NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Warren Buffett became the world’s second-richest man after shares of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. hit a record high on Friday.
Berkshire Hathaway Class B BRK.B, +0.84% shares have been up more than 27% year-to-date, trading at $152 a share.
The new share price pushes the 84-year-old investor past Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim to take the second spot, according to Bloomberg. Buffett is now second only to Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft Corp. MSFT, -1.50%
Buffett’s wealth has been on the rise this year with Berkshire Hathaway Class A BRK.A, +0.96% shares trading at $227,650 a share. Shares of Class B stock rose above $200,000 for the first time in August after the Oracle of Omaha wrote in the company’s annual report that its real net worth was growing faster than its book value.
Buffett’s fortune is estimated to be $73.7 billion, approximately $300 million more than Slim’s.
Berkshire Hathaway has been on an acquisition spree in recent months.
In November, Berkshire announced it would buy battery maker Duracell for $4.7 billion from Procter & Gamble PG, +0.42% In October, the company announced it would buy the Van Tuyl Group, the biggest privately-held automobile dealership group in the U.S., for an undisclosed amount.
Earlier this year, Berkshire bought a Miami TV station from Graham Holdings Co. GHC, -0.10% in a stock swap after holding shares in the company for more than four decades.
The company also plans to help finance Burger King Worldwide Inc.’sBKW, -2.84% planned takeover of Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons Inc.THI, -1.35% with $3 billion in funding.
