The World’s Most Famous Investor Made a Colossal Fortune on BYD Stocks

In 2008, a bold bet was placed on a little-known Chinese automaker, BYD. Warren Buffett’s investment company, Berkshire Hathaway, invested 1.8 billion Hong Kong dollars in the company, which at the time was not yet proven on the global stage. Seventeen years later, that bet paid off, and Buffett decided it was time to exit.Quarterly reporting from Berkshire Hathaway Energy confirms that the company has completely sold its stake in BYD. The exit happened gradually. Starting in 2022, the company quietly reduced its holdings over 15 separate sale rounds. Before the sales began in the late summer of that year, Berkshire’s stake was valued at approximately $7.7 billion.When Buffett first bought 225 million shares of BYD on the advice of his investment partner Charlie Munger, the company’s shares were trading for just 8 Hong Kong dollars. According to data, BYD shares have risen by 3890% since Buffett’s investment. The exact amount of profit realized by Berkshire Hathaway has not been disclosed, but it is in the billions of dollars.Following the sale, BYD’s General Manager of Branding and Public Relations, Li Yunfei, thanked Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway for the investment. At its peak, the investment company owned approximately 10 percent of the Chinese automaker.The news of the exit negatively impacted the market: BYD shares fell by 3.4 percent, becoming one of the weakest performers in the Hong Kong index of Chinese companies.Last year, BYD sold a total of 4.27 million vehicles worldwide. Of these, 1.76 million were fully electric cars, and 2.49 million were plug-in hybrids. This year, the company hoped to deliver up to 5.5 million cars, but due to increased competition and a slowdown in the domestic market, it has lowered this forecast to 4.6 million vehicles.The complete exit of Berkshire Hathaway from BYD’s capital marks the end of one of the most famous and successful investments in the automotive sector. Although the short-term market reaction was negative, BYD’s long-term success has demonstrated the viability of its business model. The company continues to dominate the electric vehicle market, and its future growth rate will likely depend on its ability to adapt to global challenges and competition. This episode also serves as a reminder of the cyclical nature of investments, where even the most successful partnerships can naturally reach their logical conclusion.