Warren Buffett and Billionaires Are Crazy About These 7 Stocks

1. Mastercard (MA): In addition to Warren Buffett, there were 17 other billionaires who bet at least $10 million on Mastercard. Stephen Mandel had $864 million invested in the stock at the end of June. Andreas Halvorsen also had a huge position of $721 million in the stock. Buffett’s position was close to $300 million. Mastercard isn’t a new investment idea. Three years ago Julian Robertson presented his bullish thesis on Mastercard and Visa in a CNBC interview (you can watch it here). Robertson said that these stocks aren’t exposed to credit risk and they will continue to grow at 20+% rates in the foreseeable future. He thinks these two stocks are more like technology stocks rather than financial services stocks. He was right. Mastercard tripled over the last 3 years. Mastercard management still thinks they will be able to grow their EPS at an annual rate of 20% at the very least. Berkshire is holding on to Mastercard because it is a stock with large sustainable moat and should continue to grow at decent rates.