s how the top 10 richest fared in 2025 so far (as of April 29):

Source: Bloomberg Billionaires Index | Data as of April 29, 2025

While Musk lost $97.1 billion and Alphabet co-founder Larry Page dropped $22.6 billion, Warren Buffett is up $24.1 billion year-to-date, thanks to a few brilliant yet simple moves.

Warren Buffet’s cash king strategy: How he did it

1. He sold high and went to cash

In 2024, Berkshire Hathaway sold $134 billion worth of stocks, a massive offload by any standard, and ended the year with $334 billion in cash, more than its entire stock portfolio of $272 billion, according to company reports. This cash wasn’t just sitting idle.

2. Bet on the US Treasuries

Warren Buffett, also known as the Oracle of Omaha, parked much of this record cash pile into short-term Treasury bills, which now earn significantly higher yields. In fact, Berkshire now holds around ~4% of all publicly issued U.S. Treasury bills.

So what are Treasuries?

A U.S. Treasury bill is essentially a loan to the U.S. government. It pays back with interest and is considered one of the safest investments in the world. Three years ago, the one-year yield was under 1%. Today? It is around 4%, making these “boring” investments incredibly attractive, especially when stocks are tumbling.

Buffett even wrote in his annual shareholder letter, “We were aided by a predictable large gain in investment income as Treasury Bill yields improved and we substantially increased our holdings of these highly-liquid short-term securities.”

Warren Buffett’s clever stock moves

Warren Buffett’s moves were definitely not random or a stroke of luck. The billionaire is known for sitting on cash before major market crashes, he did this before the dot-com bubble in 2000 and again before the 2008 financial crisis. Then he moves in to buy stocks at bargain prices.

Warren Buffett also avoided big losses by reducing exposure to volatile tech and banking stocks:

• Apple Inc.: Berkshire Hathaway sold 70% of its Apple stake in 2024, just before shares peaked in December. Apple has since tanked due to U.S.-China tariffs that hit its China-based supply chain hard, with m-cap falling 16.4% so far in 2025.
• Bank of America & Citigroup: Also trimmed from Berkshire’s portfolio. Both have been battered in 2025 amid rising interest rates and regulatory pressure. While Bank of America’s m-cap has tumbled nearly 11% in 2025, Citigroup m-cap has fallen 4.2% YTD, as per CompaniesMarketCap data.

In short, Warren Buffett reduced exposure to China-dependent and rate-sensitive stocks before the damage hit.

Read More about Warren Buffett’s portfolio Here

Isn’t Buffett supposed to “hold forever”?

One of Buffett’s most quoted investment lines comes from 1988 when he said, “Our favorite holding period is forever.” But here’s the twist, he doesn’t really mean it literally. According to Berkshire filings, here’s how often Buffett actually holds stocks:

• 6 out of 10 stocks are sold within a year, highlighting Buffett’s active portfolio management style.
• Only 1 out of 10 stocks is held for more than seven years, showing that truly long-term holdings are relatively rare.

So clearly, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is more active than many assume. While many investors took the “forever” quote literally, Buffet's real intention was to convey the message that he intends to buy stocks he can hold forever. 

Back in 2016, he clarified this often-misquoted principle in a letter to shareholders saying, “Sometimes the comments of shareholders or media imply that we will own certain stocks 'forever.' That’s simply not the case.”

The real meaning? Buffett intends to buy stocks that are good enough to be held forever, but if the thesis breaks, he exits. Simple as that.

Why Warren Buffett’s strategy still wins

Even at 94, Warren Buffett’s instincts remain as sharp as ever. In a year when most tech and finance billionaires are bleeding billions, Buffett played it masterfully, selling high on stocks like Apple and major banks, stockpiling record cash reserves, parking funds into high-yield U.S. Treasuries, and reducing exposure to China-sensitive stocks. 

True to form, he actively managed his portfolio, not holding forever, but adapting smartly to shifting risks. Buffett’s performance in 2025 is a reminder that discipline beats hype, and liquidity is power, especially when others are losing their heads. In times of turbulence, sometimes the best investment is patience and preparation, two things Warren Buffett has in abundance.

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