95-year-old Buffett, speaks out again! The current volatility is "not worth mentioning," and the stock market valuations still do not present an attractive opportunity.

Source: Securities Times Network Author: Xu Xiaoru

Warren Buffett, the “Oracle of Stocks” who is 95, remains active at the forefront of global capital markets and still goes to the office every day to work.

On Tuesday local time, during an appearance on CNBC’s “SquawkBox,” Buffett said that current market valuations still lack appeal, and he admitted that he sold Apple too early.

At the same time, amid discussion about his successor Greg Abel, his Apple investment, and sensitive personal relationship topics, Buffett also rarely offered a series of responses. In addition, Buffett teamed up with NBA superstar Stephen Curry to announce the restart of a charity lunch, and this cross-industry collaboration has once again drawn global attention.

On the market: The current volatility is nothing to worry about

Even though the market has seen a certain degree of adjustment this year, in Buffett’s view, the current decline has not even reached the “strike zone.”

“Since I took over, the market has dropped more than 50% at least three times. What’s happening now is nothing to worry about at all.” Buffett said bluntly that current stock market valuations still do not have appeal. He revealed that during this year’s market downturn, Berkshire did not find many targets worth making large-scale new purchases.

But he also left investors with a suspense: although overall valuations are on the high side, he is still evaluating investment projects and disclosed that he will make a “small-scale” new purchase soon. He reiterated that if the market suffers a truly significant downturn, Berkshire’s enviable cash reserves will be on standby at any time.

Buffett also said that Berkshire Hathaway bought $17 billion worth of Treasury bonds in the weekly Treasury auctions this week. Berkshire Hathaway’s filing states that as of year-end, its cash and cash equivalents on its balance sheet exceed $370 billion, with most of it in Treasuries.

On retirement life: Hand off the reins without leaving the post; respect the successor

Although he transferred the CEO role to Greg Abel at the beginning of 2026, Buffett did not choose to fully retire into leisure.

He said he still goes to the office every day, maintaining a very high level of market sensitivity. Before the market opens each day, he calls Berkshire’s head of financial assets, Mark Millard, to discuss the market, and the latter executes the trades. This “behind-the-scenes strategist” role shows that Buffett remains deeply involved in investment decisions.

Buffett emphasized that although he will pass the CEO position to Greg Abel at the beginning of 2026, he will still be personally hands-on. “I’m not going to make any investments that Greg thinks are wrong… Greg will receive an investment report every day.”

On Apple: He sold too early!

Apple remains Buffett’s top favorite. Buffett estimates that Berkshire’s investment returns in Apple have already exceeded $100 billion, and it is still his number-one concentrated holding.

However, Buffett also rarely “revisited” his decision, saying: “I sold it too early.” Buffett said that if he could choose again, he would want to hold more Apple shares. Although Berkshire reduced its Apple holdings at the end of last year, Buffett said that if the stock price pulls back further into a more attractive range, he would consider increasing its position again.

He said that even though Apple’s stock price has fallen more than 14% from its recent high, and is down more than 6% this month, it still is not attractive right now. “I’m happy that it has become our biggest holding. But I don’t want its position size to be almost as large as all the other holdings combined. It’s not impossible for Apple’s price to fall to the level where we would be willing to buy in large quantities… but not in this market,” he added.

Worth noting is that Buffett has given an extremely high评价 of Apple’s current CEO, Tim Cook, even saying that in certain management dimensions Cook surpasses Jobs. “Cook handles this ‘hand’ far better than Jobs did—Jobs gave him a hand that he couldn’t handle on his own,” Buffett said. Buffett praised Cook as an outstanding manager, with remarkable social balance, and joked that this kind of skill is something he and Charlie Munger couldn’t learn.

First on Gates and Epstein: Keep a distance

On a more sensitive topic, Buffett also made a rare response.

He said that since the events involving Jeffrey Epstein were exposed, he has not communicated with Bill Gates again. “I don’t want to be in that kind of situation where I know certain things, and then I get summoned to testify,” he said.

Even so, Buffett still affirmed the past friendship and charitable collaborations, but emphasized that until the facts are fully clarified, he is not willing to make further statements.

Team up with Curry to restart the “charity lunch”

Besides investments and macro judgments, Buffett also announced a highly anticipated initiative—restarting the charity lunch auction.

This time, he will co-launch the event with NBA superstar Stephen Curry and his wife, Ayesha, and the auction will be conducted through the eBay platform. The proceeds will be donated to nonprofit organizations to support disadvantaged groups and children’s development programs.

The bidding will begin on May 7 on eBay. The final winning bidder will bring along seven friends and will have lunch with Buffett and the Curry couple in Omaha on June 24.

Looking back at history, this 20-year charity event has cumulatively raised more than $50 million, and in 2022 it also set a single-year record of $19 million. With basketball superstar Curry’s backing this time, whether the transaction price will set another record has become a hot topic of shared attention in both the capital markets and sports circles.

Risk insight: Focus on private credit and geopolitics

At the macro level, Buffett remains wary of the currently popular “shadow banking” and private credit risks, believing that the problems may transmit through the banking system.

When discussing the Federal Reserve, he said that if he were in that position, he would also hesitate over whether to cut interest rates. What he is most focused on right now is the inflation trend and the stability of the banking system. On the geopolitical front, he specifically mentioned concerns about Iran’s nuclear issue, and believes this will make global circumstances even more difficult.