- Warren Buffett has surpassed Jeff Bezos in wealth and closed in on Bill Gates this year.
- Overtaking Gates would make Buffett the second-richest American, after Elon Musk.
- Berkshire Hathaway stock has risen this year while Microsoft, Amazon and Tesla shares have plunged.
Warren Buffett has overtaken Jeff Bezos on the rich list this year, and now threatens to unseat Bill Gates as the second-wealthiest American after Elon Musk.
The famed investor and Berkshire Hathaway is worth an estimated $108 billion as of Thursday's close, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Bezos, Amazon's founder and executive chairman, trails him with a $107 billion fortune.
Gates, Microsoft's cofounder and one of Buffett's close friends, has a net worth of $110 billion, putting him within touching distance. Even Musk, the Tesla and Twitter CEO, isn't far ahead with a $138 billion fortune.
Buffett lagged Musk by over $170 billion, Bezos by over $90 billion, and Gates by over $30 billion at the start of this year. He has surpassed Bezos and closed the gap on Gates and Musk because of the relative outperformance of Berkshire stock, which accounts for about 99% of his net worth.
Microsoft stock has tumbled nearly 30% and Amazon shares have halved in value this year, while Tesla plunged almost 70%. In contrast, Berkshire's stock price has climbed about 2%, meaning Buffett's wealth would have grown if he hadn't donated about $5 billion of his Berkshire stock to good causes this year.
Indeed, it's worth noting that since 2006, Buffett has given away roughly 52% of his Berkshire shares. All else being equal, if he had retained his full stake of nearly 475,000 A shares, they would be worth $223 billion today, making him the world's wealthiest person by a long stretch.
Even with his reduced fortune, Buffett ranks fifth on Bloomberg's rich list. French luxury tycoon Bernard Arnault is number one with a $165 billion net worth, and Indian industrialist Gautam Adani ranks third with $121 billion. Given the pair's nationalities, if Buffett does dislodge Gates from the number four spot, Musk will be the only American wealthier than him.
Investors have switched out of growth stocks like Microsoft, Tesla, and Amazon this year for defensive names like Berkshire in the face of historic inflation, soaring interest rates, and a potential recession.
Buffett's conglomerate owns scores of businesses including Geico and See's Candies, as well as billion-dollar stakes in public companies such as Coca-Cola and Kraft Heinz. As a result, investors view it as highly diversified and well-placed to weather an economic downturn.