A year ago Forbes magazine revealed thatWarren Buffett, the legendary US investor, had become the richest man in the world, holding a personal fortune of $62bn. But does the so-called ‘Sage of Omaha’ still hold this title? It was reported on Sunday that the net worth of his Berkshire Hathaway group had dropped $10.9bn in the final quarter of 2008 to end the year at $109.2bn, its worst financial performance since Buffett took over the famed US investment group in 1965. As Buffett (pictured) has a 40 per cent stake in Berkshire Hathaway, this means he is personally down by $3bn. The man in the number two spot on the Forbes list was Carlos Slim, the Mexican telecoms magnate and saviour of the New York Times, with $60bn. If he has managed to avoid similar losses, or not lost more than a billion, he is now top dog. In his letter to investors, Buffett made the shocking admission that he had "done some dumb things in 2008", the dumbest of which, he said, was buying a large holding in an energy company when oil prices were near their peak. "In no way did I anticipate the dramatic drop in prices that occurred," he said. As to the US economy in general, Buffett was far from optimistic, saying it would be “in shambles throughout 2009 - and probably well beyond".Warren Buffett owns up to ‘dumb things
People: Book reveals the real Warren Buffett
Monday, 2 March 2009
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