Gold Outsmarts Buffett: 25-Year Bull Run Leaves Wall Street’s Oracle in the Dust

Legendary investor Warren Buffett recently announced his departure as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. Known for his keen investment acumen, Buffett’s refusal to invest in gold has made him miss out on one of the strongest waves of asset appreciation over the last 25 years.

Back in 1998, just before gold entered a historic bull market, Buffett mocked the precious metal during a speech at Harvard University: “[Gold] gets dug out of the ground in Africa, or someplace. Then we melt it down, dig another hole, bury it again and pay people to stand around guarding it. It has no utility. Anyone watching from Mars would be scratching their head.”

At the time, gold had been in a bear market for nearly two decades since its 1980 peak, making Buffett’s criticism somewhat reasonable back then.

However, the last 25 years delivered a completely different outcome:

From 2000 to the present, gold achieved a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.67%, soaring from $280 per ounce to over $3,300 in May 2025.

Over the same period, the S&P 500 (including dividends) posted a CAGR of just 6.5%.

Gold’s total price appreciation exceeded 1,000%, while the S&P 500 delivered a cumulative return of approximately 400%.

Gold has demonstrated remarkable resilience during periods of market volatility:

It outperformed stocks during major crises, including the dotcom bust in 2000, the 2008 financial crisis, and the COVID19 market panic in 2020.

In 2008, when the S&P 500 plummeted 38%, gold bucked the trend, rising more than 4%.

Its low correlation with stocks, which recently hit a 10-year low, made gold a critical stabilizer in diversified investment portfolios.

Gold has even rivaled Berkshire Hathaway under Buffett’s leadership:

From 1998 to early 2025, gold and Berkshire Hathaway’s Class A shares both increased by 500%-550%.

Between 2000 and 2020, gold surged 532%, while Berkshire gained only 322%.

Buffett, well aware of market risks, has publicly warned about overvalued U.S. stocks and expressed doubts about the future of the U.S. dollar. Berkshire Hathaway now holds over $300 billion in cash reserves after reducing its stake in companies like Apple. Yet, curiously, Buffett has chosen to bet on Japanese yen-based assets instead of gold—despite Japan grappling with challenges like a shrinking population, government debt exceeding 250% of GDP, and near zero interest rates.

The past 25 years have proven gold’s effectiveness as both an inflation hedge and a safe-haven asset. With unchecked money printing by central banks and rampant fiscal deficits becoming the norm, Buffett’s longstanding bias against gold has left a surprising gap in his investment portfolio——one that contrasts with the metal’s exceptional performance and utility during times of economic uncertainty.