Currently, Berkshire Hathaway, the corporate conglomerate of the legendary investor Warren Buffetthas more than 45% of its portfolio focused on the technology giant Apple. This investmentcurrently worth more than $150 billion, is rising steadily quarter over quarter.
Although on several occasions Buffett expressed his admiration for the management of Apple and its quality at the time of developing and launching new products, it was never known exactly what was the trigger for which it made the decision to buy its shares. Until now.
In the book After Steve: How Apple became a billion dollar company and lost its soul, written by The Wall Street Journal reporter Tripp Mickle, mentions the anecdote that made the difference.
Specifically, David Gottesman, a member of the Board of Directors of Berkshire Hathaway, suffered a devastating loss when his iPhone fell out of his pocket during a taxi ride in 2016. After mentioning to Ted Weschler, also of the holding company, that he felt losing “an piece of his soul,” Buffett learned.
Surprised, the popular tycoon, who used to avoid technology companies for being outside his “circle of competition”, decided to take a look at Apple.
It was at that moment that he realized how obsessed people were with their smartphones, especially iPhones, and projected that these devices would remain indispensable to many for a long time to come.
“He realized that Weschler was right: the iPhone was not technology, it was a modern Kraft Macaroni & Cheese,” Mickle wrote in the play, referring to one of the most popular dishes of Americans for everyday food. .
From that point on, Warren Buffett continued to buy shares of Apple steadily until the company became the largest in its portfolio.
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