Warren Buffett's cash pile hits $334 billion in 2024; ‘Berkshire Hathaway paid more taxes than tech titans in trillions’

American multinational conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway's chief executive officer, Warren Buffett, disclosed in his annual report that the firm's cash pile for the year ended 2024 was at $334.2 billion, a rise in cash reserve for the 10th consecutive quarter.

Buffett's cash hoard rose to a record level of $334.2 billion in 2024, compared to $325.2 billion at the end of the third quarter of the calendar year 2024. The billionaire value investor continued to refrain from major stock transactions in the fourth quarter, as per the annual report. 

“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. While our ownership in marketable equities moved downward last year from $354 billion to $272 billion, the value of our non-quoted controlled equities increased somewhat and remains far greater than the value of the marketable portfolio,” said Buffett defending his

He also assured the shareholders of the multinational firm that the company will continue to deploy a big chunk of their money into equities.

“Berkshire shareholders can rest assured that we will forever deploy a substantial majority of their money in equities. Mostly American equities although many of these will have international operations of significance,” said Buffett. 

On the tax front, Warren Buffett said the firm has paid more tax than the American tech giants.

“Still operating under the name of Berkshire Hathaway – paid far more in corporate income tax than the U.S. government had ever received from any company. Even the American tech titans that commanded market values in the trillions,” said Buffett in his letter.

Mistakes – With Warren Buffett

Warren Buffett, the chief executive officer (CEO) of the multinational conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway, in his letter to shareholders on Saturday, February 22, said he accepted how he made many mistakes in the 60-year run with the firm. 

“Sometimes I’ve made mistakes in assessing the future economics of a business I’ve purchased for Berkshire, each a case of capital allocation gone wrong,” said the billionaire value investor Warren Buffett in his letter to shareholders.

The CEO also said that these mistakes he made over the 60-year period have been both in terms of judgements and marketable equities. According to the letter, Buffett said that Berkshire Hathaway sees this as “partial ownership of businesses – and the 100% acquisitions of companies.”

Warren Buffet also mentioned that there have been times during his CEO journey when he made mistakes in assessing the abilities or fidelity of the firm's managers. These wrong assessments have caused him disappointment, which hurts even more than a financial impact on the firm.

“The fidelity disappointments can hurt beyond their financial impact, a pain that can approach that of a failed marriage,” said the Berkshire Chief.

Highlighting the importance of owning up to mistakes, Buffett also said that between the 2019 and 2023 period, he used the words “mistake” or “error” 16 times in his letters to the shareholders. However, he acknowledged that Amazon was the only other company in his eye which accepted some “brutal candid observations in its 2021 letter.”