Warren Buffett , probably the best investor who ever lived and certainly one of the richest, has never paid a dividend to investors in his $1 trillion Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate.

This is not because he doesn’t have spare cash . At the moment, he is sitting on about $375bn worth (£278bn).

But while he buys shares in companies that pay regular dividends – loves them – he doesn’t think it is Berkshire’s job to pay them to its investors .

His point is that his job is - or was, as he stepped down as chief executive at the start of 2026 - to do something smart with your money , not hand it back to you because he hasn’t got any better ideas.

John D Rockefeller, the founder of Standard Oil and America’s first billionaire, had a different view. “Do you know the only thing that gives me pleasure?” he supposedly mused near the end of a storied life.…