Berkshire Hathaway Inc. () is an American
multinational conglomerate holding company
A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...
headquartered in
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...
, United States. Its main business and source of capital is
insurance
Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...
, from which it invests the float (the retained premiums) in a broad portfolio of subsidiaries, equity positions and other securities. The company has been overseen since 1965 by its chairman and CEO
Warren Buffett
Warren Edward Buffett ( ; born August 30, 1930) is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is currently the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is one of the most successful investors in the world and has a net w ...
and (since 1978) vice chairman
Charlie Munger
Charles Thomas Munger (born January 1, 1924) is an American billionaire investor, businessman, and former real estate attorney. He is vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, the conglomerate controlled by Warren Buffett; Buffett has described Mun ...
, who are known for their advocacy of
value investing
Value investing is an investment paradigm that involves buying securities that appear underpriced by some form of fundamental analysis. The various forms of value investing derive from the investment philosophy first taught by Benjamin Graham ...
principles. Under their direction, the company's book value has grown at an average rate of 20%, compared to about 10% from the
S&P 500
The Standard and Poor's 500, or simply the S&P 500, is a stock market index tracking the stock performance of 500 large companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States. It is one of the most commonly followed equity indices. As of D ...
index with dividends included over the same period, while employing large amounts of capital and minimal debt.
The company's insurance brands include auto insurer
GEICO
The Government Employees Insurance Company (GEICO ) is a private American auto insurance company with headquarters in Chevy Chase, Maryland. It is the second largest auto insurer in the United States, after State Farm. GEICO is a wholly owne ...
and
reinsurance
Reinsurance is insurance that an insurance company purchases from another insurance company to insulate itself (at least in part) from the risk of a major claims event. With reinsurance, the company passes on ("cedes") some part of its own insu ...
firm
General Re
General Reinsurance Corporation is an American multinational property/casualty and life/health reinsurance company offering a range of reinsurance products and services. The company is a primarily direct reinsurer and is represented in all major ...
. Its non-insurance subsidiaries operate in diverse sectors such as
confectionery
Confectionery is the art of making confections, which are food items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates. Exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confectionery is divided into two broad and somewhat overlapping categories ...
,
retail
Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and t ...
,
railroads
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...
,
home furnishings
Furniture refers to movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., Stool (seat), stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (table (furniture), tables), storing items, eating and/or working with an item, and sleepin ...
, machinery,
jewelry
Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry (U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a western ...
, apparel, electrical power and
natural gas
Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...
distribution. Among its partially owned businesses are
Pilot Flying J
Pilot Travel Centers LLC, doing business as Pilot Flying J, is a North American chain of truck stops in the United States and Canada. The company is based in Knoxville, Tennessee, where Pilot Corporation, the majority owner, is based. The compan ...
(38.6%),
Kraft Heinz Company
The Kraft Heinz Company (KHC), commonly known as Kraft Heinz, is an American multinational food company formed by the merger of Kraft Foods and Heinz co-headquartered in Chicago and Pittsburgh. Kraft Heinz is the third-largest food and beverage ...
(26.7%),
American Express
American Express Company (Amex) is an American multinational corporation specialized in payment card services headquartered at 200 Vesey Street in the Battery Park City neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. The company was found ...
(18.8%),
Bank of America
The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank w ...
(11.9%),
The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation founded in 1892, best known as the producer of Coca-Cola. The Coca-Cola Company also manufactures, sells, and markets other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, ...
(9.32%) and
Apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...
(5.57%).
Berkshire is the seventh largest component of the S&P 500 index and the top-ranked company in the
Forbes Global 2000
The ''Forbes'' Global 2000 is an annual ranking of the top 2000 public companies in the world, published by ''Forbes'' magazine. "The Global 2000" annual ranking is assembled by ''Forbes'' using a weighted assessment of four metrics: sales, profi ...
, which takes into account both market value and
fundamental data. Its
class A share
In finance, a class A share refers to a share classification of common or preferred stock that typically has enhanced benefits with respect to dividends, asset sales, or voting rights compared to Class B or Class C shares. There may be restri ...
s have the highest per-share price of any public company in the world, reaching $500,000 in March 2022, because Buffett chooses not to
split
Split(s) or The Split may refer to:
Places
* Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia
* Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay
* Split Island, Falkland Islands
* Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua
Arts, enterta ...
the stock.
History
![Hathaway Mills](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/Hathaway_Mills.jpg)
Berkshire Hathaway traces its roots to a
textile manufacturing
Textile Manufacturing or Textile Engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful goods ...
company established by
Oliver Chace
Oliver Chace (August 24, 1769 – May 21, 1852) was an American 18th and 19th-century businessman. He was the founder of several New England textile manufacturing companies in the early 19th century, including the Valley Falls Company, the origi ...
in 1839 as the
Valley Falls Company
The Valley Falls Company was founded in 1839 by Oliver Chace, in Valley Falls, Rhode Island, a historic mill village on both sides of the Blackstone River, within the modern-day town of Cumberland and city of Central Falls, Rhode Island. The Vall ...
in
Valley Falls, Rhode Island. Chace had previously worked for
Samuel Slater
Samuel Slater (June 9, 1768 – April 21, 1835) was an early English-American industrialist known as the "Father of the American Industrial Revolution" (a phrase coined by Andrew Jackson) and the "Father of the American Factory System". In the ...
, the founder of the first successful textile mill in America. Chace founded his first textile mill in 1806. In 1929, the Valley Falls Company merged with the Berkshire Cotton Manufacturing Company established in 1889, in
Adams, Massachusetts
Adams is a town in northern Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 8,166 at the 2020 census.
History
Nathan Jones purchased the township of ...
. The combined company was known as
Berkshire Fine Spinning Associates
Berkshire Fine Spinning Associates () was an American textile company, founded in 1889 as Berkshire Cotton Manufacturing Company in Adams, Massachusetts in Berkshire County, Massachusetts.
History
The first mill built by the company was Berksh ...
.
In 1955, Berkshire Fine Spinning Associates merged with the
Hathaway Manufacturing Company
The Hathaway Manufacturing Company was a producer of cotton textiles founded in New Bedford, Massachusetts in 1888 by Horatio Hathaway, a China trader and whaler in the Pacific.
History
By 1917, the Hathaway Mills would grow to contain 108,000 ...
which had been founded in 1888 in
New Bedford, Massachusetts
New Bedford (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast (Massachusetts), South Coast region. Up throug ...
, by
Horatio Hathaway Horatio Hathaway (May 19, 1831 – March 25, 1898) was a New England industrialist, politician, and philanthropist and namesake of Berkshire Hathaway.
Early life
Hathaway was born on May 19, 1831 to Nathaniel Hathaway and Anna (Shoemaker) Hathaway ...
with profits from
whaling
Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution.
It was practiced as an organized industry ...
and the
China Trade
The Old China Trade () refers to the early commerce between the Qing Empire and the United States under the Canton System, spanning from shortly after the end of the American Revolutionary War in 1783 to the Treaty of Wanghia in 1844. The Old ...
. Hathaway had been successful in its first decades, but it suffered during a general decline in the
textile industry
The textile industry is primarily concerned with the design, production and distribution of yarn, cloth and clothing. The raw material may be natural, or synthetic using products of the chemical industry.
Industry process
Cotton manufacturi ...
after
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. At this time, Hathaway was run by
Seabury Stanton
Seabury Stanton (October 9, 1892 – October 19, 1971) was an industrialist from New Bedford, Massachusetts who ran Berkshire Hathaway prior to its takeover by Warren Buffett in 1964.
Biography Early life and career
Seabury Stanton was born ...
, whose investment efforts were rewarded with renewed profitability after the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
. After the merger, Berkshire Hathaway had 15 plants employing over 12,000 workers with over $120 million in revenue, and was headquartered in
New Bedford
New Bedford (Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast region. Up through the 17th century, the area was the territory of the Wampanoag Native American pe ...
. However, seven of those locations were closed by the end of the decade, accompanied by large layoffs.
In 1962, Warren Buffett began buying stock in Berkshire Hathaway after noticing a pattern in the price direction of its stock whenever the company closed a mill. Eventually, Buffett acknowledged that the textile business was waning and the company's financial situation was not going to improve. In 1964, Stanton made an oral
tender offer
In corporate finance, a tender offer is a type of public takeover bid. The tender offer is a public, open offer or invitation (usually announced in a newspaper advertisement) by a prospective acquirer to all stockholders of a publicly traded corpo ...
to buy back Buffett's stake in the company for $11 per share. Buffett agreed to the deal. A few weeks later, Warren Buffett received the tender offer in writing, but the tender offer was for only $11. Buffett later admitted that this lower, undercutting offer made him angry.
Instead of selling at the slightly lower price, Buffett decided to buy more of the stock to take control of the company and fire Stanton (which he did). However, this made Buffett the majority owner of a failing textile business.
Buffett initially maintained Berkshire's core business of textiles, but by 1967, he was expanding into the insurance industry and other investments. Berkshire first ventured into the insurance business with the purchase of
National Indemnity Company
National Indemnity Company is an insurance company based in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, and founded in 1940 by Jack Dabney Ringwalt. It is a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, which bought the company in 1967. It is Berkshire's oldest operati ...
. In the late 1970s, Berkshire acquired an
equity stake
In finance, equity is ownership of assets that may have debts or other liabilities attached to them. Equity is measured for accounting purposes by subtracting liabilities from the value of the assets. For example, if someone owns a car worth $2 ...
in the
Government Employees Insurance Company (GEICO), which forms the core of its insurance operations today (and is a major source of capital for Berkshire Hathaway's other investments). In 1985, the last textile operations (Hathaway's historic core) were shut down.
In 2010, Buffett claimed that purchasing Berkshire Hathaway was the biggest investment mistake he had ever made, and claimed that it had denied him compounded investment returns of about $200 billion over the subsequent 45 years.
Buffett claimed that had he invested that money directly in insurance businesses instead of buying out Berkshire Hathaway (due to what he perceived as a slight by an individual), those investments would have paid off several hundredfold.
Senior leadership (since 1970)
* Chairman and CEO:
Warren Buffett
Warren Edward Buffett ( ; born August 30, 1930) is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is currently the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is one of the most successful investors in the world and has a net w ...
(1970– )
* Vice Chairman:
Charlie Munger
Charles Thomas Munger (born January 1, 1924) is an American billionaire investor, businessman, and former real estate attorney. He is vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, the conglomerate controlled by Warren Buffett; Buffett has described Mun ...
(1978– )
Corporate affairs
Berkshire's
class A share
In finance, a class A share refers to a share classification of common or preferred stock that typically has enhanced benefits with respect to dividends, asset sales, or voting rights compared to Class B or Class C shares. There may be restri ...
s sold for $465,725 as of January 5, 2022, making them the highest-priced shares on the
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed c ...
, in part because they have never had a
stock split
A stock split or stock divide increases the number of shares in a company. For example, after a 2-for-1 split, each investor will own double the number of shares, and each share will be worth half as much.
A stock split causes a decrease of mark ...
and have only paid a
dividend
A dividend is a distribution of profits by a corporation to its shareholders. When a corporation earns a profit or surplus, it is able to pay a portion of the profit as a dividend to shareholders. Any amount not distributed is taken to be re-in ...
once since Warren Buffett took over, retaining corporate earnings on its balance sheet in a manner that is impermissible for
mutual fund
A mutual fund is a professionally managed investment fund that pools money from many investors to purchase securities. The term is typically used in the United States, Canada, and India, while similar structures across the globe include the SICAV i ...
s. Shares closed over $100,000 for the first time on October 23, 2006. Despite its size, Berkshire had for many years not been included in broad stock market indices such as the
S&P 500
The Standard and Poor's 500, or simply the S&P 500, is a stock market index tracking the stock performance of 500 large companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States. It is one of the most commonly followed equity indices. As of D ...
due to the lack of liquidity in its shares; however, following a 50-to-1 split of Berkshire's
Class B Shares
In finance, a Class B share or Class C share is a designation for a share class of a common or preferred stock that typically has strengthened voting rights or other benefits compared to a Class A share that may have been created. The equity s ...
in January 2010, and Berkshire's announcement that it would acquire the
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation, parent of
BNSF Railway
BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...
, Berkshire replaced BNSF in the S&P 500 on February 16, 2010.
Buffett's letters to shareholders are published annually. ''
Barron's Barron's or Barrons may refer to:
*Barron's Educational Series, a publisher of books, as well as college entrance exam preparation classes and materials, now an imprint of Kaplan Test Prep
** B.E.S. Publishing, the former owner of Barron's
* ''Barr ...
'' said Berkshire was the most respected company in the world in 2007, based on a survey of American money managers.
In 2008, Berkshire invested in
preferred stock
Preferred stock (also called preferred shares, preference shares, or simply preferreds) is a component of share capital that may have any combination of features not possessed by common stock, including properties of both an equity and a debt ins ...
of
Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs () is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered at 200 West Street in Lower Manhattan, with regional headquarters in London, Warsaw, Bangalore, H ...
as part of a recapitalization of the investment bank. Buffett defended
Lloyd Blankfein
Lloyd Craig Blankfein (born September 20, 1954) is an American investment banker who has served as senior chairman of Goldman Sachs since 2019, and chairman and chief executive from 2006 until the end of 2018. Previous to leading Goldman Sachs, ...
's decisions as CEO of Goldman Sachs.
, Buffett owned 31.7% aggregate voting power of Berkshire's shares outstanding and 18.0% of the economic value of those shares. Berkshire's vice-chairman,
Charlie Munger
Charles Thomas Munger (born January 1, 1924) is an American billionaire investor, businessman, and former real estate attorney. He is vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, the conglomerate controlled by Warren Buffett; Buffett has described Mun ...
, also holds a stake big enough to make him a billionaire, and early investments in Berkshire by
David Gottesman
David Sanford Gottesman (April 26, 1926 – September 28, 2022) was an American businessman and billionaire. He founded First Manhattan Co. (FMC), and was noted for his friendship with Warren Buffett.
Early life and education
Gottesman was b ...
and
Franklin Otis Booth, Jr. resulted in their becoming billionaires as well. The
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), a merging of the William H. Gates Foundation and the Gates Learning Foundation, is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was ...
is a large shareholder of Berkshire, owning 4.0% of
Class B Shares
In finance, a Class B share or Class C share is a designation for a share class of a common or preferred stock that typically has strengthened voting rights or other benefits compared to a Class A share that may have been created. The equity s ...
.
Berkshire Hathaway has never
split
Split(s) or The Split may refer to:
Places
* Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia
* Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay
* Split Island, Falkland Islands
* Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua
Arts, enterta ...
its Class A shares because of management's desire to attract long-term investors as opposed to short-term
speculators
In finance, speculation is the purchase of an asset (a commodity, goods, or real estate) with the hope that it will become more valuable shortly. (It can also refer to short sales in which the speculator hopes for a decline in value.)
Many s ...
. However, Berkshire Hathaway created a
Class B stock, with a per-share value originally kept (by specific management rules) close to of that of the original shares (now Class A) and of the per-share voting rights, and after the January 2010 split, at the price and the voting rights of the Class-A shares. Holders of class A stock are allowed to convert their stock to Class B, though not vice versa. Buffett was reluctant to create the class B shares but did so to thwart the creation of
unit trusts
A unit trust is a form of collective investment constituted under a trust deed.
A unit trust pools investors' money into a single fund, which is managed by a fund manager. Unit trusts offer access to a wide range of investments, and depending ...
that would have marketed themselves as Berkshire look-alikes. As Buffett said in his 1995 shareholder letter: "The unit trusts that have recently surfaced fly in the face of these goals. They would be sold by brokers working for big commissions, would impose other burdensome costs on their shareholders, and would be marketed ''en masse'' to unsophisticated buyers, apt to be seduced by our past record and beguiled by the publicity Berkshire and I have received in recent years. The sure outcome: a multitude of investors destined to be disappointed."
The salary for Buffett is $100,000 per year with no stock options, which is among the lowest salaries for CEOs of large companies in the United States.
Annual shareholders' meetings
Berkshire's annual shareholders' meetings take place at the
CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska. Attendance has grown over the years with 2018 numbers totaling over 40,000 people. The 2007 meeting had an attendance of approximately 27,000. The meetings, nicknamed "
Woodstock
Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...
for Capitalists", are considered Omaha's largest annual event along with the baseball
College World Series
The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is an annual baseball tournament held in June in Omaha, Nebraska. The MCWS is the culmination of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divisi ...
. Known for their humor and light-heartedness, the meetings typically start with a movie made for Berkshire shareholders. The 2004 movie featured
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...
in the role of "The Warrenator" who travels through time to stop Buffett and Munger's attempt to save the world from a "mega" corporation formed by
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...
-
Starbucks
Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain.
As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 c ...
-
Wal-Mart
Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...
. Schwarzenegger is later shown arguing in a gym with Buffett regarding
Proposition 13
Proposition 13 (officially named the People's Initiative to Limit Property Taxation) is an amendment of the Constitution of California enacted during 1978, by means of the initiative process. The initiative was approved by California voters on J ...
. The 2006 movie depicted actresses
Jamie Lee Curtis
Jamie Lee Curtis (born November 22, 1958) is an American actress, producer, children's author, and activist. She came to prominence with her portrayal of Lt. Barbara Duran on the ABC sitcom '' Operation Petticoat'' (1977–78). In 1978, she m ...
and
Nicollette Sheridan
Nicollette Sheridan (born 21 November 1963) is an English-born American actress. She began her career as a fashion model before landing a role in the short-lived ABC primetime soap opera ''Paper Dolls'' in 1984, as well as starring in the roman ...
lusting after Munger. The meeting, scheduled to last 6–8 hours, is an opportunity for investors to ask Buffett and Munger questions.
Governance
The current members of the board of directors of Berkshire Hathaway are
Warren Buffett
Warren Edward Buffett ( ; born August 30, 1930) is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is currently the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is one of the most successful investors in the world and has a net w ...
(Chairman),
Charlie Munger
Charles Thomas Munger (born January 1, 1924) is an American billionaire investor, businessman, and former real estate attorney. He is vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, the conglomerate controlled by Warren Buffett; Buffett has described Mun ...
(Vice Chairman),
Thomas S. Murphy
Thomas Sawyer Murphy (May 31, 1925 – May 25, 2022) was an American broadcasting executive, and was chair and chief executive officer of Capital Cities / ABC, Inc. until 1996. Together with fellow Capital Cities executive Daniel Burke, Mur ...
,
Howard Graham Buffett
Howard Graham Buffett (born December 16, 1954) is an American businessman, former politician, philanthropist, photographer, farmer, and conservationist. He is the middle child of billionaire investor Warren Buffett. He is named after Howard B ...
(Warren's son),
Ronald Olson
Ronald L. Olson (born July 9, 1941) is an American attorney and a partner in the Los Angeles office of Munger Tolles & Olson LLP. He was the lead attorney representing the board of directors of Yahoo! in connection with Microsoft's proposed acq ...
, Charlotte Guyman,
Chris Davis,
Donald Keough
Donald Raymond Keough (September 4, 1926 – February 24, 2015) was an Irish-American businessman and Chairman of the Board of Allen & Company LLC, a New York investment banking firm. He was elected to that position in April 1993.
Keough retired ...
,
David Gottesman
David Sanford Gottesman (April 26, 1926 – September 28, 2022) was an American businessman and billionaire. He founded First Manhattan Co. (FMC), and was noted for his friendship with Warren Buffett.
Early life and education
Gottesman was b ...
,
Kenneth Irvine Chenault,
Steve Burke,
Susan Decker
Susan Lynne Decker (born November 17, 1962) is an American businesswoman. She was president of Yahoo! Inc in 2007 and 2008, leading the operations of the company while Jerry Yang was chief executive officer.
In 2017, Decker co-founded a social ...
, Meryl Witmer,
Ajit Jain
Ajit Jain (born 1951) is an Indian-American executive who is the Vice Chairman of Insurance Operations for Berkshire Hathaway as of January 10, 2018. Ajit Jain is an older cousin of Anshu Jain, who was the former Co-CEO of Deutsche Bank.
Educat ...
, and
Greg Abel
Gregory Edward Abel (born June 1, 1962) is a Canadian businessman, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, and vice-chairman of non-insurance operations of Berkshire Hathaway since January 2018.
Early life and education
Gregory Edward Abel ...
.
On March 13, 2020,
Bill Gates
William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American business magnate and philanthropist. He is a co-founder of Microsoft, along with his late childhood friend Paul Allen. During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions ...
announced that he was leaving the board of directors of both
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...
and Berkshire Hathaway in order to focus more on his philanthropic efforts.
Succession plans
In May 2010, three months away from his 80th birthday, Buffett said he would be succeeded at Berkshire Hathaway by a team consisting of a CEO and three or four investment managers, each of the latter would be responsible for a "significant portion of Berkshire's investment portfolio". Five months later, Berkshire announced that
Todd Combs, manager of the
hedge fund
A hedge fund is a pooled investment fund that trades in relatively liquid assets and is able to make extensive use of more complex trading, portfolio-construction, and risk management techniques in an attempt to improve performance, such as sho ...
Castle Point Capital, would join them as an
investment manager
Investment management is the professional asset management of various securities, including shareholdings, bonds, and other assets, such as real estate, to meet specified investment goals for the benefit of investors. Investors may be institut ...
. On September 12, 2011, Berkshire Hathaway announced that 50-year-old
Ted Weschler, founder of Peninsula Capital Advisors, will join Berkshire in early 2012 as a second investment manager.
In Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder letter dated February 25, 2012, Buffett said that his successor as CEO had been chosen internally but not named publicly. While the intent of this message was to bolster confidence in the leadership of a "Buffett-less Berkshire", critics have noted that this strategy of choosing a successor without a concrete exit strategy for the sitting CEO often leaves an organization with fewer long term options, while doing little to calm shareholder fear.
In June 2014, the firm's cash and cash equivalents rose past $50 billion, the first time it finished a quarter above that level since Buffett became chairman and chief executive officer. At the end of 2017, the firm's cash and cash equivalent holdings rose to $116 billion.
On January 10, 2018, Berkshire Hathaway appointed
Ajit Jain
Ajit Jain (born 1951) is an Indian-American executive who is the Vice Chairman of Insurance Operations for Berkshire Hathaway as of January 10, 2018. Ajit Jain is an older cousin of Anshu Jain, who was the former Co-CEO of Deutsche Bank.
Educat ...
and
Greg Abel
Gregory Edward Abel (born June 1, 1962) is a Canadian businessman, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, and vice-chairman of non-insurance operations of Berkshire Hathaway since January 2018.
Early life and education
Gregory Edward Abel ...
to vice-chairman roles. Abel was appointed vice chairman for non-insurance business operations, and Jain became vice chairman of insurance-operations. While Buffett has not further elaborated on his succession plans, he praised his two top executives in an annual shareholder letter, fuelling speculation that Jain and Abel are the logical successors.
On May 3, 2021, Warren Buffett chose Greg Abel to be his successor as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.
Finance
For the fiscal year 2019, Berkshire Hathaway reported earnings of 81.4 billion, with an annual revenue of 254.6 billion, an increase of 2.7% over the previous fiscal cycle. Berkshire Hathaway's market capitalization was valued at over 496 billion in September 2018. , Berkshire Hathaway is ranked third on the
Fortune 500
The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. The list includes publicly held companies, along ...
rankings of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.
Businesses and investments
Insurance group
Insurance and
reinsurance
Reinsurance is insurance that an insurance company purchases from another insurance company to insulate itself (at least in part) from the risk of a major claims event. With reinsurance, the company passes on ("cedes") some part of its own insu ...
business activities are conducted through approximately 70 domestic and foreign-based insurance companies. Berkshire's insurance businesses provide insurance and reinsurance of property and casualty risks primarily in the United States. In addition, as a result of the
General Re
General Reinsurance Corporation is an American multinational property/casualty and life/health reinsurance company offering a range of reinsurance products and services. The company is a primarily direct reinsurer and is represented in all major ...
acquisition in December 1998, Berkshire's insurance businesses also includes life, accident, and health reinsurers, as well as internationally based property and casualty reinsurers. Berkshire's insurance companies maintain capital strength at exceptionally high levels. This strength differentiates Berkshire's insurance companies from their competitors. Collectively, the aggregate statutory surplus of Berkshire's U.S.-based insurers was approximately $48 billion . All of Berkshire's major insurance subsidiaries are rated
AAA
AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to:
Airports
* Anaa Airport in French Polynesia (IATA airport code AAA)
* Logan County Airport (Illinois) (FAA airport code AAA)
Arts, entertainment, and me ...
by
Standard & Poor's Corporation, the highest Financial Strength Rating assigned by Standard & Poor's, and are rated A++ (superior) by
A. M. Best
AM Best is an American credit rating agency headquartered in Oldwick, New Jersey, that focuses on the insurance industry. Both the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners have designate ...
with respect to their financial condition and operating performance.
*
GEICO
The Government Employees Insurance Company (GEICO ) is a private American auto insurance company with headquarters in Chevy Chase, Maryland. It is the second largest auto insurer in the United States, after State Farm. GEICO is a wholly owne ...
– Berkshire acquired GEICO in January 1996. GEICO is headquartered in
Chevy Chase, Maryland
Chevy Chase () is the name of both a town and an unincorporated census-designated place (Chevy Chase (CDP), Maryland) that straddle the northwest border of Washington, D.C. and Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Several settlements in th ...
, and its principal insurance subsidiaries include; Government Employees Insurance Company, GEICO General Insurance Company, GEICO Indemnity Company, and GEICO Casualty Company. Over the past five years, these companies have offered primarily private passenger automobile insurance to individuals in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. GEICO markets its policies primarily through direct response methods in which applications for insurance are submitted directly to the companies via the Internet or by telephone.
*
Gen Re
General Reinsurance Corporation is an American multinational property/casualty and life/health reinsurance company offering a range of reinsurance products and services. The company is a primarily direct reinsurer and is represented in all major r ...
– Berkshire acquired General Re in December 1998. General Re held a 91% ownership interest in
Cologne Re . General Re subsidiaries currently conduct global reinsurance business in approximately 72 cities and provide global reinsurance coverage. General Re operates the following reinsurance businesses: North American property/casualty, international property/casualty, which principally consists of Cologne Re and the Faraday operations, and life/health reinsurance. General Re's reinsurance operations are primarily based in
Stamford, Connecticut
Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 2020 ...
, and
Cologne, Germany
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 million ...
. General Re is one of the largest reinsurers in the world based on net premiums written and capital.
* NRG (Nederlandse Reassurantie Groep) – Berkshire acquired NRG, a Dutch life reinsurance company, from
ING Group
The ING Group ( nl, ING Groep) is a Dutch multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered in Amsterdam. Its primary businesses are retail banking, direct banking, commercial banking, investment banking, wholesale bankin ...
in December 2007.
*
Berkshire Hathaway Assurance
Berkshire Hathaway Assurance is a bond insurance company created by Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. in December 2007.
History
Berkshire created this government bond insurance company in December 2007 to insure municipal and state bonds. These type bon ...
– Berkshire created a government
bond insurance Bond insurance, also known as "financial guaranty insurance", is a type of insurance whereby an insurance company guarantees scheduled payments of interest and principal on a bond or other security in the event of a payment default by the issuer of ...
company to insure municipal and
state bonds. These types of bonds are issued by local governments to finance public works projects such as schools, hospitals, roads, and sewer systems. Few companies are capable of competing in this area.
On June 8, 2017, it was announced that Berkshire Hathaway had settled with California's insurance regulator, allowing its Applied Underwriters unit to sell a revised version of its "controversial" compensation insurance policies for workers in the state. Berkshire Hathaway sold Applied Underwriters in 2019.
On March 21, 2022, Berkshire Hathaway announced it was buying insurance company
Alleghany for $11.6 billion. This would have expanded its presence in the insurance space and allowed it to own a holding company much like Berkshire itself. There was speculation a bidding war could erupt for the company, with
''Barron's'' citing
Markel,
W.R. Berkley,
Chubb, and
Loews along with
Pershing Square as potential suitors. Barron's also reported on an analysis that suggested the company could be worth $1,000 a share, compared to the offer of $848.02. This move was touted as an example of Warren Buffett's "disdain" for investment bankers.
Utilities and energy group
In 2008, Berkshire owned 85 million shares of
ConocoPhillips
ConocoPhillips Company is an American multinational corporation engaged in hydrocarbon exploration and production. It is based in the Energy Corridor district of Houston, Texas.
The company has operations in 15 countries and has production in ...
. Later, in one of Buffett's interviews, he described this as "a major mistake" as the
price of oil
The price of oil, or the oil price, generally refers to the spot price of a barrel () of benchmark crude oil—a reference price for buyers and sellers of crude oil such as West Texas Intermediate (WTI), Brent Crude, Dubai Crude, OPEC Ref ...
collapsed. Berkshire offloaded most of its shares but held 472 thousand shares until 2012. In that year, ConocoPhillips spun off a subsidiary,
Phillips 66
The Phillips 66 Company is an American Multinational corporation, multinational energy company headquartered in Westchase, Houston, Westchase, Houston, Houston, Texas. Its name, dating back to 1927 as a trademark of the Phillips Petroleum Compan ...
, of which Berkshire owned 27 million shares. Berkshire later sold back $1.4 billion worth of shares to Phillips 66 in exchange for Phillips Specialty Products. Buffett frequently referred to Phillips 66 as one of the best businesses Berkshire invested in because of its consistent dividends and share buyback programs. Despite this, Berkshire sold its entire holdings in 2020.
Berkshire currently holds 92% of
Berkshire Hathaway Energy
Berkshire Hathaway Energy (previously known as MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company until 2014) is a holding company that is 92% owned by Berkshire Hathaway. Berkshire has owned a controlling stake since 1999. The company also controls power dist ...
. At the time of purchase, Berkshire's
voting interest
Voting interest (or voting power) in business and accounting means the total number, or percent, of votes entitled to be cast on the issue at the time the determination of voting power is made, excluding a vote which is contingent upon the happeni ...
was limited to 10% of the company's shares, but this restriction ended when the
Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935
The Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (PUHCA), also known as the Wheeler-Rayburn Act, was a US federal law giving the Securities and Exchange Commission authority to regulate, license, and break up electric utility holding companies. It l ...
was repealed in 2005. A major subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Energy is
Northern Powergrid
Northern Powergrid Holdings Company (formerly CE Electric UK Funding Company) is an electrical distribution company based in Newcastle Upon Tyne in England. It is the owner of Northern Powergrid (Northeast) plc (formerly Northern Electric Distrib ...
, which operates in the UK.
Until a name change on April 30, 2014, Berkshire Hathaway Energy was known as MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co.
Manufacturing, service and retailing
Recreational vehicles
On June 21, 2005, Berkshire Hathaway agreed to purchase
Forest River Inc., the world's largest seller of
recreational vehicle
A recreational vehicle, often abbreviated as RV, is a motor vehicle or trailer that includes living quarters designed for accommodation. Types of RVs include motorhomes, campervans, coaches, caravans (also known as travel trailers and camper ...
s, from Pete Liegl.
Clothing
Berkshire's clothing businesses include manufacturers and distributors of a variety of clothing and footwear. Businesses engaged in the manufacture and distribution of clothing include
Union Underwear Corp. – Fruit of the Loom,
Garan,
Russell Corporation
Russell Brands, LLC was an American corporation that manufactured sports equipment, marketing its products under many brands and subsidiaries, such as Russell Athletic (its flagship brand) and Spalding. Formerly a publicly traded company, Russ ...
and Fechheimer Brothers. Fechheimer Brothers is made up of two brands Flying Cross and Vertx. Flying Cross manufacturers public safety uniforms and Vertx is a civilian tactical clothing company. Berkshire's footwear businesses include
H.H. Brown Shoe Group,
Acme Boots,
Brooks Sports
Brooks Sports, Inc., also known as Brooks Running, is an American sports equipment company that designs and markets high-performance men's and women's sneakers, clothing, and accessories. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, Brooks products are ...
and
Justin Brands
Justin Boots is an American western and equestrian footwear brand. It is a division of Justin Brands, Inc., itself owned by Berkshire Hathaway.
History
H.J. "Daddy Joe" Justin started repairing boots in Spanish Fort, Texas. After receiving a l ...
. Justin Brands is made up of
Chippewa Boots
Chippewa Boots, originally known as Chippewa Shoe Manufacturing Company, is an American manufacturer of footwear, principally men's work and recreational boots. It also manufactures a limited line of heavy and casual shoes, and some women's ...
,
Justin Boots
Justin Boots is an American western and equestrian footwear brand. It is a division of Justin Brands, Inc., itself owned by Berkshire Hathaway.
History
H.J. "Daddy Joe" Justin started repairing boots in Spanish Fort, Texas. After receiving a l ...
, Justin Original Workboots,
Nocona Boots
Nocona Boots is a Western United States, western boot brand and a division of Justin Brands, a Berkshire Hathaway corporation (NYSE: BRKa).
Justin Brands is the world's largest manufacturer of western footwear. In addition to Nocona Boots, it own ...
, and
Tony Lama Boots
Tony Lama Boots is a western boot brand and a division of Justin Brands, a Berkshire Hathaway corporation.
History
Tony Lama was born to Italian immigrant parents in 1887. He first learned the leather and boot trade as an 11-year-old shoemaker' ...
. Berkshire acquired
Fruit of the Loom
Fruit of the Loom is an American company that manufactures clothing, particularly casual wear and underwear. The company's world headquarters is in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Since 2002 it has been a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway.
Products manu ...
on April 29, 2002, for $835 million in cash. Fruit of the Loom, headquartered in
Bowling Green, Kentucky
Bowling Green is a home rule-class city and the county seat of Warren County, Kentucky, United States. Founded by pioneers in 1798, Bowling Green was the provisional capital of Confederate Kentucky during the American Civil War. As of the 2 ...
, is a vertically integrated manufacturer of basic clothing. Berkshire acquired
Russell Corporation
Russell Brands, LLC was an American corporation that manufactured sports equipment, marketing its products under many brands and subsidiaries, such as Russell Athletic (its flagship brand) and Spalding. Formerly a publicly traded company, Russ ...
on August 2, 2006, for $600 million.
Building products
In August 2000, Berkshire Hathaway entered the building products business with the acquisition of
Acme Building Brands. Headquartered in
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...
, Acme manufactures and distributes clay bricks (Acme Brick), concrete block (Featherlite), and cut limestone (Texas Quarries). It expanded its building products business in December 2000, when it acquired
Benjamin Moore & Co. of
Montvale, New Jersey
Montvale is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 7,844,[architectural coatings
Architectural coatings or paints are paints and other coatings used to paint the exteriors and interiors of buildings, often calleexterior wall coatingsor external masonry coatings. Clear varnishes and lacquers are generally excluded. Such pr ...]
that are available primarily in the United States and Canada.
In 2001, Berkshire acquired three additional building products companies. In February, it purchased
Johns Manville
Johns Manville is an American company based in Denver, Colorado, that manufactures insulation, roofing materials and engineered products. For much of the 20th century, the then-titled Johns-Manville Corporation was the global leader in the ma ...
which was established in 1858 and manufactures fiberglass wool insulation products for homes and commercial buildings, as well as pipe, duct, and equipment insulation products. In July, Berkshire acquired a 90% equity interest in
MiTek Inc., which makes engineered connector products, engineering software and services, and manufacturing machinery for the truss fabrication segment of the building components industry and is headquartered in
Chesterfield, Missouri
Chesterfield is a city in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. It is a western suburb of St. Louis. As of the 2020 census, the population was 49,999, . The broader valley of Chesterfield was originally referred to as "Gumbo Flats", derived ...
. Finally in 2001, Berkshire acquired 87 percent of
Dalton, Georgia
Dalton is a city and the county seat of Whitfield County, Georgia, United States. It is also the principal city of the Dalton Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Murray and Whitfield counties.
As of the 2010 census, the ci ...
-based
Shaw Industries
Shaw Industries Group, Inc. is one of the world's largest carpet manufacturers with more tha$6 billion in annual revenueand approximately 22,000 employees worldwide.Prem C. Jain, ''Buffett Beyond Value: Why Warren Buffett Looks to Growth and Mana ...
, Inc. Shaw is the world's largest carpet manufacturer based on both revenue and volume of production and designs and manufactures over 3,000 styles of tufted and woven carpet and laminate flooring for residential and commercial use under approximately 30 brand and trade names and under certain private labels. In 2002, Berkshire acquired the remaining 12.7 percent of Shaw.
On August 7, 2003, Berkshire acquired
Clayton Homes, Inc. Clayton, headquartered near
Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Tennessee, Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Di ...
, is a vertically integrated manufactured housing company. At year-end 2004, Clayton operated 32 manufacturing plants in 12 states. Clayton's homes are marketed in 48 states through a network of 1,540 retailers, 391 of which are company-owned sales centers. On May 1, 2008, Mitek acquired Hohmann & Barnard, a fabricator of anchors and reinforcement systems for masonry and on October 3 of that year, Mitek acquired Blok-Lok, Ltd. of
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, Canada. On April 23, 2010, Mitek acquired the assets of Dur-O-Wal from
Dayton Superior.
Flight services
In 1996, Berkshire acquired FlightSafety International Inc. (or FSI), founded in 1951 by
Albert Lee Ueltschi Albert Lee Ueltschi (May 15, 1917 – October 18, 2012) is considered the father of modern flight training and was the founder of FlightSafety International. Ueltschi was once personal pilot to Juan Trippe and an associate to Charles Lindberg ...
. FSI's corporate headquarters is located at
LaGuardia Airport
LaGuardia Airport is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City. Covering , the facility was established in 1929 and began operating as a public airport in 1939. It is named after former New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia. ...
in
Flushing, New York
Flushing is a neighborhood in the north-central portion of the New York City borough of Queens. The neighborhood is the fourth-largest central business district in New York City. Downtown Flushing is a major commercial and retail area, and the i ...
. It supplies high technology
pilot training
Flight training is a course of study used when learning to pilot an aircraft. The overall purpose of primary and intermediate flight training is the acquisition and honing of basic airmanship skills.
Flight training can be conducted under a str ...
to aircraft operators in the fields of military, governmental, corporate, and
regional
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
or
mainline flying. FlightSafety is the world's leading provider of professional aviation training services. According to its website, the company has 1,800 instructors and offers more than 4,000 individual courses for 135 aircraft types, using more than 320
flight simulators
A flight simulator is a device that artificially re-creates aircraft flight and the environment in which it flies, for pilot training, design, or other purposes. It includes replicating the equations that govern how aircraft fly, how they rea ...
to serve customers from 167 countries.
In 1998, Berkshire Hathaway acquired
NetJets
NetJets Inc. is an American company that sells fractional ownership shares in private business jets.
Founded as Executive Jet Airways in 1964, it was later renamed Executive Jet Aviation. NetJets became the first private business jet chart ...
Inc., formerly Executive Jet Aviation. NetJets is the world's leading provider of
fractional ownership
Fractional ownership is a method in which several unrelated parties can share in, and mitigate the risk of, ownership of a high-value tangible asset, usually a jet, yacht or piece of resort real estate. It can be done for strictly monetary reason ...
programs for
general aviation
General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...
aircraft. In 1986, NetJets created the fractional ownership of aircraft concept and introduced its NetJets program in the United States with one aircraft type. In 2019, the NetJets program operated more than 10 aircraft types with a fleet size of greater than 750.
Retail
The home furnishings businesses are Homemakers Furniture,
Nebraska Furniture Mart,
Jordan's Furniture, Inc.,
RC Willey Home Furnishings, and Star Furniture Company. CORT Business Services Corporation was acquired in 2000 by an 80.1% owned subsidiary of Berkshire and is the leading national provider of rental furniture, accessories and related services in the "rent-to-rent" segment of the furniture rental industry.
In May 2000, Berkshire purchased
Ben Bridge Jeweler
Ben Bridge Jeweler is a high-end American jewelry retailer that sells engagement rings, diamonds and watches, including Rolex, among other luxury product and is currently owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. It was established in Seatt ...
, a chain of jewelry stores established in 1912 with locations primarily in the western United States. This joined Berkshire's other jeweler acquisition,
Helzberg Diamonds
Helzberg Diamonds is a jewelry retailer founded in 1915 by Morris Helzberg that has 210 stores in 36 US states.
Leadership
In April 2009, Beryl Raff, former executive vice president and general merchandise manager of fine jewelry at JCPenney, ...
. Helzberg is a chain of jewelry stores based in Kansas City that began in 1915 and became part of Berkshire in 1995.
In 2002, Berkshire acquired
The Pampered Chef, Ltd., the largest direct seller of kitchen tools in the United States. Products are researched, designed, and tested by The Pampered Chef, and manufactured by third-party suppliers. From its Addison, Illinois, headquarters, The Pampered Chef utilizes a network of more than 65,000 independent sales representatives to sell its products through home-based party demonstrations, principally in the United States.
See's Candies
See's Candies is an American manufacturer and distributor of candy, particularly chocolates. It was founded by Charles See, his wife Florence, and his mother Mary in Los Angeles, California in 1921. The company is now headquartered in South San ...
produces boxed chocolates and other confectionery products in two large kitchens in California. See's revenues are highly seasonal with approximately 50% of total annual revenues being earned in the months of November and December.
Dairy Queen
Dairy Queen (DQ) is an American chain of soft serve ice cream and fast food restaurants owned by International Dairy Queen, Inc. (a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway since 1998) which also owns Orange Julius, and formerly owned Karmelkorn and G ...
, based in Edina, Minnesota, services a system of approximately 6,000 stores operating under the names Dairy Queen,
Orange Julius
Orange Julius is an American chain of fruit drink beverage stores. It has been in business since the late 1920s and is noted for a particular drink, also called an Orange Julius. The beverage is a mixture of ice, orange juice, sweetener, milk, p ...
, and
Karmelkorn
Karmelkorn was an American popcorn retailer. It was founded in 1928 in Casper, Wyoming, by Mr. and Mrs. William O'Sullivan. The O'Sullivans patented their candy-coated popcorn and trademarked the product's name and logo in 1929. Initially, they ...
. The stores offer various dairy desserts, beverages, prepared foods, blended fruit drinks, popcorn, and other snack foods.
In November 2012, Berkshire announced they would acquire the
Oriental Trading Company
Oriental Trading Company is a direct merchant of value-priced party supplies, arts and crafts, toys, novelties, and school supplies. It was founded in 1932 as one of the United States' first wholesaling companies. Oriental Trading has been reco ...
, a
direct marketing
Direct marketing is a form of communicating an offer, where organizations communicate directly to a pre-selected customer and supply a method for a direct response. Among practitioners, it is also known as ''direct response marketing''. B ...
company for
novelty item
A novelty item or simply novelty is an object which is specifically designed to serve no practical purpose, and is sold for its uniqueness, humor, or simply as something new (hence "novelty", or newness). The term also applies to practical items wi ...
s, small toys, and party items.
On October 3, 2017, it was announced that Berkshire Hathaway will acquire 38.6% of
truck stop
A truck stop, known as a service station in the United Kingdom, and a travel center by major chains in the United States, is a commercial facility which provides refueling, rest (parking), and often ready-made food and other services to motori ...
chain
Pilot Flying J
Pilot Travel Centers LLC, doing business as Pilot Flying J, is a North American chain of truck stops in the United States and Canada. The company is based in Knoxville, Tennessee, where Pilot Corporation, the majority owner, is based. The compan ...
, with plans to increase its stake to 80% in 2023. The
Haslam family and
FJ Management
:''This is about the legacy Flying J Inc., which remains in operation as FJ Management Inc. For the current truck stop chain, see Pilot Flying J.''
FJ Management Inc.,http://www.flyingj.com/flyingjPortalWebProject/flyingjPortal.portal?_nfpb=true&_ ...
will retain ownership stakes until then, upon which the Haslam family will retain the remaining 20% and FJ Management will withdraw altogether. The Haslam family will retain control of day-to-day operations of the company.
Media
In 1977, Berkshire Hathaway purchased the ''
Buffalo Evening News
''The Buffalo News'' is the daily newspaper of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area, located in downtown Buffalo, New York. It recently sold its headquarters to Uniland Development Corp. It was for decades the only paper fully owned by W ...
'' and resumed publication of a Sunday edition of the paper that had ceased in 1914. After the morning newspaper ''
Buffalo Courier-Express
The ''Buffalo Courier-Express'' was a morning newspaper in Buffalo, New York. It ceased publication on September 19, 1982.
History
The ''Courier-Express'' was created in 1926 by a merger of the ''Buffalo Daily Courier'' and the ''Buffalo Morning ...
'' ceased operation in 1982, the ''Buffalo Evening News'' changed its name to ''The Buffalo News'' and began to print morning and evening editions. It now prints only a morning edition. In 2006, the company bought ''
Business Wire
Business Wire is an American company that disseminates full-text press releases from thousands of companies and organizations worldwide to news media, financial markets, disclosure systems, investors, information web sites, databases, bloggers, s ...
'', a U.S. press release agency.
The company began its BH Media Group subsidiary with a purchase of the ''
Omaha World-Herald
The ''Omaha World-Herald'' is a daily newspaper in the midwestern United States, the primary newspaper of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area. It was locally owned from its founding in 1885 until 2020, when it was sold to the newspaper ch ...
'' in December 2011, which included six other daily newspapers and several weeklies across Nebraska and southwest Iowa. In June 2012, Berkshire purchased 63 newspapers from
Media General
Media General was an American media company based in Richmond, Virginia. The company's origins can be traced back to 1887 when Richmond attorney Joseph Bryan acquired ''The Richmond Daily Times'', which later became ''The Richmond Times-Dispatch' ...
, including the ''
Richmond Times-Dispatch
The ''Richmond Times-Dispatch'' (''RTD'' or ''TD'' for short) is the primary daily newspaper in Richmond, Virginia, Richmond, the capital of Virginia, and the primary newspaper of record for the state of Virginia.
Circulation
The ''Times-Dispatc ...
'' and ''
Winston-Salem Journal
The ''Winston-Salem Journal'' is an American, English language daily newspaper primarily serving Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Winston-Salem and Forsyth County, North Carolina. It also covers Northwestern North Carolina.
The paper is owned by ...
'', for $142 million in cash.
In 2012, Berkshire Hathaway bought Texas dailies ''
The Eagle
The eagle is a large bird of prey.
Eagle or The Eagle may also refer to:
Places England
* Eagle, Lincolnshire, a village
United States
* Eagle, Alaska, a city
* Eagle Village, Alaska, a census-designated place
* Eagle, Colorado, a statut ...
'' in Bryan-College Station and the ''
Waco Tribune-Herald
The ''Waco Tribune-Herald'' is an American daily newspaper serving Waco, Texas, and vicinity.
Background
The newspaper has its roots in five predecessors, beginning with the ''Waco Evening Telephone'' in 1892. The ''Tribune-Herald'' took its curr ...
''. In 2013, the company purchased the ''
Tulsa World
The ''Tulsa World'' is the daily newspaper for the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and primary newspaper for the northeastern and eastern portions of Oklahoma. Tulsa World Media Company is part of Lee Enterprises. The new owners announced in January 202 ...
'', the
Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte and Raleigh, the 69th-most populous city in the Un ...
-based ''
News & Record
The ''News & Record'' is an American, English language newspaper with the largest circulation serving Guilford County, North Carolina, and the surrounding region. It is based in Greensboro, North Carolina, and produces local sections for Greensbo ...
'', Virginia's ''
Roanoke Times
''The Roanoke Times'' is the primary newspaper in Southwestern Virginia and is based in Roanoke, Virginia, United States. It is published by Lee Enterprises. In addition to its headquarters in Roanoke, it maintains a bureau in Christiansburg, ...
'', and ''
Press of Atlantic City
''The Press of Atlantic City'' is the fourth-largest daily newspaper in New Jersey. Originally based in Pleasantville, it is the primary newspaper for southeastern New Jersey and the Jersey Shore. The newspaper designated market runs from Ware ...
''. , BH Media owned 28 daily and 42 non-daily newspapers.
On March 12, 2014, it was announced that
Graham Holdings Company
Graham Holdings Company (formerly The Washington Post Company) is a diversified American conglomerate holding company. Headquartered in Arlington County, Virginia, and incorporated in Delaware, it was formerly the owner of ''The Washington Post ...
would divest its Miami television station,
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
affiliate
WPLG
WPLG (channel 10) is a television station in Miami, Florida, United States, affiliated with ABC. The station is owned by Berkshire Hathaway as its sole broadcast property. WPLG's studios are located on West Hallandale Beach Boulevard in Pembrok ...
to BH Media in a cash and stock deal.
On January 29, 2020,
Lee Enterprises
Lee Enterprises, Inc. is a publicly traded American media company. It publishes 77 daily newspapers in 26 states, and more than 350 weekly, classified, and specialty publications. Lee Enterprises was founded in 1890 by Alfred Wilson Lee and is b ...
announced an agreement with Berkshire Hathaway to acquire BH Media Group's publications and ''
The Buffalo News
''The Buffalo News'' is the daily newspaper of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area, located in downtown Buffalo, New York. It recently sold its headquarters to Uniland Development Corp. It was for decades the only paper fully owned by W ...
'' for $140 million in cash.
Real estate
Berkshire Hathaway Energy
Berkshire Hathaway Energy (previously known as MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company until 2014) is a holding company that is 92% owned by Berkshire Hathaway. Berkshire has owned a controlling stake since 1999. The company also controls power dist ...
's
HomeServices of America (see complete list of companies) is a residential
real estate brokerage
A real estate agent or real estate broker is a person who represents sellers or buyers of real estate or real property. While a broker may work independently, an agent usually works under a licensed broker to represent clients. Brokers and age ...
firm based in
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
, and founded in 1998. HomeServices has operations in 28 states and over 22,000 sales associates. In addition to brokerage services, these real estate companies provide
mortgage loan originations,
title
A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...
and closing services,
home warranties,
property
Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, r ...
and
casualty insurance Casualty insurance is a defined term which broadly encompasses insurance not directly concerned with life insurance, health insurance, or property insurance.
Casualty insurance is mainly liability coverage of an individual or organization for ne ...
and other related services. By the end of 2013 Berkshire Hathaway entered the residential real estate brokerage sector under the name of
HomeServices of America.
![HomeServices of America in Gillette, Wyoming](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/HomeServices_of_America_in_Gillette%2C_Wyoming.jpg)
In late June 2017, Berkshire Hathaway indirectly acquired
Home Capital Group Inc for $400 million giving lifeline to the
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
-based embattled mortgage lender.
Also in June 2017, Berkshire's $377 million investment and 10 percent purchase in Store Capital makes it the company's third-largest investor, after
Vanguard Group
The Vanguard Group, Inc. is an American registered investment advisor based in Malvern, Pennsylvania, with about $7 trillion in global assets under management, as of January 13, 2021. It is the largest provider of mutual funds and the second-lar ...
and
Fidelity Investments
Fidelity Investments, commonly referred to as Fidelity, earlier as Fidelity Management & Research or FMR, is an American multinational financial services corporation based in Boston, Massachusetts. The company was established in 1946 and is on ...
.
Scottsdale-based Store Capital is a
real-estate investment trust, holding more than 1,700 properties across 48 states.
Berkshire's other investments tied to real estate include
Clayton Homes, which makes
manufactured housing
Manufactured housing (commonly known as mobile homes in the United States) is a type of prefabricated housing that is largely assembled in factories and then transported to sites of use. The definition of the term in the United States is regula ...
.
Despite these numerous investments and
Charlie Munger
Charles Thomas Munger (born January 1, 1924) is an American billionaire investor, businessman, and former real estate attorney. He is vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, the conglomerate controlled by Warren Buffett; Buffett has described Mun ...
's active involvement in the real estate development business, Berkshire Hathaway usually stays away from real estate preferring corporations with dividend based income to real estate investments.
Other non-insurance
In 2002, Berkshire acquired Albecca Inc. Albecca is headquartered in Norcross, Georgia, and primarily does business under the Larson-Juhl name. Albecca designs, manufactures, and distributes custom framing products, including wood and metal molding, matboard, foamboard, glass, equipment, and other framing supplies. Berkshire acquired
CTB International
CTB, Inc., a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., is a global designer and manufacturer of systems for preserving grain, producing poultry, pigs and eggs, and processing food. The company is headquartered in Milford, Indiana, U.S.A., and empl ...
Corp. in 2002. CTB, headquartered in Milford, Indiana, is a designer, manufacturer, and marketer of systems used in the grain industry and in the production of poultry, hogs, and eggs. Products are produced in the United States and Europe and are sold primarily through a global network of independent dealers and distributors, with peak sales occurring in the second and third quarters.
Berkshire acquired
McLane Company
McLane is an American wholesale supply chain services company which distributes grocery and non-food to convenience stores, discount retailers, wholesale clubs, drug stores, military bases, quick service restaurants, and casual dining restaurant ...
, Inc., in May 2003 from
Walmart
Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...
, which brought on other subsidiaries such as Professional Datasolutions, Inc., and Salado Sales, among others. McLane provides wholesale distribution and logistics services in all 50 states and internationally in Brazil to customers that include discount retailers, convenience stores, quick-service restaurants, drug stores and movie theatre complexes.
In 1986,
Scott Fetzer
The Scott Fetzer Company, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, is an American diversified manufacturer and marketer of products for the home, family, and industry comprising 33 brands, headquartered in Westlake, Ohio.
The company was founded by G ...
Companies, a diversified group of 32 brands that manufactures and distributes a significant number of products for residential, industrial, and institutional use, was acquired.
The two most significant of these businesses are
Kirby home cleaning systems and Wayne Water Systems and
Campbell Hausfeld products. Today, Campbell Hausfeld is no longer held by Scott Fetzer, having been sold to Marmon, also a Berkshire subsidiary in 2015. Scott Fetzer also manufactures
Ginsu
Ginsu () is a brand of direct marketed knives, owned by Scott Fetzer Company, a Berkshire Hathaway Company, that was made popular in the United States by being sold on television using infomercials characterized by hawker and hard sell pitch ...
knives and
World Book Encyclopedia
The ''World Book Encyclopedia'' is an American encyclopedia. The encyclopedia is designed to cover major areas of knowledge uniformly, but it shows particular strength in scientific, technical, historical and medical subjects. ''World Book'' wa ...
.
On March 30, 2007, Berkshire Hathaway announced
TTI, Inc.
TTI, Inc., is a distributor of electronic components that include capacitors, resistors, Electrical connector, connectors, switches, relays, circuit protection, electromagnetics, discrete semiconductors, sensors, RF modules, and antennas.
The c ...
, to be part of the Berkshire Hathaway Group. Headquartered in
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...
, TTI is the largest distributor specialist of passive, interconnect, and electromechanical components. TTI's extensive product line includes; resistors, capacitors, connectors, potentiometers, trimmers, magnetic and circuit protection components, wire and cable, identification products, application tools, and electromechanical devices. On December 25, 2007, Berkshire Hathaway acquired
Marmon Group
Marmon Group is an American industrial holding company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois; founded by Jay Pritzker and Robert Pritzker in 1953 (as Colson Corporation), it has been held by the Berkshire Hathaway group since 2013. It owns compani ...
. Previously it was a privately held conglomerate owned by the Pritzker family for over fifty years, which owned and operated an assortment of manufacturing companies that produce railroad tank cars, shopping carts, plumbing pipes, metal fasteners, wiring and water treatment products used in residential construction. In September 2020,
BNSF Railway
BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...
, among Berkshire Hathaway's largest entities, hired its first female CEO,
Kathryn Farmer.
On October 2, 2014, Berkshire Hathaway Automotive, an auto dealership subsidiary, was created through the acquisition of Van Tuyl Group, the remaining largest auto dealer in the nation and independently owned up to that date. It is the fifth-largest with ownership of 81 dealerships and revenues of $8 billion. On November 14, 2014, Berkshire Hathaway announced that it would acquire
Duracell
Duracell Inc. is an American manufacturer of alkaline batteries, specialty cells, rechargeables and smart power systems, owned by Berkshire Hathaway. The company has its origins in the 1920s, through the work of Samuel Ruben and Philip Mallory, ...
from
Procter & Gamble
The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer hea ...
for $4.7 billion in an all-stock deal.
Finance and financial services
Berkshire Hathaway acquired
Clayton Homes, a maker of modular homes, storage trailers, chassis, intermodal piggyback trailers and domestic containers.
Clayton's finance business, (loans to manufactured home owners), earned $206 million down from $526 million in 2007. Loan losses remain 3.6% up from 2.9%.
Investments
As well as owning companies outright, Berkshire maintains a concentrated portfolio of equities and investments which has historically been managed by Warren Buffett. Since 2010,
Todd Combs and
Ted Weschler also work alongside Buffett in managing investments. Buffett has spoken very highly of both in public interviews and in the 2015 letter to shareholders he described hiring them both as "one of my best moves". In the 2016 letter to shareholders, Warren revealed that each of them independently manages greater than $10 billion on behalf of Berkshire.
, 65% of Berkshire's equity securities were concentrated in five companies:
American Express Company
American Express Company (Amex) is an American multinational corporation specialized in payment card services headquartered at 200 Vesey Street in the Battery Park City neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. The company was found ...
($12.0 billion),
Apple Inc.
Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company ...
($19.2 billion),
The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation founded in 1892, best known as the producer of Coca-Cola. The Coca-Cola Company also manufactures, sells, and markets other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, ...
($17.0 billion),
International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) ($11.2 billion), and
Wells Fargo & Company
Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with corporate headquarters in San Francisco, California; operational headquarters in Manhattan; and managerial offices throughout the United States and intern ...
($27.8 billion). After a selloff of IBM stock in February 2018, on May 4, 2018, Buffett announced that Berkshire had completely sold its stake in IBM, and purchased more of Apple.
In 2006, Berkshire Hathaway acquired
Russell Corporation
Russell Brands, LLC was an American corporation that manufactured sports equipment, marketing its products under many brands and subsidiaries, such as Russell Athletic (its flagship brand) and Spalding. Formerly a publicly traded company, Russ ...
for $600 million, in fact getting most shares and brands in many sports leagues – including
Spalding NBA official basketballs,
BIKE Athletic Company
Bike Athletic Company is an American sportswear company with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. They invented the jockstrap in 1874 for bicyclists in Boston. The firm sold over 350 million jockstraps.
The company later produced additional protect ...
protections, AAI (American Athletic) Gymnastics' tables, bars, rings, horses or Dudley softball balls and accessories.
At the peak of the financial crisis in September 2008, Berkshire invested $5 billion in preferred stock in
Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs () is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered at 200 West Street in Lower Manhattan, with regional headquarters in London, Warsaw, Bangalore, H ...
to provide it with a source of funding when capital markets had become constrained. The preferred stock yielded an annual interest rate of 10% earning Berkshire $500 million in interest income per year. Berkshire also received warrants to purchase 43.5 million shares with a strike price of $115 per share, which were exercisable at any time for a five-year term. Goldman maintained the right to purchase back the preferred stock and in March 2011 exercised this right paying $5.5 billion to Berkshire (the preferred stock could only be purchased back at a 10% premium). The warrants have been exercised and Berkshire holds 3% of the share capital of Goldman Sachs. Profit on the preferred stock was estimated at $1.8 billion and exercising the warrants has yielded a profit of more than $2 billion, although Berkshire's continued ownership of shares in Goldman Sachs means the entire profit cannot be quantified.
On August 26, 2011, Berkshire Hathaway purchased $5 billion of preferred shares in
Bank of America
The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank w ...
. The investment has an annual interest cost of 6% earning Berkshire $300 million in annual interest. Alongside the preferred stock investment, Berkshire obtained warrants allowing Berkshire to buy 700 million common shares at $7.14 per share any time before September 2, 2021. Based on the share price in June 2017, this position has yielded a profit of more than $10 billion excluding the annual interest earned from the preferred stock.
In 2008, Berkshire purchased preferred stock in
Wrigley,
Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs () is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered at 200 West Street in Lower Manhattan, with regional headquarters in London, Warsaw, Bangalore, H ...
, and
GE totaling $14.5 billion.
In September 2008,
MidAmerican Energy Holdings, a
subsidiary
A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a s ...
of
Warren Buffett
Warren Edward Buffett ( ; born August 30, 1930) is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is currently the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is one of the most successful investors in the world and has a net w ...
's
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. () is an American multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Its main business and source of capital is insurance, from which it invests the float (the retained premiums ...
, invested about US$230 million for a 10% (or 9.89%
[Car Designer Sees China's Wheels Electric-powered](_blank)
BYD Press Release, 12 May 2009) share of
BYD @ HK$8/share.
On November 3, 2009, Berkshire Hathaway announced that using stock and cash totaling $26 billion, it would acquire the remaining 77.4 percent of the
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation, parent of
BNSF Railway
BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...
, that it did not already own. This was the largest acquisition to date in Berkshire's history.
On March 14, 2011, Berkshire Hathaway announced that it would acquire the
Lubrizol Corporation for $9 billion in cash, a deal that was described as one of the largest deals ever for Berkshire Hathaway.
On March 25, 2011, Berkshire Hathaway made its first foray into the Indian insurance sector with its non-direct subsidiary BerkshireInsurance.com.
On February 14, 2013, Berkshire Hathaway Inc and
3G Capital
3G Capital is a Brazilian-American multibillion-dollar investment firm, founded in 2004 by Alex Behring, Jorge Paulo Lemann, Carlos Alberto Sicupira, Marcel Herrmann Telles and Roberto Thompson Motta.
The firm is best known for implementing zero ...
announced plans to purchase
H.J. Heinz Co. for $72.50 per share or $28 billion including debt. The company became a majority owner of Heinz on June 18, 2015, after exercising a warrant to acquire 46.2 million shares of common stock for a total price of $462 million increasing its stake to 52.5%.
Berkshire owns 1.74 million shares of
Gannett
Gannett Co., Inc. () is an American mass media holding company headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.[Lee Enterprises
Lee Enterprises, Inc. is a publicly traded American media company. It publishes 77 daily newspapers in 26 states, and more than 350 weekly, classified, and specialty publications. Lee Enterprises was founded in 1890 by Alfred Wilson Lee and is b ...]
after buying some of Lee's debt after its bankruptcy filing.
On August 10, 2015, the boards of directors of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and
Precision Castparts Corp. unanimously approved a definitive agreement for Berkshire Hathaway to acquire, for $235 per share in cash, all outstanding PCC shares.
In the second quarter of 2020, Berkshire added a position of more than 20 million shares in mining company
Barrick Gold
Barrick Gold Corporation is a mining company that produces gold and copper with 16 operating sites in 13 countries. It is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It has mining operations in Argentina, Canada, Chile, Côte d'Ivoire, Democrati ...
,
and in the third quarter the company agreed to buy Dominion Energy's natural gas transmission and storage operations.
Between September 2019 and August 2020, Berkshire purchased more than 5% of the outstanding stock of each of the five largest Japanese
general trading companies (
Itochu
is a Japanese corporation based in Umeda, Kita-ku, Osaka and Aoyama, Minato, Tokyo.
It is one of the largest Japanese ''sogo shosha'' (general trading companies). Among Japanese trading companies, it is distinguished by not being descend ...
,
Mitsubishi
The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries.
Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group historically descended from the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company which existed from 1870 ...
,
Mitsui
is one of the largest '' keiretsu'' in Japan and one of the largest corporate groups in the world.
The major companies of the group include Mitsui & Co. ( general trading company), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Nippon Paper Industri ...
,
Sumitomo
The is one of the largest Japanese ''keiretsu'', or business groups, founded by Masatomo Sumitomo (1585-1652) around 1615 during the early Edo period.
History
The Sumitomo Group traces its roots to a bookshop in Kyoto founded circa 1615 by Masa ...
, and
Marubeni
(, OSE: 8002, NSE: 8002) is a ''sōgō shōsha'' (general trading company) headquartered in Nihonbashi, Chuo, Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the largest ''sogo shosha'' and has leading market shares in cereal and paper pulp trading as well as a st ...
) through its National Indemnity subsidiary. These stakes were worth a total of over $6 billion as of August 2020.
On April 6, 2022, Berkshire Hathaway disclosed in its regulatory filing that the company had bought 121 million shares of
HP Inc.
HP Inc. is an American multinational information technology company headquartered in Palo Alto, California, that develops personal computers (PCs), printers and related supplies, as well as 3D printing solutions.
It was formed on Novembe ...
valued at more than $4.2 billion. In May 2022, Berkshire Hathaway acquired a $2.6 billion stake in
Paramount Global
Paramount Global (doing business as Paramount) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned and operated by National Amusements (79.4%) and headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York. I ...
.
In the third quarter of 2022, Berkshire purchased 60 million shares in semiconductor manufacturing company
TSMC
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC; also called Taiwan Semiconductor) is a Taiwanese multinational corporation, multinational semiconductor contract manufacturing and design company. It is the world's most valuable semicon ...
, acquiring a $4.1 billion stake.
Investments in Amazon.com Inc.
On May 2, 2019, Warren Buffett told CNBC that one of Berkshire's investment managers, either Todd Combs or Ted Weschler, have been purchasing
Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...
shares. "One of the fellows in the office that manage money
..bought some Amazon so it will show up in the 13F," Buffett told CNBC. Buffett continued; "Yeah, I've been a fan, and I've been an idiot for not buying. But I want you to know it's no personality changes taking place."
Investment in Apple Inc.
In May 2016, it was revealed in a regulatory filing that Berkshire had acquired a stake in
Apple Inc
Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company ...
. The initial position was for 9.8 million shares (0.2% of Apple) worth $1 billion. By the end of June 2016, this stake had increased to 15.2 million shares (0.3% of Apple). Berkshire then restarted buying Apple stock again between September to December. By December 31, 2016, Berkshire had built up a stake of 57.4 million shares (1.1% of Apple) with an estimated average acquisition price of $110 per share (before the 2020 4:1 split). Aggressive stock purchases continued and by March 31, 2017, Berkshire had amassed a stake of 129 million shares (2.5% of Apple). In the 2017 annual report, Berkshire Hathaway disclosed its total position by December 31, 2017, to be 166 million shares (3.3% of Apple). As of September 30, 2021 Berkshire owns 5.5% of Apple with 907.6 million shares, according to the company's November 15, 2021, 13F filing.
In media reports, Buffett says that Apple has developed an ecosystem and level of brand loyalty that provides it with a competitive moat, and that consumers appear to have a degree of price insensitivity when it comes to the iPhone. While Buffett has famously avoided tech stocks, he has said that Apple is a consumer products company and that he understands consumer products businesses.
Prior investments
Berkshire previously held a considerable stake in
Tesco Plc
Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...
, the UK grocery retailer. Berkshire made its first investment in Tesco in 2006 and in 2012 raised this stake to over 5% of the company with a cost for the investment of $2.3 billion. Buffett sold around 30% of this stake in 2013 when he "soured somewhat on the company's then-management" realizing a profit of $43 million. As Tesco's problems mounted through 2014, Berkshire sold all the remaining shares with Buffett saying to shareholders that the delay in selling shares was costly. Berkshire made an after-tax loss of $444 million on the Tesco investment.
In 2016, Berkshire surprised investors by making large equity investments in the major US
airline
An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines for ...
s. Buffett had previously described airlines as a "deathtrap for investors". Buffett had made an investment in US Airways in 1989 which, although he sold for a profit, almost lost Berkshire a substantial sum of money. In 2017, Berkshire was the largest shareholder in
United Airlines
United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois. and
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...
and a top 3 shareholder in
Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines Co., typically referred to as Southwest, is one of the major airlines of the United States and the world's largest low-cost carrier. It is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and has scheduled service to 121 destinations in the U ...
and
American Airlines
American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...
. Buffett himself has described this as a "call on the industry" rather than a choice in an individual company. American Airline's CEO
Doug Parker
William Douglas Parker (b. October 31, 1961) is an American businessman who was the Chairman of American Airlines Group, Inc., the parent company of American Airlines.
Early life and education
Parker grew up in Michigan and received a BA in ...
is said to have won over Ted Weschler in arguing that the airline industry had consolidated sufficiently and rationalized supply such that longer-term profitability could be achieved in an industry that has historically been loss-making in aggregate. In April 2020 Berkshire sold all shares in US Airlines in response to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.
In 2022, Berkshire Hathaway disclosed that it has sold its remaining stakes with
Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with corporate headquarters in San Francisco, California; operational headquarters in Manhattan; and managerial offices throughout the United States and intern ...
during the first quarter.
Subsidiaries and equity holdings
See also
*
List of Berkshire Hathaway publications
References
External links
Official website
{{Authority control
1839 establishments in Rhode Island
American companies established in 1839
Bill Gates
Buffett family
Companies based in Omaha, Nebraska
Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange
Conglomerate companies established in 1839
Conglomerate companies of the United States
Financial services companies established in 1839
History of the textile industry
Holding companies established in 1839
Holding companies of the United States
Insurance companies of the United States
Investment companies of the United States
Multinational companies headquartered in the United States
Reinsurance companies
Television broadcasting companies of the United States