Warren Buffett, 96, hasn’t consumed water in roughly half a century, according to a dinner guest who finally revealed what the billionaire drinks instead.
Bill Ackman, 59, shared the anecdote on the Equity Mates podcast this week, recounting an evening when the Berkshire Hathaway legend came to his home for a meal. The hedge fund manager had stocked up on Cherry Coke beforehand, knowing Buffett’s famous preference.
The preparation proved necessary. Ackman explained that earlier that night, the pair had been at a restaurant where Buffett was offered sparkling or still water. He declined both. When Ackman later pressed him on the habit, Buffett delivered a memorable line.
“But I said, you know, ‘don’t you drink water?’ And he said, ‘Bill, I haven’t had water in 48 years’,” Ackman recalled on the podcast.
The timeline Buffett cited would place his last sip of water sometime in the 1970s. His beverage of choice since then has been Coca-Cola products, particularly Cherry Coke, which he reportedly consumes at a rate of five cans daily.
Buffett’s devotion to the brand runs deeper than personal taste. In 1986, he informed the Berkshire Hathaway board that Cherry Coke would become the official drink of company meetings. Two years later, his company began accumulating Coca-Cola shares, and by 1989 he had announced a $1 billion investment in the Atlanta-based corporation. Berkshire Hathaway’s stake eventually grew to approximately 9 percent of the company, a move Buffett described as him “putting his money where his mouth is.”
The soda habit has become a signature element of Buffett’s public persona. Back in 2015, he joked that he was “one quarter Coca-Cola” because the beverage accounted for roughly 25 percent of his daily caloric intake. The quip underscored both his candor and his unapologetic attachment to the brand.
Buffett’s loyalty to Coke actually represented a switch. For the first four-plus decades of his life, he had been a Pepsi drinker. In 1986, he announced that after “48 years of allegiance” to Pepsi, he was jumping ship to Cherry Coke.
His diet extends to other indulgences. Buffett is known for McDonald’s breakfasts, chocolate chip ice cream, potato sticks, and the occasional breakfast of Coke paired with ice cream. He retired as Berkshire Hathaway’s CEO last year after 60 years at the helm, though he remains associated with the conglomerate he built into one of the world’s most valuable companies.
Despite the nutritional profile of his daily menu, Buffett has maintained his health into his mid-nineties. Whether the soda-centric regimen deserves any credit remains a question he has not seriously entertained.
Ackman’s podcast appearance this week offered a rare personal glimpse into a man whose dietary habits have long fascinated business observers and the public alike. The Cherry Coke stockpile at Ackman’s home suggests those who host Buffett know better than to offer water.
Buffett is scheduled to appear at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder meeting in Omaha this May.