Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has quietly stashed $90 billion into investments over the last 3 years

Good morning, readers. I'm senior reporter Phil Rosen. 

One of my favorite parts of this job is having conversations with folks in and around Wall Street. 

People have varying views on the economy, politics, and pop culture, but as far as reading recommendations are concerned, a consistent pattern emerges. 

Just about everyone advises going through Warren Buffett's annual letters to shareholders.

They date back more than 50 years, and taken together, the writing leaves you with a good grasp of Buffett's business philosophy. 

(His letter this year made a particular splash.)

But the famed investor does much more than write letters, of course. 

Over the past three years, Buffett's empire has been putting cash to work at a particularly fast clip. 

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1. Berkshire Hathaway's latest annual report illustrates that the company has deployed nearly $90 billion in investments since 2020. 

Buffett's firm spent close to $107 billion on stocks — that's just about the market value of Intel — in three years, but sold about $88 billion of that, leaving a net outlay of $18 billion. 

In 2020, Buffett and co. had spent a then-unprecedented $25 billion on stock buybacks, and set a new record of $27 billion in 2021. 

Total share repurchases in three years ended up close to $60 billion. 

Add that to the acquisition of insurance firm Alleghany for about $12 billion, and that puts the total right around $89.5 billion. 

This spending spree is notable not just for its enormous scale but because of the context it happened in. 

Stocks had soared during the pandemic, as SPACs and private equity firms bid up the cost of acquisitions. That's frustrating for a bargain hunter like Buffett, who's complained about the lack of compelling buys in that period.

So his team widened their net. They built up stakes in other companies and ramped up repurchases, and the moves have been working. 

But even after all that, Berkshire still ended last year with $129 billion in cash and short-term investments. 

Buffett's pandemic decisions reflect those from the 2008 financial crisis, when funding dried up and he was one of the few lenders that hadn't gone under. 

It was actually during those down years he made some of his most lucrative bets. 

Let's close with one of Buffett's most quotable quips:

"We simply attempt to be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy only when others are fearful."

What are your thoughts on Buffett's massive spending spree of the last three years? Tweet me (@philrosenn) or email me (prosen@insider.com) to let me know. 

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Curated by Phil Rosen in New York. Feedback or tips? Tweet @philrosenn or email prosen@insider.com.

Edited by Max Adams (@maxradams) in New York and Nathan Rennolds (@ncrennolds) in London.