Buffett's Assets Surpass $100 Billion '6th in the World'... Berkshire Stock Exceeds $400,000

Warren Buffett, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway [Photo by AP]

[Asia Economy Reporter Byunghee Park] Warren Buffett's asset holdings have surpassed $100 billion.

On the 10th (local time), Berkshire Hathaway's stock price soared to an all-time high, and Bloomberg reported that Chairman Buffett's net worth was calculated at $100.4 billion in Bloomberg's billionaire rankings.

Chairman Buffett became the sixth person in the world to surpass a net worth of $100 billion. Previously, Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon; Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors; and Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, had surpassed the $100 billion net worth mark.

Most of Buffett's assets consist of Berkshire Hathaway stock. On this day, Berkshire Hathaway Class A shares rose 1.89% to $398,840. During the session, the price exceeded $400,000, reaching as high as $407,750.

Berkshire Hathaway's stock returns had lagged behind the S&P 500 index returns over the past five years. However, last year Berkshire Hathaway made a record $24.7 billion investment to repurchase its own shares, and this year it has invested at least $4.2 billion to buy back shares. As a result, Berkshire's stock price soared to an all-time high this year, causing Buffett's assets to surge.

Berkshire Hathaway Class A shares have risen 15% this year, outperforming the S&P 500 index returns.

Since 2006, Buffett has donated more than $37 billion worth of Berkshire Hathaway stock. Bloomberg reported that due to his continuous stock donations, the number of Berkshire Hathaway shares Buffett holds has nearly halved, and if he had not donated stock, his current net worth would be over $192 billion.

$192 billion would surpass the current Bloomberg billionaire ranking leader, CEO Bezos. Bezos's asset size is $180 billion.

Bloomberg also revealed that despite the COVID-19 situation last year, the net worth of the world's 500 richest people increased by $1.8 trillion. It further diagnosed that while many suffered from unemployment and other hardships after COVID-19, the wealth of the rich increased, resulting in a K-shaped economic recovery with widening wealth gaps. According to a research report, over 8 million Americans fell into poverty in the second half of last year alone.