90-year-old business tycoon Warren Buffet has become the latest billionaire to reach a net worth of $100 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. There, he joins Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, and close friend and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.
This came as Berkshire Hathaway Inc., the primary source of Buffet’s wealth, enjoyed a prosperous start to 2021. Since the start of this year, the multinational conglomerate’s shares have risen by 15%, outpacing the S&P 500’s growth of just 3.8%. This rise was aided significantly by Buffet’s decision to buy back many of his own shares in the corporation; a move considered unorthodox for an investor who typically opts to invest in shares of other companies.
Buffet’s feat of reaching a net worth of $100.4 billion is even more impressive given the fortune that he has donated to charitable causes. A co-founder of the Giving Pledge, the business tycoon has donated more than $37 billion in Berkshire stock since 2006 in the name of philanthropic efforts.
Had Buffet chosen not to make such donations, which cut his Berkshire shares in half, his fortune would likely be in excess of $192 billion.
