Warren Buffett may have said he was “going quiet” after he retired from his role as Berkshire Hathaway CEO last year, but the investment strategy of his sunset years in business certainly didn’t seem to get the memo. The old dog still has some tricks, it seems, as in the legendary investor’s absence, Berkshire Hathaway has reaped massive gains from one of Buffett’s final, most contrarian plays.
In 2020, Buffett’s investing vehicle announced it had acquired positions in five major Japanese trading companies. The stakes were worth slightly more than 5% in each firm, around $6.25 billion in total. At the time, Berkshire Hathaway signaled that this was part of a long-term strategy, and that the company was open to increasing its stakes under the right circumstances.
