Warren Buffett spent decades teaching people that patience is part of investing. Now Berkshire is sitting on almost $397B in cash and short-term Treasuries. A record. This is not just “money on the sidelines.” This is one of the greatest investors in history looking at the current market and saying: I don’t need to chase this. AI ran. Tech ran. Crypto ran. Risk assets recovered. Everyone found a new reason to be bullish again. And Berkshire still kept stacking cash. That part matters. Because cash at this size is not laziness. It is a position. It means they would rather earn yield and wait than force capital into expensive assets just because the market is moving. And historically, Berkshire does its best work when everyone else suddenly needs liquidity. 2008 was one example. 2020 was another. The point is not “a crash is guaranteed.” The point is simpler: When the crowd is desperate to stay invested at any price, Buffett is comfortable doing nothing. Most people see cash as missed upside. Berkshire sees cash as future power. That is the difference.