As the world’s biggest holding company, Berkshire Hathaway has its hands in many well-known companies. The success of these businesses feeds the ever-expanding wealth of Berkshire Hathaway and its chairman and CEO Warren Buffett. How much do we really know about this almighty investment superpower? Here are 5 Berkshire Hathaway facts – because gaining knowledge is always a good investment.
5 Berkshire Hathaway Facts
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- Berkshire Hathaway originated in 1929 when textile manufacturer Valley Falls Company merged with Berkshire Cotton Manufacturing Company. (source) The resulting company merged with Hathaway Manufacturing to create Berkshire Hathaway in 1955. Warren Buffett became the majority owner in 1962 when then manager Seabury Stanton tried to undercut him when buying back his stocks. This angered Buffet, so instead of selling back his stocks, he bought more to take control of the company and fired Stanton. By 1967, Buffett turned away from the failing textile industry and expanded into insurance and other investments. GEICO became one of its first big successes.
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- Berkshire Hathaway is the world’s largest holding company. (source) According to Investing.com, Berkshire Hathaway has holdings in 47 companies from which it earns significant dividends. For example, Berkshire Hathaway received nearly $800 million in dividends from Apple in 2021 – Warren Buffet refers to the tech giant as a “family jewel” because of the wealth it delivers. Berkshire Hathaway owns 5.8% of Apple’s public stock.
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- Berkshire Hathaway is the most profitable financial company in the United States. (source) With an annual revenue of $89.80 billion in 2021, it almost matched Apple’s revenue of $94.68 billion!
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- Berkshire fully owns GEICO, Duracell, Fruit of the Loom, and Dairy Queen. (source) It also has significant holdings in Kraft Heinz (39.9%), Coca-Cola (9.2%), Bank of America (12.9%), HP (12.3%), Activision Blizzard (6.7%), and American Express (20.4%). CNBC provides a cool Berkshire Hathaway Portfolio Tracker – check it out!
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- Warren Buffet purchased his first stock at 11 years old and made $53,000 in portfolio assets by 16 years old. (source) It is no wonder that he played a vital role in transforming Berkshire Hathaway into the world’s largest holding company!
