Wall Street's old man Warren Buffett made $13 billion while billionaires are losing billions in market crash

While most billionaires are watching their fortunes shrink in 2025, Warren Buffett is defying the trend. The legendary investor has added $12.7 billion to his wealth this year, pushing his total net worth to $155 billion—even as global markets stumble amid trade war tensions triggered by President Donald Trump’s aggressive new tariff policies.

Since Trump returned to the White House earlier this year, Wall Street has shed nearly $8 trillion in market value. A major chunk of that—almost $5 trillion—was wiped out in just the last two trading sessions after Trump rolled out the biggest tariff hike in over a century.

Friday was especially painful, with $329 billion erased from the markets—the biggest one-day drop since the chaos of the Covid-19 pandemic. On Thursday alone, the world’s 500 richest people lost a combined $208 billion, marking the fourth-worst day in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index’s 13-year history—and the worst since the Covid crash in 2020.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk’s wealth has fallen by $130 billion year-to-date to $302 billion, while Jeff Bezos saw a decline of $45.2 billion, bringing his net worth down to $193 billion. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s fortune dropped $28.1 billion to $179 billion, and Bernard Arnault, chairman of LVMH, experienced an $18.6 billion fall to $158 billion.

Even Bill Gates wasn’t spared, with a $3.38 billion dip bringing his net worth to $155 billion—placing him on par with Buffett.

At a time when most investors are scrambling, Buffett—through his company Berkshire Hathaway—is playing the long game. He has made bold but calculated moves, including cutting back on U.S. tech stocks like Apple and Bank of America, while doubling down on Japanese trading giants.

Earlier this year, Buffett increased Berkshire’s stakes in Japan’s five largest trading houses—Mitsui, Mitsubishi, Sumitomo, Itochu, and Marubeni. These are major industrial and trading firms that play a crucial role in Japan’s economy.

According to regulatory filings, Berkshire now holds: Mitsui & Co. (9.82%), Mitsubishi Corp. (9.67%), Sumitomo Corp. (9.29%), Itochu Corp. (8.53%), and Marubeni Corp. (9.30%).

This move has helped push Berkshire Hathaway’s market cap past $1.14 trillion, overtaking companies like Tesla and giving Buffett’s wealth a massive boost.

Recession Fears

Trump’s aggressive tariff policy has thrown global supply chains into chaos and severely soured investor sentiment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 2,231 points on Friday—its worst single-day loss since March 2020. The S&P 500 dropped 6%, shedding $5 trillion in value in just 48 hours, while the Nasdaq fell 5.8%.

Global brokerage firm JP Morgan has downgraded U.S. GDP growth for 2025 to -0.3% from a previously estimated 1.3%. Michael Feroli, the firm’s chief U.S. economist, now predicts a two-quarter recession beginning in Q3, citing a 1% contraction in Q3 and another 0.5% in Q4.

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