Buffett still world's third richest person despite shrinking fortune

Warren Buffett's estimated net worth slipped to $82.5 billion from $84 billion a year ago, according to the new annual Forbes ranking of the world's billionaires released Tuesday, but it's still enough to keep him in third place ahead of LVMH's Bernard Arnault with $76 billion.

Amazon's Jeff Bezos is in first place with $131 billion, although that could be reduced dramatically in the future by his planned divorce from his wife, MacKenzie.

Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft (and a close friend of Buffett) is second with $96.5 billion.

Both Buffett and Gates have greatly reduced their net worth over the years by giving away big chunks of their fortunes. Forbes says Gates' lifetime giving totals $35.8 billion, while Buffett has donated $35.1 billion.

Buffett had an estimated $88.3 billion last October when he placed third on the Forbes 400 list of the most wealthy Americans, ahead of Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg in fourth place.

Even though he's 88 years old, Buffett is only the 70th oldest billionaire on this year's Forbes list. At 95 years of age, Buffett's business partner Charlie Munger is the world's ninth oldest billionaire, with an estimated net worth of $1.6 billion.

Buffett plays role in NFL star's decision to play in LA (despite the high tax rate)

Los Angeles Rams defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh, in an interview on Thursday's Bloomberg Business of Sports podcast, said he'll net about $7 million to $8 million after taxes from his one-year $14 million contract with the Rams, with 13 percent of the $14 million going to the "huge tax state" of California.

He previously played for the Miami Dolphins, in part because Florida has no state income tax.

So why play for a California team? Suh says as he gets older, taxes play a smaller role in his decision making. He quotes Buffett as saying there's "intrinsic value" in a city. "So even though LA and the state of California are very high in taxes, there's a lot of intrinsic value in that particular state that I've enjoyed and been able to lean on," like being able to connect with people who invest in sports teams such as Magic Johnson and Peter Guber.

"I'll take a hit in taxes if I have an opportunity to be close to those people."

Suh was playing for the University of Nebraska when he first met Buffett, who has been a mentor ever since. They appeared together in a 2015 CNBC interview that included some arm wrestling.

The Berkshire-Amazon-J.P. Morgan health care company gets a name

Berkshire's insurance unit prepares for Brexit

BERKSHIRE STOCK WATCH

Berkshire Hathaway Class A shares closed at $299,000 Friday, down 0.6% over the previous four weeks, and down 2.8% from one year ago.

Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares closed at $198.70, down 1.1% over the previous four weeks, and down 3.1% from one year ago.

The benchmark S&P 500 index closed at 2743.07, up 1.3% over the previous four weeks, and up 0.1% from one year ago.

BERKSHIRE'S TOP STOCK HOLDINGS 

Berkshire's top stock holdings by market value, based on today's closing prices. The number of shares held is as of December 31, 2018, as disclosed in the company's February 14 13-F SEC filing.

The full list of holdings and current market values is available from CNBC.com's Berkshire Hathaway Portfolio Tracker.

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