It's easy to make billions of dollars when you're Warren Buffett. How? His company, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A -1.05%) (BRK.B -0.83%), has hundreds of billions of dollars invested in businesses that are continually working hard to make more money.
Some of the big bucks the legendary investor will make this year will come especially easily. Here's how Buffett is set to rake in nearly $6 billion in dividend income this year.
Five heavy lifters
Let's start with the five heavy lifters among Buffett's dividend stocks. Berkshire's second-largest holding, Bank of America (BAC -3.53%), is its biggest source of dividends. BofA should pay close to $909 million in dividends to Berkshire this year.
Apple (AAPL -1.92%) is Berkshire's biggest holding and makes up more than 47% of Berkshire's total portfolio. Although Apple's dividend yield of 0.56% is paltry, Buffett will still receive in the ballpark of $879 million in dividends from the tech company.
Chevron (CVX -0.83%) ranks as the sixth-largest holding in Berkshire's portfolio. Thanks to its juicy dividend, though, the oil and gas giant is the second-biggest source of dividends for Buffett. Chevron should fork over roughly $800 million in dividends to Berkshire this year.
Buffett has owned shares of Coca-Cola (KO -0.14%) for a long time. The stock continues to be one of his biggest income machines and should generate dividends of $736 million for Berkshire in 2023.
Berkshire owns such a huge stake in Kraft Heinz (KHC 0.77%) that the conglomerate includes Kraft Heinz in its list of subsidiaries. Kraft Heinz should contribute around $521 million in dividend income for Berkshire this year.
The rest of the bunch
The Wall Street Journal recently estimated that Berkshire's entire portfolio will pull in dividend income of roughly $5.7 billion this year. Buffett's top five dividend payers will generate combined dividend income for Berkshire of more than $3.8 billion in 2023. The nearly $2 billion in remaining dividends will come from two dozen or so other stocks in Berkshire's portfolio. Three of those stocks especially stand out.
Like Coca-Cola, American Express (AXP -0.03%) has been a longtime holding for Buffett. The financial services giant should provide dividend income of close to $364 million for Berkshire in 2023.
Buffett has become a big fan of Occidental Petroleum (OXY -2.22%) lately. The oil stock is on track to contribute around $152 million in dividend income for Berkshire this year.
Technology pioneer HP (HPQ -0.61%) ranks as another solid source of dividends for Buffett. The company should kick in roughly $127 million in dividend income for Berkshire in 2023.
An even brighter future
Berkshire's dividend income is likely to increase going forward. While Kraft Heinz cut its dividend a few years ago, it's definitely an outlier.
Bank of America has raised its dividend payouts by nearly 47% over the last five years. Apple and Chevron have increased their dividends by more than 30% during the same period. Coca-Cola is a Dividend King, with 61 consecutive years of dividend hikes. Each of these companies seems likely to continue increasing their dividends in the coming years.
