<div id="readability-page-1"><div><div>Author: Curry｜Deep Tide TechFlowYesterday, Buffett gave an exclusive interview to CNBC.This is the first time he has sat down and talked for so long since stepping down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway on January 1st of this year. At 95 years old, after 60 years at the helm, and handing over the reins to Greg Abel, one would think he could stop talking.But he talked about Apple, the Federal Reserve, Bill Gates and Epstein, Iran's nuclear weapons, and also announced that his charity lunch, after a four-year hiatus, will be revived.There's a lot of information; let's go through it one by one.<img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://img.jinse.com.cn/7445782_image3.png?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="600" height="345" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://img.jinse.com.cn/7445782_image3.png"/><h2>I. Going to work on the first day of retirement</h2>Buffett said he still goes to the office every day.Every day before the market opens, he calls Mark Millard, Berkshire Hathaway's Chief Financial Officer, to discuss market dynamics and trades. Millard's office is about six meters away from his; after the call, he goes to execute the trade. When asked about recent moves, Buffett said yes, he made a tiny purchase (one lot), but didn't disclose what it was. He also drew a line: he wouldn't make any investments Abel disagreed with, and Abel receives a daily summary of investment developments. This arrangement sounds like &#34;final decision-making power is in the new CEO's hands,&#34; but in another way, it also means the 95-year-old predecessor is present, involved, and trading daily, while the successor works six meters away. In the interview, Buffett praised Abel repeatedly, saying Abel does more work in a day than he did in a week at his peak, and that he'd rather have him manage his money than entrust it to any top American investment advisor. In name, he withdrew. But this &#34;withdrawal&#34; is more like going from CEO to someone sitting on the sidelines. II. Sold Apple too early, but won't buy again. In this interview, Buffett admitted one thing: Berkshire Hathaway sold its Apple stake too early. His exact words were: &#34;I sold it too soon. But, I bought it even sooner, so.&#34; In other words, he sold early, but bought even earlier, so he still made a profit. He revealed that Berkshire Hathaway's pre-tax profit on this Apple investment exceeded $100 billion. Here's the timeline: Berkshire Hathaway began buying Apple around 2016, and its holdings grew to a peak of over $170 billion, making it Berkshire's largest single holding in history. Between 2023 and 2024, Berkshire reduced its Apple position by about two-thirds. As of the end of last year, according to SEC filings, Berkshire held approximately 22.79 million shares of Apple, worth about $62 billion, still representing 22.6% of its entire portfolio and remaining its largest holding. Warren Buffett said that Apple is better than any company wholly owned by Berkshire. Berkshire Hathaway's railroad company, BNSF, has a market capitalization higher than its Apple holdings, yet Apple remains at the top of its portfolio. He also praised Apple CEO Tim Cook as a &#34;fantastic manager,&#34; saying Cook doesn't know how he gets along with everyone in the world. However, when asked if he would increase his holdings, Buffett gave a conditional answer: it's not impossible; if Apple's price drops to a certain level, Berkshire will buy heavily. But not now, &#34;not in this market.&#34; Apple has fallen more than 14% from its peak this year, but in Buffett's view, it hasn't reached a price he's willing to sell at. <h2>III. After three 50% drops, what's this now?</h2>US stocks haven't fared well this year. As of the day of the interview, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down about 5% year-to-date, the S&amp;P 500 was down about 6%, and the Nasdaq was down about 9%. Apple itself has also retreated more than 14% from its year-to-date high.Buffett's reaction was: There's nothing to be excited about.He said that since he took over Berkshire Hathaway, the company's stock price has fallen by more than 50% at least three times. Compared to those, this current drop is nothing.He also didn't show any intention to make a major move. For him, the current market is far from the historical moment that &#34;created great opportunities.&#34; In just a few words, he's saying both not to panic and not to expect to buy at the bottom now. Fourth, the inflation target should be zero. When asked whether the Federal Reserve is more concerned about inflation or employment, Buffett didn't directly choose sides, but said something even more significant: he hopes the Fed's inflation target is zero. His logic is that once you say you can tolerate 2% inflation, that number becomes incredibly significant over the long term with compound interest. Moreover, for ordinary people, if you save money and earn 2% interest, but then have to pay taxes on that 2%, it means your purchasing power is actually declining. Buffett also said that he is more concerned about the dollar's status as the global reserve currency and the stability of the banking system than employment data. He praised Federal Reserve Chairman Powell's decisive action during the outbreak of the pandemic in March 2020, saying that if it had been delayed by two or three weeks, it would have been a disaster, &#34;Once the dominoes start falling, they fall faster than anyone thinks.&#34; In Buffett's mind, Powell and Paul Volcker, who tamed inflation with aggressive interest rate hikes in the 1980s, are the two most respectable figures in the history of the Federal Reserve. However, he is not without criticism of the Federal Reserve. He sees the 2% inflation target as a mistake, arguing that it's tantamount to telling everyone that spending money is worse than saving. V. The Charity Lunch is Back! What prompted Buffett to change his mind was the death of one person. Cecil Williams, founder of the Glide Foundation, passed away in 2024. Glide is a San Francisco-based charity that helps the homeless. Buffett's ex-wife, Susan, had been a long-time volunteer there. Starting in 2000, Buffett auctioned off an annual opportunity to dine with him, donating all proceeds to Glide. This lunch was held for 22 years, and after the final event in 2022, Buffett announced it would no longer be held. [Image: The person in the middle is Cecil Williams] But Cecil's death changed his mind. Buffett said that Cecil believed Glide should not die when he passed away. This time, the new lunch has a different format. Warren Buffett will no longer be attending alone; he will be accompanied by four-time NBA champion Stephen Curry and his wife, Ayesha Curry. The auction begins on eBay on May 7th, with a starting bid of $50,000. The winning bidder can bring up to seven guests to Omaha on June 24th for lunch with three people. Half of the proceeds will be donated to Glide, and the other half to the Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation, founded by the Currys, a non-profit organization that helps Oakland youth. The last cryptocurrency-related auction was in 2019, when Tron founder Justin Sun spent $4.57 million. Since then, Buffett has donated the Bitcoin Justin Sun gave him. VI. No Longer in Contact with Gates This is the first time Buffett has publicly spoken about Bill Gates since stepping down. He said he hasn't spoken to Gates since the Epstein documents were released. His exact words were: &#34;I don't want to be in a position where I know things... to be called as a witness.&#34; He doesn't want to know too much and doesn't want to be subpoenaed to testify. Buffett and Gates have had a relationship spanning decades. In 2010, they jointly launched the Giving Pledge, calling on the world's richest people to pledge to donate the majority of their wealth to charity. Since 2006, Warren Buffett has donated over $43 billion to the Gates Foundation. Gates' relationship with Epstein began in 2011, three years after Epstein's 2008 plea in Florida for sex crimes. Since the end of last year, the U.S. Department of Justice and Congress have released a large number of related documents, including emails and photos between Gates and Epstein. According to a previous report by the Wall Street Journal, Gates apologized to Gates Foundation employees in February of this year, admitting to his relationship with Epstein and acknowledging an extramarital affair. Gates has accepted an invitation from the U.S. House Oversight Committee to testify on this matter, but the date has not yet been set. When asked if he and Gates were still good friends, Buffett's tone was restrained. He mentioned their past collaboration on the Giving Pledge, but then added: &#34;I don't think it's necessary to say more until things are clear.&#34; VII. Nuclear Weapons Will Be Used Sooner or Later. The interview concluded with a discussion of Iran. Buffett said that there are currently nine countries in the world possessing nuclear weapons. During the Cold War, there were only two, the United States and the Soviet Union, and everyone was extremely tense. But back then, the decision-makers on both sides were at least rational. Now, the situation is completely different. He specifically mentioned Iran and North Korea. He said the most dangerous scenario is that the person holding the nuclear button is about to die or facing immense shame. In such a situation, no one can predict what decision a person will make. When asked what advice he would give to the US president on dealing with Iran's enriched uranium, Buffett didn't offer specific advice, but instead said something that sounded fatalistic: Nuclear weapons will be used within the next hundred or perhaps two hundred years. He didn't know exactly how it would happen, but he believed it was a matter of probability, and the more countries possessing nuclear weapons, the higher the probability. Regarding whether Iran should possess nuclear weapons, he only said: If Iran had nuclear weapons, things would be more difficult than if it didn't. A 95-year-old man who witnessed the end of World War II, the entire Cold War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the collapse of the Soviet Union... His final assessment during the interview was thought-provoking. The interview lasted about an hour, and he covered everything that could be discussed. But the detail that struck me most was this: Buffett, at 95 and three months out of office, didn't utter a single word about &#34;reflecting&#34; or &#34;summarizing his life&#34; in front of the camera. Everything he said was forward-looking. Should he still buy Apple products? How should the Federal Reserve set its goals? How will the situation in Iran develop? What should be done about the new charity lunch?... The host, Becky Quick, sitting across from him, gave him many opportunities to reminisce, but he declined them all. You rarely see someone who has relinquished power still more interested in the future than in the past. Even when the stock market guru is old, he may still be a guru. It's just that before he voted with money, now he votes with his judgment.</div></div></div>

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Warren Buffett, in his first interview since stepping down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, discussed various topics including his daily involvement in the company, his views on Apple, and the current stock market. He admitted to selling Apple shares too early but remains cautious about buying more, stating it's not the right time in the current market. Buffett emphasized that the recent stock market declines are not significant compared to past drops and expressed a desire for the Federal Reserve to target zero inflation.

- Warren Buffett gave an exclusive interview to CNBC, the first since stepping down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.  
- He discussed various topics, including his ongoing work with the company, his views on investments in Apple, and his hopes for the Federal Reserve’s inflation target.  
- Buffett also announced the return of his charity lunch, now featuring Stephen Curry, and expressed concerns about nuclear weapons proliferation.

95-year-old Warren Buffett said 7 things: Now is not the time to buy the dip.