The World’s Richest Man Also Getting Hit By The Crisis

Warren Edward Buffett, the famed U.S. investor who replaced Bill Gates as the richest man in the world in 2008, is being seriously hit by the effects of the crisis. Warren Buffett is one of the world’s most successful investors and the largest shareholder and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A). Last year he was ranked by Forbes as the richest person in the world during the first half of 2008, with an estimated net worth of $50.0 billion. The multimillionaire who recorded Berkshire’s worst results ever in 2008, will cut jobs and close factories at a time when the recession worsens.

Berkshire reduced the number of employees in Clayton Homes by 16% last year to 11,998. Shaw Industries will cut 6.2% of their workforce, as cited by Bloomberg. According the same source, “Berkshire’s operating businesses have and will continue to reduce costs to address the current economic situation, including the reduction of production, the lower cost of capital, closing factories and cutting jobs to compensate in part the fall in demand. ” Berkshire joins other companies like General Motors (GM) and Macy’s (M) to lay off workers in the worst financial crisis in seven decades.

It is now clearly evident that not even the rich are immune to the crisis and are likely to lose much with it.

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