Warren Buffett credits Apple CEO Tim Cook with making ‘a lot more money than I've ever made' for Berkshire Hathaway
At Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder meeting, Warren Buffett praised Apple CEO Tim Cook for his leadership of the company. Berkshire Hathaway's Apple investment marked a rare foray into the tech industry for Buffett. Apple would eventually become one Berkshire's most significant and lucrative investments.
When the world's investors looked at iMacs, the iPod, and the iPhone and saw technological breakthroughs, Warren Buffett saw something much simpler: products that everyone loved.
Buffett, who on Saturday announced his intention to step down from his role as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway by year's end, made billions investing in Apple. Long wary of tech investments, Buffett made an exception for Apple. At one point in 2024, he was even Apple's largest investor outside of ETFs.
Throughout the years, Buffett rather famously treated Apple as a consumer goods company, not a tech company. He was also enamored with Apple's ability to create and market products that consumers seemingly couldn't get enough of. In that sense, Buffett likened Apple more to Coca-Cola, another of his long-term investments.
At Saturday's meeting, Buffett sang the praises of Apple and CEO Tim Cook for the returns it had delivered Berkshire Hathaway over the years.
'I'm somewhat embarrassed to say that Tim Cook has made Berkshire a lot more money than I've ever made [for] Berkshire Hathaway,' Buffett said.
Cook, in Buffett's estimation, has led the company admirably since Apple cofounder and CEO Steve Jobs stepped down in 2011, just months before his death.
'I knew Steve Jobs briefly, and Steve, of course, did things that nobody else could have done in developing Apple,' Buffett said. 'Steve picked Tim to succeed him, and he really made the right decision. Steve died young as you know, and nobody but Steve could have created Apple, but nobody but Tim could have developed it as he has. So on behalf of all of Berkshire, thank you, Tim.'
Jobs and Buffett had crossed paths a few times over their careers. In one instance, Buffett recalled that Jobs had called him for advice on what to do with Apple's huge cash pile. Buffett suggested Apple buy back stock, which both men agreed was undervalued in their view. However, Jobs decided not to, opting instead to just hold on to the cash.
'He just liked having the cash,' Buffett told CNBC in 2012. 'It was very interesting to me, because I later learned that he said that I agreed with him to do nothing with the cash. But he just didn't want to repurchase stocks, although he absolutely thought his stock was significantly underpriced.'
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