Watching what billionaires are doing is just step one of a larger investment process.
There are over 2,900 people in the world with a net worth of over $1 billion, according to the World’s Billionaires List from Forbes. Some build wealth by running a business, and others just allow trust fund managers to build wealth for them. But many of the world’s billionaires continue to grow their wealth through investing in stocks.
Among them are Warren Buffett, Bill Ackman, and David Tepper. Let’s look at one stock each of these investors has bought recently.
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1. Warren Buffett
Warren Buffett became CEO of Berkshire Hathaway through investing. And after taking over the company, he continued to invest in stocks with the company’s cash. That’s continued for decades now, allowing Buffett’s net worth to climb to over $150 billion today. And in recent months, Buffett’s Berkshire has been buying shares of Domino’s Pizza (DPZ -1.96%).
Buffett’s top rule for investing is: “Never lose money.” And I believe Domino’s Pizza stock will adhere to this rule over the long term. Here’s why.
Domino’s is the world’s largest pizza chain. But it mostly franchises its restaurants. The company operates a huge supply chain on behalf of its franchisees, which is a big reason they can run their restaurants profitably. And for its part, Domino’s makes high-margin revenue from franchise fees.
In my view, Domino’s size and supply chain are competitive advantages. The business likely won’t struggle with profitability, and management uses the profits to reward shareholders with stock buybacks and a dividend that routinely goes up.
Domino’s has underperformed the S&P 500 in recent years and could struggle to outperform in coming years. But it will likely increase in value over the long term, which is why it follows Buffett’s top rule.
Berkshire didn’t purchase many shares of Domino’s in the most recent quarter. But its stake did increase, and it now holds over 2.6 million shares of the pizza chain.
2. Bill Ackman
Before he was famous, Bill Ackman was studying Buffett’s investing philosophy to learn what he could. Considering Ackman’s net worth is over $9 billion today, I’d say it worked out pretty well. And in the second quarter, he made an investment in Amazon (AMZN 0.29%) that he believes can carry his net worth higher still.
It’s hard to argue against an investment in Amazon stock. Its relevance to consumers as the largest e-commerce company in the world is impossible to understate.
But it’s also majorly important to businesses as well. Third-party sellers reach customers with Amazon’s marketplace, advertisers can find new customers with its advertising slots, and corporations can get a tech upgrade by using the tools and products on Amazon Web Services (AWS).
Specifically with AWS, Amazon has a cash cow that can reward shareholders for years to come. Over the last 12 months, this cloud-computing division has generated over $110 billion in net sales and has earned the company almost $43 billion in operating income. It’s a huge profit stream for the company that should only continue for the long term, especially with drivers such as artificial intelligence (AI) still ramping up.
Ackman’s hedge fund, Pershing Square, bought 5.8 million shares of Amazon in the second quarter of 2025. It makes the company worth 9% of the portfolio’s value, demonstrating Ackman’s conviction in this stock.
3. David Tepper
Lastly, David Tepper has a net worth of over $21 billion. And his hedge fund, Appaloosa Management, has been busy buying shares of Vistra (VST 2.86%). This used to be a more-sleepy stock. But it’s been a top performer in recent years due to surging demand for electricity.
Energy stocks such as Vistra didn’t see much action for a while because of the low growth in electricity consumption in the U.S. But there are trends that are now catalyzing growth better than anything in the last 20 years. For just a couple of examples of what’s driving growth, management on a recent conference call said, “Hyperscalers continue to invest in AI and data center infrastructure,” and these things are energy intensive.
The conversation regarding nuclear energy is heating up as investors wonder what will meet growing energy demand. But while many investors are focusing on nuclear start-ups, Vistra already produces nuclear power as well as generating electricity from a variety of other sources.
To be clear, Tepper’s Appaloosa hasn’t purchased any shares of Vistra since the fourth quarter of 2024. In fact, it was a seller in the two most recent quarters. That said, it was among the top 100 stocks that were being bought by hedge funds in the second quarter of 2025, according to the website HedgeFollow. And Tepper’s position is still substantial considering it’s valued at roughly $350 million.
Play your own game
Buffett, Ackman, and Tepper have made a lot of money by investing in stocks, and right now each could make even more money if shares of Domino’s Pizza, Amazon, and Vistra go up.
However, readers should remember that all investors have different financial needs, goals, and time horizons. Therefore, nobody should blindly copy another investor’s decisions, expecting things to work out fine. To the contrary, all investors should understand the companies they’re invested in and should make their own decisions.
Looking at what billionaires are buying is a good way to generate investment ideas — and Domino’s, Amazon, and Vistra are good ideas, in my view. But coming up with an idea is just the first step in a longer process of creating an investment thesis before buying shares.
Great Job newsfeedback@fool.com (Jon Quast) & the Team @ The Motley Fool Source link for sharing this story.
