Top Warren Buffett Stocks
As of January 2025, these are the top stocks in Berkshire's portfolio by number of shares, based on 13F and other regulatory filings tracked whalewisdom.com: Bank of America (BAC), 766.3 million. Coca-Cola (KO), 400 million. Kraft Heinz (KHC), 325.6 million.
Many are curious as to how the “Oracle of Omaha” amassed his spectacular wealth. Though the vast majority of his fortune he earned as a grown adult, there's reason to believe that some of what he learned (and what he values) about investing and work ethic stems from his first childhood job as a newspaper delivery boy.
The CEO of Berkshire Hathaway began building his wealth by investing in the stock market at age 11, according to Forbes, and first filed a tax return at the age of 13. As a teenager, he was raking in about $175 a month by delivering The Washington Post — more than his teachers (and most adults).
Many novice investors lose money chasing big returns. And that's why Buffett's first rule of investing is “don't lose money”. The thing is, if an investors makes a poor investment decision and the value of that asset — stock — goes down 50%, the investment has to go 100% up to get back to where it started.
At age 11, Buffett made his first stock purchase — three shares of Cities Service preferred at $38 per share. After the stock plunged and then rose to $40, he quickly sold his holdings, only to later see it surge.
In 1986, at age 56, Buffett's net worth had grown to the point where he became a billionaire. This achievement was particularly notable given that he was earning a modest salary of $50,000 from Berkshire Hathaway Inc. By the time he was nearing 60, his net worth had increased to $3.8 billion.
One of the reasons Susie began a romance with her tennis coach and then left her "iceberg" husband: Katherine Graham's public flirtation with Buffett when the Washington Post publisher was a 59-year-old widow and he was 46.
1954: Now 24, Buffett accepts a $12,000 starter salary at Graham-Newman Corp. 1956: With over $135,000 in savings, Buffett established and ran his own investment partnership, Buffett Associates Ltd., in Omaha.
When Bill Gates was 15 years old, he worked for TRW as a computer programmer during his senior year of high school.
1996 – Warren Buffett purchases outstanding GEICO stock, making GEICO a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc.
Although old-guard favorites such as American Express (AXP) and Coca-Cola (KO) still form the core of the portfolio, Buffett & Co. have taken a shine to names such as Apple (AAPL) and Amazon.com (AMZN), and even to lesser-known firms such as Nu Holdings (NU).
That's up substantially from the $84.5 billion net worth Buffett had at the time Housel's book was published in 2020. Most of that wealth came in Buffett's later years, Housel wrote, with $84.2 billion after he turned 50 and $81.5 billion after he turned 65.
He started his career as a newspaper delivery boy for The Washington Post. Buffett managed to squirrel away $2,000 by the time he was 15 and invested $1,200 of it in a 40-acre farm, where he had a profit-sharing deal with the farmer.
The billionaire investor and Berkshire Hathaway CEO initially balked at the idea of owning a private jet, but ultimately embraced the luxury and convenience. Warren Buffett nicknamed his private jet 'The Indefensible' – then renamed it 'The Indispensable' after realizing its value.
His collection includes several high-end vehicles such as a Cadillac Escalade, Land Rover Range Rover, Mercedes-Benz S450, Ferrari Pininfarina Sergio, W Motors' Lykan HyperSport, Bugatti Veyron Mansory and Koenigsegg CCXR Trevita.
Warren Buffett wears Rolex and not other luxury watches because of his pragmatic approach to choice. Rolex is a sign of timelessness, simplicity, precision, and durability.
His children, Howard, Peter, and Susan, won't inherit the sum of his fortune but will be in charge of donating 99.5% of it. Buffett also left a suggestion for parents that applies to those of "modest" wealth. "When your children are mature, have them read your will before you sign it," Buffett wrote.
Warren Buffett currently owns one home… and it doesn't come close to qualifying as a mansion. While other billionaires show off their wealth, Buffett uses his money wisely.
The 90/10 rule in investing is a comment made by Warren Buffett regarding asset allocation. The rule stipulates investing 90% of one's investment capital toward low-cost stock-based index funds and the remainder 10% to short-term government bonds.