Billionaire investor Ron Baron isn’t daunted by the recent selloff in tech stocks, he said, and he’s not holding back on his company’s Tesla stock.
The longtime growth stock investor said he sees the selloff as an opportunity to find bargains, even though recent volatility has rattled tech giants.
“Not much,” Barron said Friday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” when asked what he was doing amid the drawdown. “You just have to look, understand where the opportunities are and try to take advantage of them.”
His beliefs are particularly strong regarding one of his signature bets: Tesla. He recalled that Baron Funds sold a third of its Tesla shares a few years ago after receiving criticism from customers and the media for its heavy concentration in a single stock. The Baron emphasized that his personal position was completely intact.
“I sold 30% for my client. Personally, I didn’t sell a single share,” he said.
Roughly 40% of his personal net worth is invested in electric car makers, 25% in SpaceX and about 35% in Barron Investment Trust.
Tesla stock has fallen 18% from its 52-week high this week as it reconsiders the AI stocks that have led the bull market, and was on track to start Friday down 5%.
Barron said he has already made about $8 billion from Tesla so far and believes he can make five times that amount over the next 10 years.
Mr. Baron spoke of a promise he made to his mutual fund’s board decades ago when it sought approval to invest in public stocks. This commitment effectively tied him to Tesla and SpaceX for life.
“I told the board, ‘If you let me invest a certain amount, I promise I won’t sell any of my stock. I’ll be the last one to sell all my stock,'” he said. “I won’t sell a single stock until my client sells 100% of his stock. And I have no intention of selling Tesla or SpaceX in my lifetime.”
