Warren Buffett has said that "he eats like a 6-year-old."
It seems like that influences his investing decisions, too.
How else would you explain Buffett's quietly creating a portfolio that now includes many of the most beloved junk-food brands in the U.S., from Diary Queen to Coca-Cola? While Buffett likes to tout his long-term outlook -- he said today he would own Kraft "forever" -- he has accumulated his holdings in food companies in a way that would make an impulsive kid happy.
News broke early on Wednesday that Kraft will merge with Heinz to create the world's fifth-largest food company. The deal is another collaboration between Berkshire and private equity firm 3G, which will have a combined 51% of the newly merged company, called Kraft Heinz Co.
Buffett also has significant junk-food cred from the companies he owns more directly, through Berkshire Hathaway. Below, we take a tour of the sugary delights in Buffett's junk-food aisle:
Dairy Queen
Home of the Blizzard, which is essentially a particularly intense version of soft-serve ice cream mixed with any combination of candies and syrups. The treats are so thick that some locations serve them upside down, illustrating that this is no normal ice cream. Try the newest Blizzard flavor, grasshopper mousse pie (pictured above), at your discretion.
See's Candies
Buffett's famous sweet tooth is well-represented in the portfolio of Berkshire Hathaway, which owns See's Candies. He is known to have a particular affinity for this confectioner, once calling the company "the prototype of a dream business."
Mars Incorporated
Berkshire Hathaway, led by Buffett, holds an unknown percentage of Mars, which makes Skittles, Snickers, Twix, M&M's and a variety of other candies. The company is still owned and overseen by the founding Mars family, which controls its board of directors.
Coca-Cola
Berkshire Hathaway owns around 9% of Coca-Cola, making Buffett's company the largest single holder of the beverage maker's stock.
Coke represents another iconic brand that Buffett valued, saying in 1993 about the beverage company and razor-maker Gillette: "The might of their brand names, the attributes of their products and the strength of their distribution systems give them an enormous competitive advantage, setting up a protective moat around their economic castles. The average company, in contrast, does battle daily without any such means of protection."
Heinz
Buffett loves his brands, and Heinz is among the most recognizable in the U.S. Its ketchup adorns the tables of restaurants and homes across the country.
In 2013, Berkshire Hathaway teamed up with Brazilian financier Jorge Paulo Lemann, who also runs private equity firm 3G, to buy the company for $23.2 billion.
Kraft
The food company's list of brands reads like a middle-schooler's grocery list: Lunchables, Jell-O, Kool-Aid, Maxwell House, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Velveeta and Planters.