"When Crisis Comes, Survival Follows"... 'Investment Genius' Buffett Holds More US Short-Term Treasury Bonds Than Fed

Berkshire Holds Less Than One Year Treasury Bonds Ahead of Fed

The Berkshire Hathaway, led by 'investment genius' Warren Buffett, holds more U.S. short-term Treasury bonds than the U.S. central bank, the Federal Reserve (Fed).

On the 7th (local time), CNBC reported, citing Berkshire Hathaway's quarterly financial report, that as of the end of the second quarter this year, the amount of U.S. short-term Treasury bonds held was $234.6 billion (approximately 323 trillion won). Short-term Treasury bonds refer to bonds with maturities of less than one year.

Among these, including Treasury bonds with maturities of less than three months, the amount of cash and cash equivalents held was $42 billion (approximately 58 trillion won).

The $234.6 billion worth of U.S. short-term Treasury bonds held by Berkshire Hathaway surpasses the Fed's holdings of Treasury bonds, a major player in the bond market. As of the 31st of last month, the Fed's holdings of U.S. short-term Treasury bonds stood at $195.3 billion (approximately 269 trillion won). The Fed's total Treasury bond holdings, including medium- to long-term bonds and inflation-linked bonds, amount to $4.4 trillion (approximately 6,054 trillion won).

Previously, Buffett stated that he would purchase U.S. short-term Treasury bonds in the event of a crisis. CNBC estimated that Buffett likely earned substantial profits from U.S. Treasury investments over the past two years. If Buffett had invested $200 billion (approximately 275 trillion won) in three-month Treasury bonds with a 5% yield over the past two years, he would have earned an annual profit of $10 billion (approximately 14 trillion won).

Additionally, Berkshire Hathaway recently surprised the market by selling a large amount of Apple stock. Having sold stocks for seven consecutive quarters, the company accelerated its selling trend by offloading $75 billion (approximately 103 trillion won) worth of stocks in the second quarter. Investors are interpreting Buffett's stock sales as a warning of a bear market.