Warren Buffett is hoarding $200 billion as he may see 'storm clouds' ahead, says top economist Steve Hanke

• Warren Buffett expects Berkshire Hathaway's cash pile to hit more than $200 billion this quarter.
• The investor can't find assets worth buying and seems to see "storm clouds" ahead, Steve Hanke said.
• "Cash is king, and given what Buffett is being paid to hold it, the king is not going hungry," he said.

Warren Buffett is building a cash pile as he probably can't find anything worth buying, and may be bracing for a tempest to hit, says Steve Hanke.

"Buffett has already picked over the US-listed companies and there isn't much left to whet his appetite," the professor of applied economics at Johns Hopkins University told Business Insider.