Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – World legendary investor Warren Buffet is known for having a smart strategy in managing finances and investing. His success makes him a role model for many investors in the capital market.
As Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, Buffet has an impressive stock portfolio, including holdings in Apple Inc, Bank of America Corp, and Coca-Cola Co, among other major companies. Even so, Buffet consistently shows his disinterest in investing in gold. What is the reason?
In his letter to shareholders in 2011, he described gold as an asset that would never produce anything.
This view is quite contrasting with general perception, because gold is often considered an instrument safe haven. A relatively safe investment during economic turmoil.
Gold investments can be made directly through physical purchases in the form of bars, coins or jewelry, or indirectly by buying shares in gold mining companies on the capital market.
“[Emas] dug out of the ground in Africa, or somewhere. Then we melt it down, dig another hole, bury it again, and pay people to look after it. “It’s pointless,” said Buffett about the precious metal, quoted from Forbes, Saturday (25/10/2025).
He analogized that it’s much better to have “a goose that keeps laying eggs than a goose that just sits there and eats insurance and storage and things like that.”
However, Buffett’s remarks do not apply to the gold mining company Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD). Unlike gold, Barrick Gold “keeps laying eggs” in the form of earnings and dividends. In this case, the company does not bury its gold in the ground, it sells it to someone else who buries it in the ground.
Berkshire Hathaway, headed by Buffett, owned around 21 million shares of gold miner GOLD in 2020. However, in just a few quarters, Berkshire Hathaway then sold shares in the Canadian miner, worth US$317 million.
The decision to sell the stock was as surprising as the decision to buy it.
(hsy/hsy)
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