Warren Buffett Said 'Cash Is Always A Bad Investment' And You Don't Need 'Excessive Amounts' — But He's Sitting On Record $334 Billion Cash Pile

Back in 2009, during a sit-down with Charlie Rose in the wake of the financial crisis, Warren Buffett made his stance on cash loud and clear: he wasn't a fan.

"Cash is always a bad investment," he told Rose. "When people say ‘cash is king,' that's crazy… It was sure to go down in value over time." He compared it to oxygen — necessary, but only in reasonable doses saying, "You don't need to have excessive amounts of it around." He also added, "Anytime we have surplus cash around, I'm unhappy. I would much rather have good businesses than cash."

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Fast forward to 2025, and the chairman of Berkshire Hathaway BRK BRK.B)) is now sitting on a record-shattering $334.2 billion in cash — more than the company's stock portfolio, which shrank to $272 billion last year, according to Fortune. That's nearly double the cash pile from the year before.

So, what gives?

According to Buffett, nothing's changed in terms of philosophy. In his most recent letter to shareholders, he emphasized that "Berkshire will never prefer ownership of cash-equivalent assets over the ownership of good businesses." 

But unfortunately, those good businesses are  getting harder to find.

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In last year's letter, Buffett had already set expectations, noting that the days of "eye-popping" returns at Berkshire were likely behind them. "There remain only a handful of companies in this country capable of truly moving the needle at Berkshire," he wrote. "And they have been endlessly picked over by us and by others."

Translation? There's not much out there worth writing a big check for. Even outside the U.S., Buffett sees "essentially no candidates that are meaningful options" for deploying capital. So instead of chasing overpriced deals, he's parking the cash and waiting.

Which brings it back to another classic Buffettism: "Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful."

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Right now, fear is floating in the air — inflation remains sticky, interest rates are still high, and the stock market's looking a little overcaffeinated. That might explain why Buffett is choosing patience over action. After all, a deal-hunter doesn't rush the aisle unless the sale signs are flashing.

To be clear, Buffett hasn't suddenly fallen in love with cash. He's just not going to force-feed billions into subpar investments to stay busy. And with Berkshire's size, it takes a really big fish to move the needle — not just any publicly traded guppy.

So yes, cash might still be a "bad investment" in Buffett's eyes. But sometimes, sitting still is the smartest move in the room — especially when you're holding $334 billion and waiting for the right moment to pounce.

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