Buffett on record tax payment: ‘Spend it wisely’

Warren Buffett’s annual shareholder letter dropped on Saturday morning. It included many familiar notes about earnings and revenue and also a not-entirely-indirect message for President Donald Trump and other elected leaders about his $26.8 billion record tax payment:

“Take care of the many who, for no fault of their own, get the short straws in life. They deserve better.”

That note of empathy from the world’s sixth-richest person and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, a company with a market cap north of $1 trillion, came packaged with the information that the business paid the IRS what amounts to 5% of all federal tax payments made by corporate America. “Spend it wisely,” Buffett wrote as investors show concerns over fiscal deficits and tax cuts that could make them worse.

Cash heavy: Buffett sold more stock and increased his record cash pile once again—it now sits at $334.2 billion. Although the 94-year-old didn’t offer an explanation, he had a justification: “Despite what some commentators currently view as an extraordinary cash position at Berkshire, the great majority of your money remains in equities. That preference won’t change.”

More insights: Operating earnings skyrocketed 71% for the fourth quarter of 2024 and 27% for the full year. That was better than Buffett expected; 53% of Berkshire’s 189 operating businesses reported a decline in earnings.

Status update: Buffett said “it won’t be long” until 62-year-old Vice Chairman Greg Abel takes the reins.