Warren Buffett used his first major interview since stepping down as Berkshire Hathaway CEO to announce a return to one of his best-known charity efforts: the lunch auction. He said the event will come back for one edition with NBA star Stephen Curry and Ayesha Curry, with proceeds split between the Glide Foundation and the Currys’ Eat. Learn. Play. foundation. Buffett added that he will personally match the final auction amount, dividing that donation the same way.
He said he stopped the annual lunch auction in 2022 after 22 years because he no longer had the stamina for it. This time, the decision was tied to the future of the Glide-linked program after a two-year pause. Buffett said he did not want to see it disappear, and he linked the original effort to the influence of his first wife, Susie.
Berkshire keeps more than $350 billion in cash and Treasury bills
On life after handing over the CEO role, Buffett said his routine has not changed much. He still goes to the office every day and still joins investment discussions, but he made clear that he would not push through any decision that current CEO Greg Abel believes is wrong. Buffett described Abel as highly capable and said the leadership transition should have happened earlier.
He also addressed Berkshire’s vast liquidity. According to Buffett, the company holds more than $350 billion in cash and U.S. Treasury bills, and it bought $17 billion in Treasury bills this week alone. He said the reason the money has not been put to work in a bigger way is simple: Berkshire is not finding assets that are cheap enough and attractive enough. A short rebound of 5% or 6% is not the goal. The goal, he said, is to own businesses for the long run.
Buffett says he sold Apple too early, but calls it Berkshire’s top holding
Asked about reducing Apple exposure, Buffett said he did sell too early, though he also bought very early. He said the investment has generated more than $100 billion in gains before taxes. Even after the reduction, Apple remains Berkshire’s largest single investment.
Buffett said he does not try to forecast where stocks will go next week or next month, and he repeated that he is not strong on technology. What he believes he can understand is consumer behavior. In that framework, Apple is not just a technology name to him; it is an exceptionally strong consumer business. He also praised Tim Cook, saying he handled the burden of following Steve Jobs extremely well.
His broader market view was blunt. Buffett said the U.S. economic system has, in many ways, become an “incredible super casino,” with people convinced they know exactly where markets are headed and willing to bet even when the odds are stacked against them.
Nuclear weapons remain the gravest long-term danger in his view
The sharpest warning in the interview came on geopolitics and nuclear arms. Buffett said no one can know whether the trigger will come in 100 years or 200 years, but he believes some event will eventually lead to the actual use of nuclear weapons. Once created, he argued, those arsenals cannot be taken back, and humanity cannot bear the consequences of their use.
He compared current risks with the Cold War period, suggesting that even then there were leaders he viewed as rational. Today, he implied, the risks are harder to dismiss. Buffett also recalled asking a U.S. president what he would do if faced with a nuclear threat and only 10 minutes to decide during the Cold War. The answer he received was stark: “I think about that every day.”
Why he left the Gates Foundation and changed his estate plan
Buffett said he has donated nearly $60 billion since 2006, with most of that going to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He spoke harshly about Jeffrey Epstein, describing him as a convicted figure who knew how to identify and exploit the weaknesses of others for leverage.
He also explained why he resigned as a trustee of the Gates Foundation in 2021. Buffett said that as one of three trustees, meetings were only held once a year, and it was during the Gates divorce proceedings that he realized there were many internal matters he did not know about. He resigned in less than a month and said he did not want to remain in a position where he could potentially be called as a witness.
Buffett has also changed the plan for his remaining wealth. Instead of sending it to the five foundations previously set out, he said the assets will go into a trust overseen by his three children. He rejected the idea of a “dead hand” controlling wealth long after death and said outdated rules often become absurd over time and can lead to endless litigation. Under the structure he described, the money can only be used if all three children agree.