Warren Buffett's Secret Obsession: What America's Top Investor Watches on YouTube Every Night
Warren Buffett, who recently turned 96, spends his evenings watching diverse YouTube videos on a giant television screen in Omaha. Ranging from vintage music to foreign talent shows, his viewing habits offer a surprisingly relatable glimpse into the legendary investor's downtime.
Ever feel guilty about spending hours every day scrolling through YouTube? Don't. Warren Buffett is right there with you.
From Glenn Close clips to 1950s commercials and Paul Anka performances, the legendary investor simply can't get enough of the platform. Buffett also enjoys speeches by completely unknown individuals, watches Berkshire Hathaway's own video content, and takes pride in their performance on the video-sharing site. He tunes in almost every evening, typically from his television armchair at home in Omaha.
"Warren's interests are broad," says Sharon Osberg, a close friend of Buffett who frequently watches with him. "They can be the silliest things."
Buffett also gets sucked down random rabbit holes, just like the rest of us. The next day, he might arrive at the office and rave about an amateur yet moving rendition of the song "My Way."
In August, Osberg visited Buffett at his home in Omaha, where the two spent hours on YouTube. "We watched a really good documentary about Roy Cohn," she shares, "and also the Uzbek version of 'America's Got Talent.'"
That would be O'zbekiston Got Talent. It remains unclear whether Buffett is among the channel's 34,500 subscribers.
Buffett, who recently turned 96 and stepped down as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, declined to comment on his YouTube viewing habits.
Embracing the Digital Era at His Own Pace
For most of his life, Buffett was notoriously slow to adopt new technologies. It took years for him to get an iPhone, and to this day, he relies on others to send and receive his emails. But when it comes to YouTube, he is right in the zeitgeist. Last year, YouTube became the most-watched video streaming provider on U.S. televisions, as audiences increasingly enjoy watching content on big screens rather than phones or other devices.
And that is precisely how Buffett watches YouTube—on a massive television screen in his home. At the office, he is renowned for poring over annual reports in search of details that could lead to a lucrative investment, dedicating his mornings to CNBC. But in the evenings, YouTube takes center stage. According to his amused friends, the content he watches almost never relates to investments or finance.
In January, Buffett passed the CEO role to his successor, though he remains involved in investment decisions. Over the past year or so, Berkshire Hathaway has become a major shareholder in Alphabet, YouTube's parent company, accumulating a stake worth $38 billion.
So is his love for YouTube secretly the reason Berkshire became so bullish on Alphabet? Hardly. According to friends, he simply loves watching videos. They often relate to lifelong interests: musical numbers, trains, the big band era, Nebraska, and early 1930s performances by Frank Sinatra.
Unexpected Favorites and Fond Memories
Friends joke that he has become such an expert at navigating the platform that even YouTube's management could learn a thing or two from him. Buffett is also fond of other forms of entertainment, particularly Turner Classic Movies. The channel frequently broadcasts "12 Angry Men," one of Buffett's favorite films for years, starring fellow Omaha native Henry Fonda.
Yet, Buffett does not consume entertainment quite like the rest of us. He recently forgot which channel TCM was on his cable box before recalling, "Two to the eighth power," referring to channel 256. Perhaps he isn't entirely like us after all.
Some might be surprised to learn that modern history's most successful investor spends his evenings watching clips of Bill Murray movies, including "Lost in Translation," another favorite. Occasionally, Buffett has personal ties to the entertainers he watches, which explains at least part of the enthusiasm. Murray is a longtime Berkshire shareholder and has even attended the company's annual meetings.
"He really makes me laugh," Murray told CNBC earlier this year. "A big, whole-body laugh."
But Buffett is not the only legendary investor who unwinds at the end of the day with unexpected distractions. His late longtime partner and friend, Charlie Munger, used to wrap up his day with an episode of "Seinfeld" and a good book.
"I actually like a bunch of self-absorbed people making bad decisions," Munger once told an interviewer about the show. "It's not really about anything."
Recently, Buffett has used YouTube to reminisce about Munger, who passed away in 2023. According to colleagues and friends, he watches speeches by Munger—such as a 2018 lecture at the University of Michigan—and marvels at his wit and wisdom.
"When Warren watches Charlie, you can feel the bond they shared," Osberg says. "It really is something special."
