Warren Buffett Had to Work From His iPhone After Telephone Lines Went Down at Berkshire Hathaway: 'I'm Glad We Didn't Sell All of Our Apple' Berkshire sold around $20 billion worth of Apple recently.
By Sherin Shibu
Key Takeaways
- Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett was forced to take calls from his iPhone for a few days this week, which is unusual for the billionaire.
- This comes days after Berkshire announced that it cut its stake in Apple by 13%.
- Buffett only began using an iPhone four years ago.
The phone lines were down at Berkshire Hathaway's headquarters for a few days this week — so CEO Warren Buffett worked from his iPhone.
"I don't know how to do much with it, but I do know how to answer calls," Buffett, 93, told The Omaha World-Herald on Wednesday.
"I'm glad we didn't sell all of our Apple," he joked.
Buffett only upgraded to an iPhone four years ago after previously using a $20 flip phone.
Buffett told CNBC's Becky Quick in February 2020 that he uses his iPhone "as a phone" and doesn't use "all its facilities like most people."
Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The news of Buffett using his iPhone for work calls comes days after Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder meeting, which saw the conglomerate cut 13% of its stake in Apple, or about 115 million shares.
At Apple's March 28 closing price of $171.48 per share, Berkshire seems to have sold around $20 billion worth of Apple.
Apple is still Berkshire's largest holding and Berkshire remains Apple's single largest shareholder. Berkshire still has 6% of the iPad maker or 905 million shares worth about $167 billion, according to Apple's Thursday closing price.
Related: Read Warren Buffett's Annual Letter to Berkshire Shareholders
At Saturday's shareholder meeting, Buffett hinted that Berkshire reduced its Apple stake for tax reasons. He said he was confident in the leadership of Apple CEO Tim Cook, who was in the room at the time.
"We will own — unless something really extraordinary happens — we will own Apple and American Express and Coca-Cola when Greg takes over this place," Buffett said, referring to future Berkshire CEO Greg Abel.
Apple makes up one-fifth of Berkshire's portfolio. Berkshire's next four biggest holdings are Bank of America, American Express, Coca-Cola, and Chevron.
Related: 'An Obvious Move': Elon Musk Suggests Warren Buffett Should Make This Investment Move Next
