We Need You to Maintain a Stable Currency, Warren Buffett Wrote

We are big fans of the mighty finance genius Warren Buffett and make it a practice to read his annual report.  This year was no exception.  In his annual letter to shareholders Saturday, Warren Buffett celebrated the successes of Berkshire Hathaway’s (BH) companies last year and in the 60 years since he took over a struggling New England textile company and began converting it into a massive conglomerate while offering some advice to President Donald Trump.  We like his advice, urging the government to be responsible with the money he sends it.

“Thank you, Uncle Sam. Someday your nieces and nephews at Berkshire hope to send you even larger payments than we did in 2024. Spend it wisely. Take care of the many who, for no fault of their own, get the short straws in life. They deserve better. And never forget that we need you to maintain a stable currency and that result requires both wisdom and vigilance on your part,” Buffett wrote.

A small but important exception to BH’s U.S.-based focus is their growing investment in Japan, which takes his investment empire global.

It’s been almost six years since Berkshire began purchasing shares in five Japanese companies that very successfully operate in a manner somewhat similar to Berkshire itself. The five are (alphabetically) ITOCHU, Marubeni, Mitsubishi, Mitsui and Sumitomo. Each of these large enterprises, in turn, owns interests in a vast array of businesses, many based in Japan but others that operate throughout the world.

The 2024 annual letter can be found here.  We encourage you to read it to not only learn about Berkshire Hathaway but to also discover Warren’s warm (brilliant) sense of humor (scroll to near the end should you not have time to read the entire letter).  I predict you will enjoy.