Warren Buffett is on track for record 2013 profits
Mario Tama/Getty Images
![Warren Buffett is on track for record 2013 profits](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/AyXHry7JyHXzPj7AUcwMM3-415-80.jpg)
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway recorded record 2013 profits, according to early estimates from analysts at Nomura Holdings Inc. and Keefe Bruyette & Woods. Net income was at least $18 billion in 2013. That compares with $14.8 billion in 2012, the previous record.
This profit growth comes on the back of Buffett's large rescue investments in beleaguered firms in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Buffett was sitting on cash at the time, and had the opportunity to invest at bargain basement prices when the rest of the financial world was stricken by panic. These investments included stakes in candy-maker Mars, which last year repaid Berkshire for a $4.4 billion loan its subsidiary Wrigley took in 2008, giving Berkshire $680 million in profits. Berkshire's big crisis-era investments also included Goldman Sachs and Bank of America, as well as stakes in Heinz, General Electric, Dow Chemical Co., and Swiss Re Insurance.
There's a saying on Wall Street: Buy the fear, sell the greed. By rescuing companies when the market was in the dumps in 2008, Warren Buffett bought the fear. That strategy is paying off.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
John Aziz is the economics and business correspondent at TheWeek.com. He is also an associate editor at Pieria.co.uk. Previously his work has appeared on Business Insider, Zero Hedge, and Noahpinion.
-
Big Tech's answer for AI-driven job loss: universal basic income
In The Spotlight A new study reveals the strengths and limitations
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
'I will not be silent' on Gaza, says Kamala Harris
Speed Read In a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Harris supported Israel's right to defend itself while expressing a desire to end Palestinian suffering
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
'How long can TikTok dominate as a social network?'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published