Warren Buffett and Private Equity Both Love Insurance. The Similarities End There.
December 30, 2025 by Heather gillers
Lots of people want to invest insurance money these days. Nobody does it quite like Warren Buffett.
The seed capital Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway BRK.B 0.55%increase; green up pointing triangle uses to maintain its vast investing empire comes from insurance premiums, dollars that often sit unused for months or years before going to pay claims. That cash—or “float” in Buffettspeak—sounds a lot like the money big private-equity and private-credit firms are increasingly seeking to control.
Wink’s Moore on the Market: Heather Gillers at The Wall Street Journal wrote a nice piece on Berkshire Hathaway and insurance companies that are owned by private equity.
FWIW- 29.16% of the $34.1 billion in annuities sold in 3Q2025 originated through insurance companies with private equity ownership.
Did you think that percentage was higher? Lower? On-the-money? -sjm
