Warren Buffett once called Berkshire Hathaway the ‘dumbest’ stock he ever bought—after 60 years, he’s stepped down with a $145 billion net worth

Billionaire Warren Buffett has become one of the most successful investors of all time, leading Berkshire Hathaway for 60 years.

After stepping down as CEO at the end of 2025 and recently relinquishing his role as chairman, he’s officially left the top leadership ranks—though he’s staying on as a director.

And despite making billions from the company, he once said buying Berkshire Hathaway was the dumbest investment he ever made.

“The dumbest stock I ever bought was—drum roll here—Berkshire Hathaway,” Buffett told CNBC’s Squawk Box back in 2010.

It was 1962 when the “ Oracle of Omaha” caught wind of cheap stock at a textile company that had been “going downhill for years”: Berkshire Hathaway.

It had once been a huge business, and after every mill they closed, the company would use the proceeds to buy back their stock.

Buffett planned to buy the shares cheaply, then sell them back to the company when it bought shares from investors.

He figured Berkshire would soon shut another mill, giving him a chance to tender his shares for a small profit.

Buffett agreed to sell his shares for $11.50 each, but when the official offer arrived, Berkshire’s CEO at the time—Seabury Stanton—said the price was $11.375.

The roughly 12-cent snub over the agreed-upon price set Buffett down the path to buy the future foundation of his fortune.

“This made me mad,” Buffett recalled.

“So I went out and started buying the stock, and I bought control of the company, and fired Mr.

Stanton.” Buying Berkshire Hathaway and turning it into a $1.08 trillion titan of industry In hindsight, buying the struggling textile business turned out to be one of the most formative decisions of Buffett’s career—but in the moment, it felt like anything but the smart choice.

Textile assets “weren’t that good,” the legendary investor recounted, and trying to keep it afloat felt like carrying an anchor.