Gold Prices Surge to New Heights-Here's Why Warren Buffett Has Been a Skeptic

Key Takeaways Gold prices have surged to new all-time highs in 2025 . The current gold surge is fueled by inflation, economic risks , and the threat to the Federal Reserve's independence. Buffett has called gold an "unproductive” asset that doesn’t generate income. Berkshire had a brief gold mining stake in 2020. In 2025, gold prices are the highest they've ever been, as both investors and central banks increase their holdings to hedge against inflation, economic risks, and the threat to the Federal Reserve's independence . However, legendary investor Warren Buffett has voiced skepticism about gold as a long-term investment. Pictured here is legendary investor Warren Buffett in 2011, the year he voiced skepticism about gold's place in portfolios.Mario Tama / Getty Images In this article, we revisit what Buffett has said about gold, examine his brief pivot into gold mining during the pandemic, and explore when gold might make sense in a long-term portfolio. Warren Buffett’s Skepticism About Gold Buffett has been critical of gold as an investment . In his 2011 Berkshire Hathaway shareholder letter, he described gold as ”neither of much use nor procreative,” emphasizing that it does not produce cash flow or create value over time. Similarly, Buffett remarked in a 2011 interview with CNBC that “gold is a way of going along on fear.” That is, the price of gold relies on market sentiment and demand. When people grow more fearful of the economy, demand for gold rises and its price increases. And when people become less fearful, demand falls, and its price decreases. Ultimately, Buffett’s preference is for assets that generate cash flow and compound over time. The 2020 Surprise: Berkshire’s Brief Bet on Gold Mining In the second quarter of 2020, Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway disclosed that it held a $565 million stake in one of the largest gold mining companies in the world, Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE: B). This decision may have been surprising given Buffett’s previous statements about gold. While it may have been the decision of one of Berkshire Hathaway’s portfolio managers, Ted Weschler or Todd Combs, and not Buffet himself, it was still a notable and industry-altering decision at the time. However, Berkshire Hathaway’s position in the gold mining company was relatively short-lived. The company sold off its shares of Barrick Gold by the end of Q4 2020. Why Gold Is Surging Now In 2025, the price of gold has risen to all-time highs as macroeconomic uncertainty, inflation concerns , and political tensions have made the metal attractive. However, today’s economic environment contrasts with the low-inflation, less volatile environment at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, right before Berkshire Hathaway invested in Barrick Gold in the second quarter of 2020. At that time, inflation was hovered around historically-low levels as the pandemic weighed on global economic activity. More recently, inflation has dropped considerably from a historic high of 9% in June 2022. As of November 2025, it was at 2.7%. Still, inflation sits above the two-percent mark that economists strive...

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