Bet on Apple and made $100 billion but sold too early! Buffett: The current US stocks are not cheap, will restart the charity lunch.

The “Oracle of Omaha”—Buffett, who has stepped down as CEO—remains closely involved in Berkshire Hathaway’s investment decision-making.

On March 31, at age 95, Warren Buffett discussed, in an interview, his life after stepping down as chief executive officer (CEO), his views on the company’s new CEO, Greg Abel, the latest market trends, details of the charitable lunch auction, and more.

After serving as CEO for sixty years at Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett stepped down from the CEO role in early 2026 and still serves as the company’s chairman.

Still closely involved in investment decisions

Buffett emphasized that although he will hand over the CEO position in early 2026, he will still be hands-on.

In the interview, Buffett said that he still comes to the office every day, keeps track of market developments, and carries out trades together with colleagues.

Buffett described his daily routine, including calling Berkshire Hathaway’s head of financial assets, Mark Millard, before the market opens to discuss market developments. Buffett said Millard’s office is about 20 feet away, and he will execute trades based on those conversations.

“I’m not going to make any investments that Greg thinks are wrong. Greg receives investment reports every day,” Buffett said, referring to the company’s regularly issued investment reports.

When asked whether he made any new investments, he said that recently there was a “small purchase,” but he did not provide details.

Not a real buying opportunity

Regarding the current market pullback, Buffett believes the行情 is far from those truly excellent buying opportunities in the past. “Since I took over, (Berkshire) has had at least three drawdowns of more than 50%. This drawdown really isn’t anything—it’s not worth mentioning.” Buffett said.

Buffett stressed that he would not enter the market just to capture the benchmark’s 5% to 6% rebound return. “We don’t make investments to earn those 5%, 6% returns. What we ultimately hold is real businesses.”

In addition, Buffett also revealed that Berkshire Hathaway this week bought $17 billion worth of U.S. Treasuries in its weekly Treasury auctions. Berkshire Hathaway’s annual report shows that, as of the end of last year, the company held more than $370 billion in cash and cash equivalents, mainly in the form of Treasury bills.

“ The prices they’re offering aren’t attractive. What they want is a short-term trade, not a long-term partnership with real businesses,” Buffett joked. Even though he always receives many calls recommending unrealistic targets for acquisitions, he is still willing to take those calls to find out what people in the market are doing.

Selling Apple stock was too early

Buffett also discussed Apple, which the company holds in a heavy position, in the interview.

Buffett admitted that he sold Apple stock too early: “I sold it too early. But I bought it earlier.”

According to InsiderScore data, even after Berkshire Hathaway reduced its Apple stake to $61.96 billion by the end of last year, Apple remained its largest single stock investment. “I’m glad it became our biggest holding. But I don’t want its position size to be almost as large as all the other holdings combined,” Buffett said.

“It’s not impossible that Apple’s price could drop to a level where we’d be willing to buy a lot,” Buffett added, “but not under the current market conditions.” He said if Apple’s stock price falls further, he will continue to add. Even though Apple’s stock price is down more than 14% from its recent peak, and down more than 6% in March, Buffett still doesn’t find it attractive at the moment.

Buffett disclosed that Berkshire’s cumulative pre-tax profits from its investment in Apple have exceeded $100 billion, and he gave high praise to Apple CEO Tim Cook, saying that Cook has run the company even better on top of the foundation left by Jobs.

“Cook plays the cards he’s been dealt better. He can’t do the kind of groundbreaking work Jobs did back then, but the cards Jobs left him—maybe Jobs himself wouldn’t be able to play them as well as he does.” Buffett said. “Cook is an extremely capable manager and a good person. He’s able to get along with people all over the world. I don’t have that ability—for example, neither do my partner, Charlie Munger.”

Resurrecting the charity lunch

Buffett revealed that he will bring back his famous charitable lunch event, hosting a brand-new charitable lunch with four-time NBA champion and two-time MVP Stephen Curry and his wife, Ayesha Curry.

The online bidding for the charity lunch will begin at 7:30 p.m. Pacific Time on May 7 on the eBay platform and will run until 7:30 p.m. Pacific Time on May 14. The proceeds will be donated to the Glide Foundation and the Eat． Learn． Play． Foundation. The Eat． Learn． Play． Foundation is a charitable organization founded by the Curry family, dedicated to promoting children’s literacy, nutrition, and positive lifestyle choices. The Glide Foundation, headquartered in San Francisco, provides services to underserved communities, including meals, housing, health checkups, and vocational training.

The winning bidder will take along up to seven guests to have an exclusive lunch with Buffett and the Currys on June 24 in Omaha, Nebraska, in the United States.

In a statement, Buffett said: “For many years, I’ve had the chance to witness how businesses and nonprofit organizations with an innovative spirit come together to create real change. I’ve always firmly believed that we should support organizations that are making a tangible impact. This event is designed to bring together, once again, in a brand-new way, the people I admire, to support work that is truly extraordinary. I feel very honored to partner with Stephen and Ayesha to kick off a new initiative that supports these communities.”

Buffett last hosted the charitable lunch in 2022, putting an end to this two-decade-long charitable effort. In 2022, the highest winning bid for the charity lunch auction reached $19 million, setting a record high, and total fundraising exceeded $50 million.

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