Warren Buffett in Le Monde: From prosaic investor to finance guru

Fans of the stock market, balance sheets and American success stories are in mourning: Star investor Warren Buffett, the world’s fifth-richest man, announced on May 3 that he will leave his group, Berkshire Hathaway, at the end of 2025. The company’s market capitalization exceeds $1 trillion on Wall Street. This comes as a well-deserved retirement at 94 for a man celebrated for the efficiency of his investments – Coca-Cola, Bank of America, Chevron – his philanthropic actions and his reassuring profile as an old-school capitalist in a world plagued by the chaos sown by Donald Trump and his tech allies.

The first time Buffett appeared in Le Monde was following his foray in the rather prosaic field of razors. Gillette, the American giant of “the best a man can get,” was in crisis, battered by repeated hostile takeovers. The company, forced to find fresh capital, sold 11% of its shares to Buffett. “In exchange, this investor, who claims to be making a long-term commitment to Gillette, joined the board of directors,” wrote Serge Marti on March 2, 1990. No one would come to regret this.

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