Forbes estimates Warren Buffett’s net worth at $146.6B (real-time, 10 Oct 2026, #10 in the world). Most of it is his Berkshire Hathaway shares: Berkshire Hathaway’s latest filing lists 196,317 Class A shares (38.4% of the class) and 1,114 Class B shares: 30.2% of the voting power and 13.7% of the economic interest. It is an outside estimate that moves with the share price, not a disclosed figure.
Correction (10 Oct 2026): this page previously showed undated or unsourced net-worth figures. We replaced them with one dated, named estimate and the holdings disclosed in filings, and we now tag every input as filing, reported or estimate.
How we source: figures on this page come from the company’s own filings (SEC 10-K, 10-Q, prospectus and earnings releases, or its annual report), with the period stated next to each number; outside estimates appear only labelled, with their source and date. Last refreshed October 2026. Our methodology.
The most widely cited figure is Forbes’s: $146.6B on 10 Oct 2026, #10 in the world. It is an outside estimate, not a figure Buffett or any company has disclosed.
Other outlets publish different figures, and each changes with share prices. Use one source consistently, and always note its date.
How the fortune was built
Warren Buffett’s fortune comes from Berkshire Hathaway. The timeline below tags each step: SEC filing when it comes from a filing, Reported when it comes from Forbes’s profile.
Warren Buffett: the fortune and its milestones Estimate
Before the chart: 2010 Launches the Giving Pledge
12025 · Builds Berkshire Reported
22026 · Stake in the proxy SEC filing
Forbes annual list estimates and the real-time estimate (gold); Forbes. Milestones as tagged in the timeline below.
Full timeline, with sources (4 steps)
Warren Buffett: how the fortune was built
Age 11Reported
First stock
He also filed his first tax return at 13 (Forbes).
Until 2025Reported
Builds Berkshire
Geico, Duracell, Dairy Queen and dozens more; he retired as CEO at the end of 2025 (Forbes).
2010Reported
Launches the Giving Pledge
With Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates (Forbes).
Mar 2026SEC filing
Stake in the proxy
38.4% of Class A, 30.2% of the vote, 13.7% of the economic interest.
What drives the number
Every estimate of Buffett’s wealth is the same model: his Berkshire Hathaway shares, times Berkshire’s share price, plus other assets (small next to the stake). The share count is public, so most of the movement comes from the share price.
His Berkshire Hathaway sharesSEC filing×Berkshire's share priceMarket data+Other assets (small next to the stake)Estimate=$146.6BNet-worth estimate, 10 Oct 2026
His Berkshire Hathaway shares: 196,317 Class A shares (38.4% of the class) and 1,114 Class B shares: 30.2% of the voting power and 13.7% of the economic interest (filing).
Berkshire's share price: Public market data that changes every trading day.
Other assets (small next to the stake): Valued by the estimator; not disclosed.
Using one consistent source, Forbes’s annual World’s Billionaires lists, the estimate moved from $75.6B (Mar 2017) to $149.0B (Mar 2026). Because most of it is Berkshire Hathaway stock, the line largely tracks the share price.
Estimated net worth over time Estimate
Mar 2017
$75.6B
Mar 2018
$84.0B
Mar 2019
$82.5B
Apr 2020
$67.5B
Apr 2021
$96.0B
Apr 2022
$118.0B
Apr 2023
$106.0B
Apr 2024
$133.0B
Apr 2025
$154.0B
Mar 2026
$149.0B
10 Oct 2026
$146.6B
Annual World’s Billionaires list estimates (Forbes); gold bar = real-time estimate on 10 Oct 2026. All figures are estimates by the same outlet, so they are comparable with each other, not with other outlets’ numbers.
Net worth vs Berkshire Hathaway share price, indexed
Net worth (Forbes): 194Berkshire Hathaway share price: 310
Both lines indexed to 100 at the Mar 2017 list. Net worth: Forbes list estimates and real-time estimate. Share price: month-end close in each list’s month, split-adjusted (Yahoo Finance); latest point: close on 9 Oct 2026. Index levels, not dollars; the gap shows what else moved the estimate (share sales, gifts, other assets).
–Shares sold or given away outside the filing dates.
What he does now
He is Berkshire’s chairman emeritus. He has promised to give away more than 99% of his wealth and, Forbes says, has donated more than $72 billion so far.
The Business Engineer view
What Buffett’s fortune really measures
His stake is filed and he is giving it away, so the number shrinks as he donates. For founders with filed stakes, the share count is public and only the price moves; the estimate is then close to a measurement.
Read any net-worth figure with three questions: who estimated it, on what date, and at what share price. For the company behind the fortune, see Berkshire Hathaway on FourWeekMBA.
Frequently asked questions
What is Warren Buffett's net worth?
Forbes estimates Warren Buffett’s net worth at $146.6B (real-time, 10 Oct 2026, #10 in the world).
How did Warren Buffett make his money?
Mainly through Berkshire Hathaway. First stock: He also filed his first tax return at 13 (Forbes). Builds Berkshire: Geico, Duracell, Dairy Queen and dozens more; he retired as CEO at the end of 2025 (Forbes).
How much of Berkshire Hathaway does Buffett own?
Berkshire Hathaway’s latest filing lists 196,317 Class A shares (38.4% of the class) and 1,114 Class B shares: 30.2% of the voting power and 13.7% of the economic interest (Berkshire Hathaway 2026 proxy statement (filed 13 Mar 2026)).
Why do Warren Buffett net worth figures differ?
Each outlet multiplies an estimated share count by the share price on a given day and adds its own estimate of other assets, so figures differ by source and by date.
Gennaro Cuofano is a CRO and tech executive who has worked in AI since late 2015, starting with bringing NLP, natural-language generation, voice and chatbot products to the marketing industry. His background is in law and finance: he holds a Master's degree in Law and an International MBA with an emphasis on corporate finance (LUISS Business School and the University of San Diego, 2012), and worked as a financial analyst at a real-estate investment firm in San Diego and as an assistant controller. His work focuses on business model strategy, business engineering and, more broadly, structural analysis: how companies make money, read from their own filings. He created FourWeekMBA and leads research there and at The Business Engineer, his newsletter on AI and business strategy, with over 95,000 subscribers and more than 1,000 published analyses. His writing has also appeared on Entrepreneur (for example, How to Digitize a Family Business in Europe) and HackerNoon. Find him on LinkedIn and Substack. See how we source.
