Billionaire Buffett’s Bet On Cannabis

The Powerball is at a $1 Billion – a fraction of Warren Buffett’s worth.  What’s his investment in the marijuana?

Everyone is watching the Powerball with the dream of becoming instantly wealthy. People who win a lottery find all sorts of door open to them.  From building a water park to paying off their family and friend’s mortgage, people have fun spreading their wealth.  But what about the real rich?  Especially the Omaha guru?  He has made a fortune in food, soda, mobile homes, and funeral homes. The pubic feeds on watching billionaire Buffett’s bets on industries, including cannabis.

While born to a connected and comfortable family, Buffett has a strong work ethic. As he began the journey to being worth $110+ billion, he sold products door to door, worked at a grocery store and delivered newspapers.

Buffett’s interest in the stock market and investing dates back to his school days spent in the customers’ lounge of a regional stock brokerage near his father’s own brokerage office.  Who would have guessed way back when, Buffett would have a stake in the marijuana industry? And, like usual, the billionaire Buffett’s bet on cannabis is doing very well thanks to increased consumer cannabis demand.

Buffett and his investment company Berkshire Hathaway don’t directly invest in cannabis.  Rather, like some pharmaceutical companies, the companies where he owns a part invests in the industry.

Coca Cola is a part of his portfolio and was the first to mention getting involved with marijuana.  Buffett made it loud and clear he was not happy with their thinking. Coca Cola decided to pass on the opportunity.

Buffett is a large shareholder in Kraft Heinz, who did jump into cannabis via their investment arm. Thanks to their vision, Buffett just a bit richer.

Kraft Heinz invested $23 million in Flowhub. They are a Denver-based cannabis retail software company. The company’s operations include point of sale, compliance, inventory tracking, and business intelligence data to cannabis dispensaries through a digital platform.

Jay-Z also invested $19 million  Flowhub. Jay-Z is smart to follow Buffett as do some many investors. Flowhub hit $8M Revenue with 500 customers in 2023.  They are starting to make an real impact on dispensary operations.

While the industry seems to be going through a right sizing, consumer use continues to climb and companies like Wana Brands, Flowhub and Curealeaf are doing well.

Source: https://thefreshtoast.com/news/billionaire-buffets-marijuana-bet/