Buffett’s cash reserve continues to grow

Associated Press

OMAHA, Neb.

Warren Buffett has the kind of money problem most people would envy: a growing mountain of cash.

Nearly $73 billion piled up at Berkshire Hathaway by midsummer, more than Buffett’s conglomerate has ever held before.

And the total continues growing every day Buffett doesn’t make a major investment because Berkshire’s 90-odd businesses generate roughly $1.5 billion in cash every month.

Buffett’s options include buying entire businesses, picking up a few million shares of stock or investing more in companies Berkshire already owns, such as BNSF railroad and the utilities of Berkshire Hathaway energy.

So far, Buffett appears to be mostly sitting on the cash since January, when Berkshire completed its biggest acquisition in its history, a $32.36 billion deal for aviation parts maker Precision Castparts.

“I think he’s looking for the right price on something outstanding,” said investor Andy Kilpatrick, who wrote “Of Permanent Value: The Story of Warren Buffett.”