Warren Buffett’s 2025 remarks reveal why cash isn’t laziness—it’s leverage. Learn how Millennials and Gen Z can build confidence through cash reserves.
In a bull market, cash looks lazy.
In a downturn, cash becomes king.
At the 2025 Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders Meeting, Warren Buffett explained—once again—why Berkshire keeps over $150 billion in cash equivalents, mainly in U.S. Treasury bills. And no, it’s not because he’s scared of investing.
It’s because he’s playing a different game.
Why Buffett Holds So Much Cash
Here’s what Buffett said:
“We don’t know what tomorrow holds, but we want to be ready when something really attractive comes along.”
He doesn’t try to time recessions. Instead, he stays liquid, so when markets panic, he can act with calm and clarity.
One of Buffett’s lesser-known but equally important quotes sums up this mindset perfectly:
“We’ve made a lot of money by not going all in.”
That single line flips conventional wisdom on its head. While most investors are told to be "all in" all the time, Buffett shows that strategic patience can outperform constant exposure—especially when the unexpected happens.
What Most Investors Get Wrong About Cash
Many Millennials and Gen Z investors are told:
“Cash is trash.”
“You’re losing money to inflation.”
“Time in the market beats timing the market.”
These ideas are catchy—but incomplete.
Cash is not meant to outperform stocks. It’s meant to protect you, prepare you, and position you.
It’s your financial airbag when things crash and everyone else is scrambling.
As Morgan Housel wrote in The Psychology of Money:
“Having cash gives you options. Flexibility is the most underrated form of wealth.”
Real-Life Example: Opportunity Cost vs. Survival
Imagine two investors:
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Investor A is fully invested in growth stocks. When the market drops 30%, they freeze.
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Investor B has 15% in cash. That same drop becomes their buying moment—for Apple, Costco, or dividend stocks.
Who’s in a better position long-term?
A Fidelity study in 2023 showed that investors with modest cash buffers consistently outperformed during turbulent markets—not because they timed it right, but because they were prepared to act when it mattered【Fidelity, 2023】.
3 Reasons Cash Is a Strategic Asset
1. Liquidity Buys Opportunity
Buffett waits for fat pitches. That’s only possible with dry powder ready to deploy.
When your dream ETF dips 20%, do you buy—or just watch?
2. Cash Keeps You Calm
Panic selling happens when you feel trapped.
Even a small cash cushion improves decision-making under pressure, according to research from the National Endowment for Financial Education【NEFE, 2022】.
3. It’s Not About Market Timing—It’s About Life Timing
Sometimes the biggest opportunities aren’t in the stock market:
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Moving across the country
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Starting your own venture
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Quitting a draining job
Cash gives you control, not just returns.
Don’t Confuse Cash with Inaction
Holding cash doesn’t mean you're scared.
It means you're thinking ahead.
Buffett’s strategy is simple but powerful: stay rational, stay liquid, and never be forced to sell when everyone else is scared.
As he reminds us:
“We’ve made a lot of money by not going all in.”
This post was inspired by Warren Buffett’s remarks at the 2025 Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders Meeting.
His message about staying liquid, staying calm, and staying ready was too timely not to share.
In the next post,
we’ll explore another of Buffett’s timeless insights:
“Our favorite holding period is forever.”
Through the lens of The “Hold for 50 Years” Rule – Buffett’s Guide to True Long-Term Investing,
we’ll dive into what it really means to think in decades, not quarters—and why true wealth is built by owning great businesses long enough to let compounding do the work.
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