Warren Buffett Left Berkshire $397 Billion in Cash, Enough to Buy Almost Any S&P 500 Firm

Berkshire Hathaway is sitting on an all-time high of $397.4 billion in cash and short-term Treasuries, according to its latest quarterly filing. The pile has grown so large that it could buy almost any single company in the S&P 500.

The figure covers the first quarter of 2026, Greg Abel’s first as CEO after Warren Buffett stepped back. Investors now watch whether Abel will spend it before the second-quarter results arrive in early August.

Berkshire’s Cash Record Could Buy Almost Any S&P 500 Company

Data shared by Barchart shows liquid reserves climbing from $373 billion at the end of 2025 to $397.4 billion in March. The platform noted the sum is enough to buy 476 companies in the S&P 500 outright.

The build-up is deliberate. Berkshire sold more stocks than it bought for 14 straight quarters, offloading $24.1 billion in equities against $16 billion in purchases last quarter. At current Treasury yields, the reserves earn roughly $20 billion a year.

Buffett defended that math in a recent interview.

“I can put huge amounts of money into government bonds that get 20 or 30 or 40 billion dollars a year… a good business is one that earns a lot more than the returns on essentially riskless investments, which you could define as Treasuries,” Warren Buffett, told CNBC.

Abel Starts Spending Carefully

Abel has begun deploying. Shareholders approved Berkshire’s $8.5 billion purchase of homebuilder Taylor Morrison last week, while buybacks run at their fastest pace since 2021. The firm also built a $31 billion Alphabet stake, including a $10 billion private purchase Buffett says he initiated.

Meanwhile, first-quarter operating earnings rose 18% to $11.35 billion, and net income more than doubled to about $10.1 billion. Results due around August 3 will show whether Berkshire’s record cash keeps compounding.

Buffett framed the choice ahead in simpler terms.