How Warren Buffett Is at Odds With America’s Wealthiest

Unlike many of America’s wealthiest people, legendary billionaire investor Warren Buffett does not appear to be following the current political tide.

The “Oracle of Omaha,” who runs the conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway and is the fifth-wealthiest American right now worth north of $150 billion according to Forbes, has twice offered unpomrted public warnings to President Donald Trump in the last two weeks.

The 94-year-old criticized Trump’s tariff policies, warning that they might drive up inflation in the U.S., and offered the president fiscal advice. Those remarks appear to be in contrast to notable moves made by the other wealthiest people in the U.S.

A number of top executives across America have taken steps this years that appeared aimed at improving relations with Trump as he starts his second term in the White House.

A stunning lineup of U.S. billionaires attended Trump’s inauguration on January 20, including some of the world’s richest men, like Tesla CEO Elon Musk (net worth $347 billion according to Forbes), former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos ($220 billion), Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg ($221 billion), and Google cofounder Sergey Brin ($135 billion).

Brin’s appearance represented a remarkable turnaround, having called Trump’s 2016 election victory “deeply offensive” while protesting Trump’s immigration policies.

Musk, once a Democratic voter, has since proven Trump’s top adviser, leading an effort to drastically reduce federal spending waste via the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Washington Post owner Bezos last week announced a major shift in his newspaper’s opinion coverage, which will only publish articles supporting “personal liberties and free markets”—a move that will certainly chimes well with Trump’s views.

Zuckerberg in January eliminated Facebook‘s fact-checking, which Trump and his Republican allies have criticized for many years, citing concerns it censored conservative voices.

And, a week into Trump’s new administration, Larry Ellison, a cofounder of software giant Oracle, joined the president’s $500 billion artificial intelligence (AI) initiative, The Stargate Project.

Newsweek contacted attorneys for Berkshire Hathaway, Tesla and SpaceX‘s press offices, Amazon, Meta, the Larry Ellison Foundation and Google for comment via email on Wednesday.

Why It Matters

Buffett’s comments are always closely watched by investors.

His recent remarks suggest that while his fellow billionaires are embracing Trump’s new administration, he may have concerns over his investments during Trump’s second term.

What To Know

In his annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders on February 22, Buffett recommended “Uncle Sam” use the $26.8 billion in income taxes paid by his conglomerate wisely.

“Take care of the many who, for no fault of their own, get the short straws in life. They deserve better,” he wrote. “And never forget that we need you to maintain a stable currency and that result requires both wisdom and vigilance on your part.”

Buffett later weighed in on Trump’s tariff policy.

Last Tuesday, Canada and Mexico were hit by 25 percent tariffs on goods exported to the U.S., while China was hit by an additional 10 percent tariff. Both Canada and China promised to retaliate, while Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum said she will announce countermeasures if the tariffs will still be in place on Sunday.

In remarks to CBS on March 2, Buffett compared tariffs to an “act of war” that will inevitably translate into “a tax on goods.”

“Tariffs are actually, we’ve had a lot of experience with them. They’re an act of war, to some degree,” Buffett said. “Over time, they are a tax on goods. I mean, the tooth fairy doesn’t pay ’em!” he added. “And then what? You always have to ask that question in economics. You always say, ‘And then what?’ “

How the Richest Americans Reacted to Trump

1. Elon Musk (net worth $347 billion)

Once a Democratic voter, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO has since switched to the Republican Party. During the 2024 Republican primary, Musk initially backed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, before shifting its support to Trump.

In the months leading up to Election Day, he appeared alongside Trump at the candidate’s rallies and praised him as the only one who could “preserve democracy in America.” It was later revealed that Musk spent more than $290 million supporting Trump and his MAGA allies on the campaign trail in 2024.

Musk is now a crucial part of the Trump’s administration as a “special government employee” tasked with making the federal government more efficient and less wasteful, and his role and unfettered powers have come into questions.

2. Mark Zuckerberg ($221 billion)

Zuckerberg vowed to stay neutral during the 2024 presidential race, but as early as July he signaled that he was warming to Trump, describing the then-candidate’s raised fist following an assassination attempt as “one of the most badass things I’ve ever seen in my life.”

Meta was among the many tech companies donating $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund, and Zuckerberg attended the ceremony on January 20. In the same month, the company announced that Dana White, the Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO and a longtime friend of Trump, was joining the Meta board of directors, while Joe Kaplan was made the company’s head of global policy.

Following Trump’s inauguration, Zuckerberg announced sweeping changes to the social media giant which would largely fall in line with Trump’s and MAGA’s values, saying that corporations need more “masculine energy.” Zuckerberg, who once considered himself a “classical liberal” and was known to support progressive causes also announced an end to Meta’s fact-checking program, saying the platform would use community notes, same as X.

3. Jeff Bezos ($220 billion)

In October, the owner of the Washington Post prevented the newspaper from publishing an endorsement of Trump opponent Vice President Kamala Harris.

In December, after Trump’s election, Bezos endorsed the president’s plans to reduce government regulations. Speaking at the New York Times‘ DealBook Summit, he said he was “very optimistic that President Trump is serious about this regulatory agenda,” and if he could help him do that, “I’m going to help him, because we do have too much regulation in this country.” In the same month, he donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund and was a guest at Mar-a-Lago.

Bezos’ recent decision to focus the Washington Post’s opinion section solely on “personal liberties and free markets” has been seen as in line with Trump’s agenda. WaPo’s opinion editor David Shipley swiftly resigned.

4. Larry Ellison ($195 billion)

While he did not attend Trump’s inauguration on January 20, the cofounder of software company Oracle has long been a Trump supporter, offering his backing to the president in 2016 even as many other tech leaders distanced himself from Trump at the time.

A week into Trump’s second administration, he was announced as part of the White House’s $500 billion AI initiative, The Stargate Project.

Oracle is often mentioned as a potential buyer of TikTok and was key to keeping the app available to U.S. users when it disappeared off some platforms because of a federal ban.

7. Sergey Brin ($135 billion)

The Google cofounder was known to be critical of Donald Trump during his first time in office In 2017, Brin joined a protest against the administration’s immigration policies, saying they threatened America’s “fundamental values.”

But already in December, he was spotted dining with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, and in January Google donated $1 million to the president’s inauguration, which Brin attended.

Is Warren Buffett a Democrat?

Back in 2017, during Trump’s first administration, Buffett told CNBC he was “not in the business of attacking any president,” and he was not going to start.

“Forty-five presidents of the United States and I lived under a third of them. I bought stocks under 14 of the 15,” he said then. Though he supported Hillary Clinton‘s run in 2016 and was disappointed by her loss, Buffett said he hoped the country would move forward under Trump. “It is important that government functions well,” he told CNBC.

Buffett also endorsed and made contributions to Barack Obama during his presidential run in 2008. During Obama’s presidency, he was instrumental in the introduction of the Buffett rule, which was a tax proposal that would require wealthy individuals to pay the same tax rates as others. The rule was ultimately ended by a filibuster in the Senate.

What People Are Saying

Trump said during his 2024 campaign while talking to reporters at Mar-a-Lago in December: “In the first term, everyone was fighting me. In this term, everybody wants to be my friend.”

In 2022, Musk wrote on X: “In the past I voted Democrat, because they were (mostly) the kindness party. But they have become the party of division & hate, so I can no longer support them and will vote Republican.”

Casey Burgat, a former congressional staffer and professor of politics at George Washington University, previously told Newsweek: “Big Tech leaders like [Jeff] Bezos and Zuckerberg are navigating a delicate balancing act: maintaining good relations with a government that has openly threatened their business models while mitigating potential regulatory or legislative crackdowns.

“Their overtures to Trump—whether through visits to Mar-a-Lago or policy shifts—reflect a pragmatic effort to protect their companies’ interests in an administration known for its punitive approach toward perceived opposition. By adopting more “pro-speech” policies and engaging directly, they aim to reduce scrutiny while adapting to the shifting political winds that could redefine their industry’s operating landscape.”