One of Mr Buffett's current investment strategies is to create virtual investment capital by investing in the insurance re-insurance business:

Throw in Mr Buffett's decision to sell much of his holding of long-term government debt while shunning the increasingly expensive equity markets, and Berkshire's coffers swelled by $23bn in 2003 - taking its total cash pile to a record-breaking $36bn.

In many ways, this is exactly what the business model is supposed to do. The sizeable insurance and re-insurance businesses generate a rolling "float" of funds that, if properly managed, can amount to virtually free investment capital. Last year, this float increased from $41bn to $44bn.