Company Overview
Highlights
The colossal holding company behind a diverse range of companies.
Warren Buffett, Berkshire’s founder and controlling shareholder has told his children not to expect inheritances, stating publicly that he plans to give away 98 percent of his wealth.
Chances are pretty good that whatever you're doing on any given day, Berkshire Hathaway has a hand in some part of it. Owner Warren Buffett acquired Berkshire Hathaway in 1965 when the company was a struggling textile maker and then started acquiring and taking stakes in outside companies.
Today, Berkshire owns a diverse range of firms including Berkshire Hathaway Life Insurance (BHLN), Borsheim's Fine Jewelry, The Buffalo (N.Y.) News, Central States Indemnity Company, Executive Jet, Fechheimer Brothers Company, FlightSafety, GEICO Direct Auto Insurance, General & Cologne Re Group, Helzberg Diamonds, Dairy Queen, Inc., Jordan's Furniture, National Indemnity Company, Nebraska Furniture Mart, Precision Steel Warehouse, Inc., R.C. Willey Home Furnishings, Scott Fetzer Companies, See's Candies, and Star Furniture.
Each year, investors look forward to Buffett’s letter to shareholders, an often-entertaining document in which Buffett pretty much calls the economy and governmental policy as he sees it. In the 1990s, he called investors to task for overvaluing Internet stocks and in 2003, he pointed out inequity in California property taxes caused by Proposition 13, as well as calling out President Bush’s income tax cuts as unfair. Although Buffet will be turning 80 years old in 2010, he has yet to announce a successor. He has confirmed that one has been chosen, however, and that a man will fill the position when he steps down. Buffett is also a known philanthropist, donating money to the Omaha Children's Museum, Boys and Girls Club of Omaha, and Girls Inc.
Berkshire Hathaway has not been immune to the economic downturn of 2008, mainly because its investment in retail and residential construction businesses suffered losses. According to The New York Times, its 2008 investment in oil and gas company ConocoPhillips was also badly timed, as oil and gases prices spiked. Still, Berkshire Hathaway continues to invest in companies hit by the economic crisis, such as Goldman Sachs, Swiss Re, and General Electric.