Warren Buffet loses crazy money, keeps second rank on Forbes 400

Posted Oct 1st 2009 12:00PM by Mark Fightmaster
Filed under: Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A), Columns, Financial Crisis

So, you think you had a rough year? Check out what happened to Warren Buffett, who is ranked the second-richest man in America despite a drop of $10 billion in his personal wealth during the past year. The culprit for Buffet's loss is the 20% decline in Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) stock during the past 12 months.

As noted, the Oracle of Omaha maintained his second-place ranking on the list of the richest Americans. The first-place finisher is Bill Gates, who the article notes is "Buffett's friend and bridge partner." What a game of bridge that must be (I am not familiar with the game, but if there is betting involved I don't want to be sitting at that table). Gates maintained his top spot although he lost $7 billion.

According to Forbes, Buffet lost $1.1 million an hour during the past 12 months while Gates lost $800,000 an hour. Yes, that is a per-hour loss. Forbes and Gates weren't alone in suffering a rough year, as Forbes notes that the collective net worth of the 400 richest Americans dropped from $1.57 trillion to $1.27 trillion during the year. This is only the fifth time the net worth of the nation's 400 richest dropped.

I'm not sharing this story to try and drum up sympathy for the likes of Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. I am telling you this story to make you understand that the richest of the rich have had a tough year as well. We are not alone in our economic struggles. The thing is that Buffett and Gates combined have probably lost as much as all of the nation's 401ks combined. Of course, Buffett's and Gates's losses are little more than pocket change to those two -- but that is a lot of pocket change, and I am sure that the loss hurt.

Tags: Berkshire Hathaway, Bill Gates, BRK.A, featured, Forbes, Forbes richest people, inthenews, Warren Buffett