When it comes to market-beating investors, two names consistently dominate the conversation: Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.B) CEO Warren Buffett and Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). These two investing heavyweights share more than you might expect—overlapping stock holdings, a knack for outpacing the market, and now, they're the stars of a viral comparison that's generating millions of impressions and reigniting the heated debate about whether Congress members should be allowed to trade stocks at all.

The Viral Tweet That Started It All

A tweet from @ianonpatriot on X has been making the rounds, racking up over five million impressions and plenty of heated commentary. The post compares the reported returns of Pelosi's portfolio, Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A), and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) from the second quarter of 2012 through the third quarter of 2024.

According to the viral tweet, here's how the numbers shake out:

• Pelosi: +941.1%
• Buffett: +452.2%
• S&P 500: +435.0%

"Nancy Pelosi absolutely DESTROYED Warren Buffett in the stock market since 2012. This is insanity," the tweet proclaims.

Those are some remarkable numbers, if accurate. But here's where things get interesting—and a bit murky. The tweet doesn't specify exact dates used for the calculations, and when you run the numbers manually from the start of Q2 2012 (April 1, 2012) through the end of Q3 2024 (September 30, 2024), you get different results. The S&P 500 shows a gain of 308.0%, while Berkshire Hathaway clocked in at +467.2%.

The Challenge of Tracking Congressional Returns

Here's the thing about tracking Pelosi's investment performance: it's genuinely difficult to nail down precise figures. Congressional trading disclosures don't reveal specific share amounts, and Pelosi's portfolio includes options positions that make calculating exact annual returns considerably more complex. The trades disclosed are technically those made by her venture capitalist husband, Paul Pelosi, but they've become a proxy for tracking the congresswoman's market savvy.

That said, data from UnusualWhales consistently ranks Pelosi among the top-performing members of Congress year after year. In 2024 alone, she was estimated to have been up 70.9% compared to a 24.9% gain for SPY. Those kinds of returns would make any professional portfolio manager jealous.

How Are They Doing in 2025?

The viral comparison stops at the third quarter of 2024, which means it leaves out an important data point: what's happened this year. So far in 2025, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust is up 16.4%, while Berkshire Hathaway shares have risen 11.0%. That means Buffett is currently trailing the index this year—potentially marking his final year as CEO with an underperformance. For context, Berkshire has outperformed the S&P 500 in 11 of the last 20 years, including three of the last four.

Pelosi's 2025 performance is harder to track since she hasn't disclosed many trades during the year. But the moves she has made are worth noting.

In June, she disclosed exercising 200 call options of Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) shares on June 20. Broadcom hit $253.52 that day and now trades at $337.32—a cool 33% gain.

Pelosi also disclosed buying options in several major tech names and other stocks on January 14. Here's how those positions have performed since purchase:

• Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN): Jan. 14 $221.82, Now $229.01
• Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL): Jan. 14 $191.98, Now $304.89
• Nvidia Corporation (NVDA): Jan. 14 $136.38, Now $180.63
• Tempus AI (TEM): Jan. 14 $34.62, Now $64.01
• Vistra Corp (VST): Jan. 14 $175.00, Now $164.82

Four of the five stocks are up since the options were purchased, with three showing significant gains. And because these are options positions rather than straight stock purchases, the actual gains could be substantially higher depending on the strike prices and expiration dates.

The End of an Era

Here's the bittersweet news for investors who have built entire strategies around following Buffett and Pelosi: both may soon be stepping away from the spotlight. Buffett is stepping down as Berkshire CEO at the end of 2025, ending one of the most legendary runs in investing history. Meanwhile, Pelosi has announced she won't seek re-election in 2026, meaning she'll be leaving Congress in 2027.

For years, retail investors have tracked both figures for potential trading ideas, whether through Berkshire's 13-F filings or congressional disclosure forms. The debate about whether members of Congress should be allowed to trade individual stocks continues to rage, fueled in part by viral posts like this one that highlight just how well some politicians perform in the market.

Whether the viral tweet's numbers are perfectly accurate or not, one thing is clear: both Pelosi and Buffett have demonstrated a remarkable ability to beat the market over extended periods. That's an achievement worth noting, even as questions about access, information, and fairness continue to swirl around congressional stock trading.