Topline
The U.S.’ richest person Elon Musk wants billionaire investor Warren Buffett to be the top official overseeing the nation’s economy, Musk tweeted Thursday, suggesting he thinks it’s time for a portfolio manager to take charge rather than somebody more policy-focused.
Warrenn Buffett at Berkshire Hathaway’s 2019 shareholder meeting.
Key Facts
Responding to a question on his ideal pick for Treasury Secretary rather than current secretary Janet Yellen, Musk said he’d “probably” choose Buffett, the 92-year-old CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.
Musk asserted Buffett could perform his duties as the highest-ranking economic official in the world’s largest economy in “less than an hour’s time per week.”
Taking issue with Yellen’s defense of the nation’s rising national debt, Musk explained: “Any highly successful investor with a long track record would do a good job – the job is essentially fund management at scale.”
It’s unlikely that Buffett would be a fan of usurping Yellen; at Berkshire Hathaway’s 2014 meeting with shareholders, Buffett called Ben Bernanke, Yellen’s predecessor as Federal Reserve chair, a “hero” and “very smart man,” adding he felt the “same way” about Yellen.
Forbes Valuations
Musk, the CEO and largest shareholder of SpaceX, Tesla and Twitter, is the second-wealthiest person in the world, worth $187.9 billion, per Forbes’ most recent estimates. Buffett’s $109.7 billion wealth pile is the fifth-biggest in the U.S. and sixth-largest in the world.
Key Background
Just last week, Musk took a swipe at Buffett’s investing chops, replying to a video lauding Buffett for his diverse winning investments that Buffett “could have just invested in Tesla…when he had the opportunity to do so.” Musk claimed in February he met with Charlie Munger, Buffett’s right hand man and Berkshire Hathaway’s vice chairman, in 2008. Musk is an outspoken critic of Yellen and her Fed counterpart Jerome Powell’s respective aggressive economic and monetary policies.
Further Reading
2023 World Billionaires List (Forbes)
Warren Buffett: My Greatest Investing Advice And The Investments Everyone Should Make (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2023/04/06/elon-musk-warren-buffett-should-replace-yellen-as-us-treasury-secretary/