Buffett Wins Again: Berkshire To Get $29 Billion Boost Under Trump Tax Plan

Something curious happened as Trump was “draining the swamp” – the man who by some accounts owns the swamp, Hillary Clinton’s billionaire backer Warren Buffett, may be about to get some $29 billion richer, if only on paper, thanks to Trump’s tax-rate cut policies which would boost the book value of Berkshire by as much as $29 billion.
According to an analysis by Barclays, Berkshire may soon enjoy a $29 billion boost to its book value under Trump’s proposed tax reform. ‘We would view this magnitude of increase as favorable for Berkshire shares since it is generally valued on price to book value,’ Barclays analysts led by Jay Gelb said in a note to investors Monday first reported by Bloomberg. Berkshire’s book value was more than $270 billion as of Sept. 30; it would surpass $300 billion should Trump’s proposal for a 15% corporate tax rate be enacted.
Joining in the overall market frenzy, Berkshire has jumped about 8% in New York trading since Trump won the November 8 election, helped by the increasing value of Buffett’sholdings in bank stocks as interest rates climbed, however it appears the prospect of sharply lower taxes has helped.

This post was published at Zero Hedge on Dec 5, 2016.