114-807: The Gateway Subdivision is a railroad line owned by the BNSF Railway . It runs from Klamath Falls , Oregon in the north to Keddie , California at the south end. The earliest traces of railroad activity on the Gateway Subdivision traces to two major (now fallen flag) railroads, the Great Northern Railway (U.S.) and the Western Pacific Railroad . Historically, the Great Northern laid track from Klamath Falls, Oregon to Bieber, California and
228-491: A margin of safety . That's what Ben Graham taught us. A hundred years from now they will still be the cornerstones of investing. Buffett worked from 1951 to 1954 at his father's firm, Buffett-Falk & Co., as an investment salesman; from 1954 to 1956 at Graham-Newman Corp. as a securities analyst; from 1956 to 1969 at several investment partnerships as the general partner; and from 1970 as chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc . In 1951, Buffett discovered that Graham
342-478: A $ 1.5 billion state of the art master planned rail facility in Southern California, the first such facility developed by a Class I railroad . The Barstow International Gateway, encompassing approximately 4,500 acres (1,800 ha, 7.0 sq mi), an integrated rail facility, will be located on the west side of Barstow, California . This new facility, when built, will enable more efficient rail operations from
456-470: A $ 35 deduction for the use of his bicycle and watch on his paper route. In 1945, as a high school sophomore, Buffett and a friend spent $ 25 to purchase a used pinball machine, which they placed in the local barber shop . Within months, they owned several machines in three different barber shops across Omaha. They later sold the business to a war veteran for $ 1,200. Buffett's interest in the stock market and investing dated back to his schoolboy days spent in
570-515: A BN hub where it could interchange with SP (which had rights on BN dating from 1990 ). The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) approved the BNSF merger on July 20, 1995 (with final approval on August 23), less than a month before UP announced on August 3 that it would acquire SP. Parents Burlington Northern Inc. and Santa Fe Pacific Corporation were acquired on September 22, 1995, by the new Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation . The merger of
684-428: A fantastic ability to simply consume capital. It makes no difference to a widow with her savings in a 5 percent passbook account whether she pays 100 percent income tax on her interest income during a period of zero inflation, or pays no income taxes during years of 5 percent inflation. In his article, " The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville ", Buffett rebutted the academic efficient-market hypothesis , that beating
798-600: A few short sections of trackage rights over BNSF, mainly connecting the SP at Chemult to the UP at Bend, Oregon , and connecting the SP at Mojave, California with existing UP rights on ATSF at Barstow, California . On April 18, 1996, UP, BNSF, and the Chemical Manufacturers Association entered into an agreement giving BNSF rights over the UP line between Houston and East St. Louis , paralleling
912-620: A key reason for the purchase was to diversify Berkshire Hathaway from the financial industry. Measured by market capitalization in the Financial Times Global 500 , Berkshire Hathaway was the eighteenth largest corporation in the world as of June 2009. In 2009, Buffett divested his failed investment in ConocoPhillips , saying to his Berkshire investors, I bought a large amount of ConocoPhillips stock when oil and gas prices were near their peak. I in no way anticipated
1026-560: A lot, but people have really changed their habits like I haven't seen". Additionally, Buffett feared that inflation levels that occurred in the 1970s—which led to years of painful stagflation —might re-emerge. In 2009, Buffett invested $ 2.6 billion as a part of Swiss Re 's campaign to raise equity capital. Berkshire Hathaway already owned a 3% stake, with rights to own more than 20%. Also in 2009, Buffett acquired Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. for $ 34 billion in cash and stock. Alice Schroeder , author of Snowball , said that
1140-608: A number of accidents and incidents have occurred on the railway since its inception. As one of the leading supporters of the Operation Lifesaver program to promote safety at railway crossings and rights-of-way, the BNSF Railway, in 2000, established a grade-crossing closure program. This program, in which BNSF works with communities and landowners to identify unnecessary or redundant crossings, has helped close more than 2,900 of BNSF's railway crossings throughout
1254-425: A philanthropist). At 15, Warren made more than $ 175 monthly delivering Washington Post newspapers. In high school, he invested in a business owned by his father and bought a 40-acre farm worked by a tenant farmer. He bought the land when he was 14 years old with $ 1,200 of his savings. By the time he finished college, Buffett had amassed $ 9,800 in savings (about $ 125,000 today). In 1947, Buffett matriculated at
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#17327806484071368-422: A portion of its investment portfolio. 77% of the outstanding shares were turned in. Buffett had reaped a 50 percent return on investment in just two years. In 1962, Buffett became a millionaire with the success of his partnerships, which by then had grown to 11 entities and held in excess of $ 7,178,500, of which over $ 1,025,000 belonged to Buffett. At the start of the year, he merged the various partnerships into
1482-645: A reduced plan, whereby SP acquired trackage rights on ATSF for intermodal and automotive traffic to Chicago, and other trackage rights on ATSF in Kansas , south to Texas, and between Colorado and Texas. In exchange, SP assigned BNSF trackage rights over the former Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad between El Paso and Topeka and haulage rights to the Mexican border at Eagle Pass, Texas . Regional Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway also obtained trackage rights over BN from Peoria to Galesburg, Illinois ,
1596-486: A series of investment partnerships. In 1957, Buffett operated three investment partnerships. By 1959, the total had grown to six partnerships. That year, Buffett met future partner Charlie Munger . In 1961, Buffett revealed that 35% of the partnerships' assets were invested in the Sanborn Map Company . He explained that Sanborn stock sold for only $ 45 per share in 1958, but the company's investment portfolio
1710-585: A small amount of track in Canada, including an approximate 30-mile (48 km) section that runs from the U.S.–Canada border to Vancouver, British Columbia , some tracks and a yard in Winnipeg, Manitoba , approximately 70 miles (110 km) of joint track with the Canadian National Railway , which runs south to the U.S. border at Emerson, Manitoba , and less than a kilometer of trackage at
1824-571: A stockbroker while taking a Dale Carnegie public speaking course. Using what he learned, he felt confident enough to teach an "Investment Principles" night class at the University of Nebraska-Omaha . The average age of his students was more than twice his own. During this time he also purchased a Sinclair gas station as a side investment but it was unsuccessful. In 1954, Buffett accepted a job at Benjamin Graham 's partnership. His starting salary
1938-628: A subset of the mechanical division, operates two maintenance-of-way work equipment shops, responsible for performing repairs and preventive maintenance to BNSF's track and equipment, in Brainerd, Minnesota and Galesburg, Illinois . The system mechanical division also operates the Western Fruit Express Company's refrigerated car repair shop in Spokane, Washington . On October 1, 2022, BNSF Railway announced plans to construct
2052-557: A subsidiary in a deal that presented difficulties — according to the Rational Walk investment website, "underwriting standards proved to be inadequate", while a "problematic derivatives book" was resolved after numerous years and a significant loss. Gen Re later provided reinsurance after Buffett became involved with Maurice R. Greenberg at AIG in 2002. During a 2005 investigation of an accounting fraud case involving AIG, Gen Re executives became implicated. On March 15, 2005,
2166-517: A supporter of index funds for people who are either not interested in managing their own money or do not have the time. Buffett is skeptical that active management can outperform the market in the long run, and has advised both individual and institutional investors to move their money to low-cost index funds that track broad, diversified stock market indices. Buffett said in one of his letters to shareholders that "when trillions of dollars are managed by Wall Streeters charging high fees, it will usually be
2280-514: A textile manufacturing firm, Berkshire Hathaway, assuming its name to create a diversified holding company . Buffett emerged as the company's chairman and majority shareholder in 1970. In 1978, fellow investor and long-time business associate Charlie Munger joined Buffett as vice-chairman. Since 1970, Buffett has presided as the chairman and largest shareholder of Berkshire Hathaway, one of America's foremost holding companies and world's leading corporate conglomerates . He has been referred to as
2394-610: A total of 33 intermodal hubs and 23 automotive distribution facilities. The BNSF mechanical division operates 13 locomotive maintenance facilities that perform preventive maintenance, repairs and servicing of equipment. The largest of these facilities are located in Alliance, Nebraska and Argentine Yard in Kansas City, Kansas . The mechanical division also controls 46 additional facilities responsible for car maintenance and daily running repairs. The BNSF system mechanical division,
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#17327806484072508-568: Is an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist who currently serves as the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway . As a result of his investment success, Buffett is one of the best-known investors in the world. As of October 2024, he had a net worth of $ 147 billion, making him the eighth-richest person in the world . Buffett was born in Omaha, Nebraska . The son of US congressman and businessman Howard Buffett , he developed an interest in business and investing during his youth. He entered
2622-468: Is doing something that is deeply evil to make money for himself." Buffett's writings include his annual reports and various articles. Buffett is recognized by communicators as a great story-teller, as evidenced by his annual letters to shareholders. He has warned about the pernicious effects of inflation: The arithmetic makes it plain that inflation is a far more devastating tax than anything that has been enacted by our legislatures. The inflation tax has
2736-552: Is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads , BNSF has 36,000 employees, 33,400 miles (53,800 km) of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that provide rail connections between the western and eastern United States. BNSF trains traveled over 169 million miles (272 million kilometers) in 2010, more than any other North American railroad. The BNSF Railway Company
2850-612: Is the principal operating subsidiary of parent company Burlington Northern Santa Fe, LLC. Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas , the railroad's parent company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway , Inc., of Omaha, Nebraska . The current CEO is Kathryn Farmer . According to corporate press releases, the BNSF Railway is among the top transporters of intermodal freight in North America. It also hauls bulk cargo , including coal . The creation of BNSF started with
2964-462: Is to figure out how nobody gets left too far behind. After the difficulties of the economic crisis , Buffett managed to bring its company back to its pre-recession standards: in Q2 2014, Berkshire Hathaway made $ 6.4 billion in net profit, the most it had ever made in a three-month period. On August 14, 2014, the price of Berkshire Hathaway's shares hit $ 200,000 a share for the first time, capitalizing
3078-559: The Amtrak Cascades , California Zephyr , Carl Sandburg , Coast Starlight , Empire Builder , Heartland Flyer , Illinois Zephyr , Lincoln Service , Pacific Surfliner , San Joaquin , Southwest Chief , Sunset Limited , and Texas Eagle . After the 2015 Oxnard train derailment , BNSF loaned 40 of their AC4400CWs to Metrolink while their Rotem cab cars received upgrades. These 40 units were converted to PTC. The locomotives have since been returned after
3192-672: The Buffalo Courier-Express . Both papers lost money until the Courier-Express folded in 1982. In 1979, Berkshire began to acquire stock in ABC . Capital Cities announced a $ 3.5 billion purchase of ABC on March 18, 1985, surprising the media industry, as ABC was four times bigger than Capital Cities at the time. Buffett helped finance the deal in return for a 25% stake in the combined company. The newly merged company, known as Capital Cities/ABC (or CapCities/ABC),
3306-796: The Aurora Branch Railroad in Illinois and the Pacific Railroad of Missouri were formed by a group of millers who were granted a charter to build a 12-mile railroad that connected Aurora with the Galena & Chicago Union Rail Road. The Aurora Branch eventually grew into the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q), a major component of successor Burlington Northern . Part of the Pacific Railroad became
3420-883: The BNSF Railway Line for Metra in Chicago and the Sounder in the Puget Sound Region — using BNSF-supplied crews in addition to running over its rails. The company's network additionally hosts other commuter trains , including: Metrolink in Southern California , and the Northstar Line in Minneapolis . The line used by New Mexico Rail Runner Express was sold to the state of New Mexico, but BNSF retained all freight rights on
3534-532: The Houston area: west over UP to San Antonio , with a branch to Waco , and continuing over SP to Eagle Pass (replacing the haulage rights they had just obtained); south over UP to Brownsville ; east over SP to New Orleans (including the purchase of this line east of Lake Charles ); and northeast over SP to Memphis with a branch on UP to Little Rock . Ownership of a short connection between Waxahachie and Dallas also went from UP to BNSF. UP, in return, got
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3648-697: The Midwest on former BN lines. Depending on where the markets are, this grain may move in any direction in unit trains or wait in silos for demand to rise. Most commonly, grain may move west on the Northern Transcon to the Pacific Northwest and its export terminals, or south to ports in Texas and the Gulf of Mexico . The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway 's main contribution to BNSF
3762-621: The Northern Pacific Railway 's main line across Washington , in 1984, in favor of the ex- Great Northern Railway 's Stevens Pass . BN never abandoned the line and began rehabilitating it in early 1996, and the route reopened in early December, relieving the crowded Stevens Pass. The ex-ATSF main line, now known as the Southern Transcon , has also seen steady work to add tracks, giving BNSF more capacity on this major intermodal route. On December 20, 1999, BNSF and
3876-632: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration ordered BNSF to pay over $ 526,000 to workers who had been terminated in 2010 and 2011 after revealing workplace injuries at the terminal in Havre, Montana , which is in contravention of provisions of the Federal Railroad Safety Act protecting whistleblowers. In August 2016, a "huge number" of used hypodermic drug needles were found along a BNSF railroad bridge in between
3990-813: The Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach to trains for transport through the Alameda Corridor onto the BNSF mainline to the new facility, and then move across the nation on the eastbound BNSF route network. In June 2024, BNSF Railway announced plans to develop the Surprise Intermodal/Logistics Center , a regional rail-served facility near Phoenix, Arizona . The planned site is located in northwest Maricopa County and will cover 4,321 acres (1,749 ha) of land. The facility consists of three distinct, interrelated components: Large freight car hump yards are located throughout
4104-624: The S&;P 500 was "pure chance", by highlighting the results achieved by a number of students of the Graham and Dodd value investing school of thought. In addition to himself, Buffett named Walter J. Schloss , Tom Knapp, Ed Anderson ( Tweedy, Browne LLC ), William J. Ruane ( Sequoia Fund ), Charlie Munger (Buffett's partner at Berkshire), Rick Guerin (Pacific Partners Ltd.), and Stan Perlmeter (Perlmeter Investments). In his November 1999 Fortune article, he warned of investors' unrealistic expectations: Let me summarize what I've been saying about
4218-615: The San Francisco Bay Area , with an alternate route through the Feather River Canyon along UP. The ATSF trackage in California's Central Valley was linked to BN's line into Oregon , through trackage rights over UP between Stockton and Keddie and acquisition of UP's section of the "Inside Gateway" to the beginning of BN trackage at Bieber . In Texas, BNSF received rights in several directions from
4332-565: The St. Louis-San Francisco Railway (Frisco). The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (ATSF) was chartered in 1859. It built one of the first transcontinental railroads in North America, linking Chicago and Southern California ; major branches led to Texas , Denver , and San Francisco . The Interstate Commerce Commission denied a proposed merger with the Southern Pacific Transportation Company in
4446-532: The Surface Transportation Board expressed concern and surprise about the timing, since the merger that produced BNSF had been the only one in the 1990s that did not cause severe deterioration in service. On March 17, 2000, the STB imposed a 15-month moratorium on mergers involving any two Class I railroads , citing widespread opposition not only to the merger but its effects, likely starting
4560-547: The United States Congress , and after moving with his family to Washington, D.C., Warren finished elementary school, attended Alice Deal Junior High School and graduated from what was then Woodrow Wilson High School in 1947, where his senior yearbook picture reads: "likes math; a future stockbroker". After finishing high school and finding success with his side entrepreneurial and investment ventures, Buffett wanted to skip college to go directly into business but
4674-466: The University Park and St. Johns neighborhoods of Portland, Oregon that has become an encampment for homeless individuals. According to a conductor quoted by The Oregonian "Pretty much see people down there at all hours of the night. We report them but nobody does anything." Warren Buffett Warren Edward Buffett ( / ˈ b ʌ f ɪ t / BUF -it ; born August 30, 1930)
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4788-674: The Washington Post Company . Buffett became close friends with Katharine Graham , who controlled the company and its flagship newspaper and joined its board. In 1974, the SEC opened a formal investigation into Buffett and Berkshire's acquisition of Wesco Financial , due to possible conflict of interest. No charges were brought. In 1977, Berkshire indirectly purchased the Buffalo Evening News for $ 32.5 million. Antitrust charges started, instigated by its rival,
4902-719: The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1947 before graduating from the University of Nebraska at 19. He went on to graduate from Columbia Business School , where he molded his investment philosophy around the concept of value investing pioneered by Benjamin Graham . He attended New York Institute of Finance to focus on his economics background and soon pursued a business career. He later began various business ventures and investment partnerships, including one with Graham. He created Buffett Partnership Ltd. in 1956 and his investment firm eventually acquired
5016-498: The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania . He would have preferred to focus on his business ventures, but enrolled due to pressure from his father. Warren studied there for two years and joined the Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity. He then transferred to the University of Nebraska where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in business administration in 1951. After being rejected by Harvard Business School in
5130-447: The low-sulfur coal of Wyoming 's Powder River Basin . The city of Burlington, Iowa is the namesake of Burlington in each of Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad , Burlington Northern Railroad , and BNSF. On June 30, 1994, BN and ATSF announced plans to merge. They were the largest and smallest (by track mileage) of the "Super Seven", the seven largest of the then-twelve U.S. Class I railroads . The long-rumored announcement
5244-931: The subprime mortgage crisis of 2007 and 2008, part of the Great Recession starting in 2007, that he had allocated capital too early resulting in suboptimal deals. "Buy American. I am." he wrote for an opinion piece published in the New York Times in 2008. Buffett called the downturn in the financial sector that started in 2007 " poetic justice ". Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway suffered a 77% drop in earnings during Q3 2008 and several of his later deals suffered large mark-to-market losses. On September 23, 2008, Berkshire Hathaway acquired 10 percent of perpetual preferred stock of Goldman Sachs . Some of Buffett's put options (European exercise at expiry only) that he wrote (sold) were running at around $ 6.73 billion mark-to-market losses as of late 2008. The scale of
5358-463: The "Oracle" or "Sage" of Omaha by global media as a result of having accumulated a massive fortune derived from his business and investment success. He is noted for his adherence to the principles of value investing, and his frugality despite his wealth. Buffett has pledged to give away 99 percent of his fortune to philanthropic causes, primarily via the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation . He founded
5472-512: The 1970s through construction of the Powder River Basin Joint Line with Union Pacific Railroad predecessor Chicago and North Western Transportation Company . Coal goes north in unit trains on the three-to-four-track Joint Line to Gillette or south to Orin , where older BN lines and other railroads take it in all directions to coal-burning power plants . BNSF serves over 1,500 grain elevators , located mostly in
5586-461: The 1980s. The Burlington Northern Railroad (BN) was created in 1970 through the consolidation of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad , the Great Northern Railway , the Northern Pacific Railway and the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway . It absorbed the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway (Frisco) in 1980. Its main lines included Chicago- Seattle with branches to Texas (ex-Burlington) and Birmingham, Alabama (ex-Frisco), and access to
5700-523: The AIG board forced Greenberg to resign from his post as chairman and CEO after New York state regulators claimed that AIG had engaged in questionable transactions and improper accounting. On February 9, 2006, AIG agreed to pay a $ 1.6 billion fine. In 2010, the U.S. government agreed to a $ 92 million settlement with Gen Re, allowing the Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary to avoid prosecution in
5814-433: The AIG case. Gen Re also made a commitment to implement "corporate governance concessions", which required Berkshire Hathaway's chief financial officer to attend General Re's audit committee meetings and mandated the appointment of an independent director. In 2002, Buffett entered in $ 11 billion worth of forward contracts to deliver U.S. dollars against other currencies. By April 2006, his total gain on these contracts
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#17327806484075928-629: The BNSF system. Location of some intermodal yards: The BNSF system is divided into 13 divisions grouped into three regions. Each division includes numerous subdivisions, normally comprising a single main line and branches. A fourteenth division, Colorado, has been consolidated with the Powder River Division, except for the Casper and Cody Subdivisions, which were transferred to the Montana Division. BNSF directly operates
6042-481: The Giving Pledge in 2010 with Bill Gates , whereby billionaires pledge to give away at least half of their fortunes. Warren Edward Buffett was born on August 30, 1930 in Omaha, Nebraska , as the second of three children and the only son of Leila (née Stahl) and Congressman Howard Buffett . He began his education at Rose Hill Elementary School. In 1942, his father was elected to the first of four terms in
6156-832: The Houston-Memphis SP line, and allowing BNSF to participate in the UP's plan for directional running , in which each line would serve through trains in only one direction. The Surface Transportation Board , successor to the ICC, approved the UP-SP merger on July 3, and UP control of SP took effect on September 11, 1996. BNSF trackage rights operations began on the Central Corridor on October 10, and soon thereafter on other lines. BNSF continued projects started by its predecessors, most notably BN's work on reopening Stampede Pass . BN had closed Stampede Pass,
6270-719: The Red River Division, and the former Springfield and Nebraska divisions were combined into the Heartland Division, in the spring of 2016. Not including second, third and fourth main-line trackage, yard trackage, and siding trackage, BNSF directly owns and operates over 24,000 miles (39,000 km) of track. When these additional tracks are counted, the length of track which the railway directly controls rises to more than 50,000 miles (80,000 km). Additionally, BNSF Railway has gained trackage rights on more than 8,000 miles (13,000 km) of track throughout
6384-769: The Southern Transcon, has been almost completely double-tracked, and triple-tracking has begun in areas such as Cajon Pass . BNSF transports Boeing 737 fuselages from the Wichita, Kansas plant to Renton, Washington. The BNSF Railway directly owns and operates track in 28 U.S. states : Alabama , Arizona , Arkansas , California , Colorado , Idaho , Illinois , Iowa , Kansas , Louisiana , Minnesota , Mississippi , Missouri , Montana , Nebraska , Nevada , New Mexico , North Dakota , Oklahoma , Oregon , South Dakota , Tennessee , Texas , Utah , Washington , Wisconsin , and Wyoming . The railway also operates
6498-427: The U.S. Federal Reserve to a hedge fund and stated that the bank is generating "$ 80 billion or $ 90 billion a year probably" in revenue for the U.S. government. Buffett also advocated further on the issue of wealth equality in society: We have learned to turn out lots of goods and services, but we haven't learned as well how to have everybody share in the bounty. The obligation of a society as prosperous as ours
6612-529: The United States and Canada. These rights allow the BNSF to operate its own trains with its own crews on competing railroads' main tracks. BNSF locomotives also occasionally show up on competitors' tracks throughout the United States and Canada by way of leases, mileage equalizations, and other contractual arrangements. BNSF operates various facilities all over the United States, plus a yard in Winnipeg, to support its transportation system. Facilities operated by
6726-465: The United States. Due to the program, BNSF has been the industry leader in lowering the number of grade-crossing collisions. BNSF contracts with News Link , a small business in Lincoln, Nebraska , to publish employee newsletters focused on safety for some of the railroad's divisions and shops. These newsletters vary in length from four to 28 pages, published ranging from monthly to quarterly. In 2014,
6840-416: The West. UP and BNSF announced in late September 1995 that, in exchange for BNSF not opposing the merger, it would obtain ownership of 335 miles (539 km) of line and about 3,500 miles (5,600 km) of trackage rights to reach these "two-to-one" shippers. Significant additions included rights over SP's Central Corridor from Denver via the Moffat Tunnel and Salt Lake City , and over Donner Pass , to
6954-455: The Western Pacific and it became under the control of the Burlington Northern and the Union Pacific Railroads. In the 1990s, the Burlington Northern Railroad merged with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway to form the BNSF Railway . Currently, the trackage is wholly owned by the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway. Traffic on the Gateway Subdivision consists of general merchandise freights and empty well car trains—as many as three of
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#17327806484077068-437: The Western Pacific and the Western Pacific transferred their trains to the Great Northern. This trend, continued until 1970, when the Great Northern Railway merged with the Northern Pacific Railway , Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad and the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway to form the Burlington Northern Railroad . Western Pacific operations however, remained until 1983 when the Union Pacific Railroad took over
7182-408: The Western Pacific laid track from the famed Keddie Wye near Keddie, California to Bieber (Actual town is known as Nubieber, today. Bieber is the RR name for the location). In March 1931, both railroads met in the town of Bieber. Within no time, trains began to travel the newly completed railroad line. The railroads offered interchange service, where Great Northern trains handed over their trains to
7296-431: The assumption of $ 10 billion in Burlington Northern debt, brings the total value to $ 44 billion. Consummated February 12, 2010, it is the largest acquisition in Berkshire Hathaway's history. The deal was structured so that the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation would merge with and into R Acquisition Company, LLC, an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway. The deal closed on February 12, 2010, and at
7410-553: The border in Northgate, Saskatchewan . For administrative purposes, BNSF is divided into two regions and ten operating divisions. The North Region includes the Montana, Northwest, Twin Cities, Heartland and Powder River divisions. The South Region includes the Red River, California, Chicago, Kansas and Southwest divisions. Each division is further divided into subdivisions, which represent segments of track ranging from 300-mile (480 km) mainlines to 10-mile (16 km) branch-lines. The former Texas and Gulf divisions were combined into
7524-417: The cab cars went back into service. Although it does not have a steam program like the Union Pacific, the BNSF has allowed for the Southern Pacific 4449 , St. Louis–San Francisco 1522 , Santa Fe 3751 , Santa Fe 2926 , Spokane, Portland and Seattle 700 and Milwaukee Road 261 steam locomotives to operate excursions over their rails. BNSF has received E.H. Harriman Award for safety multiple times. But
7638-524: The company at $ 328 billion. While Buffett had given away much of his stock to charities by this time, he still held 321,000 shares worth $ 64.2 billion. On August 20, 2014, Berkshire Hathaway was fined $ 896,000 for failing to report as required the December 9, 2013 purchase of shares in USG Corporation . A 2023 ProPublica article based on a leak of confidential IRS data alleged that Buffett had made equity trades in his personal portfolio involving companies that Berkshire Hathaway bought or sold during
7752-399: The company had working capital of $ 19 per share. This did not include the value of fixed assets (factory and equipment). Buffett took control of Berkshire Hathaway at a board meeting and named a new president, Ken Chace, to run the company. In 1966, Buffett closed the partnership to new money. He later claimed that the textile business had been his worst trade. He then moved the business into
7866-410: The crisis in debt and equity markets. In 2008, Buffett became the richest person in the world, garnering a total net worth estimated at $ 62 billion by Forbes and at $ 58 billion by Yahoo , dethroning Bill Gates , who had been number one on the Forbes list for 13 consecutive years. In 2009, Gates regained the top position on the Forbes list, with Buffett shifted to second place. Both of
7980-443: The customers' lounge of a regional stock brokerage near his father's own brokerage office. His father took interest in cultivating and educating the young Warren's curiosity surrounding the subject of business and investing, even at one point taking him to visit the New York Stock Exchange when he was 10. At 11, he bought three shares of Cities Service Preferred for himself, and three for his sister Doris Buffett (who also became
8094-422: The difficulties of knowing when to sell in the company's 2004 annual report: That may seem easy to do when one looks through an always-clean, rear-view mirror. Unfortunately, however, it's the windshield through which investors must peer, and that glass is invariably fogged. In March 2009, Buffett said in a cable television interview that the economy had "fallen off a cliff ... Not only has the economy slowed down
8208-564: The dramatic fall in energy prices that occurred in the last half of the year. I still believe the odds are good that oil sells far higher in the future than the current $ 40–$ 50 price. But so far I have been dead wrong. Even if prices should rise, moreover, the terrible timing of my purchase has cost Berkshire several billion dollars. The merger with the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway ( BNSF ) closed upon BNSF shareholder approval during Q1 of 2010. This deal
8322-580: The final round of mergers into two big systems. BNSF and CN immediately turned to the U.S. Court of Appeals , which on July 14 ruled that the STB's right to regulate mergers allowed a moratorium, and the two railroads called off the merger. The STB released its final rules on June 11, 2001, requiring any new application to merge two Class I railroads, with the exception of smaller Kansas City Southern Railway , to demonstrate that competition would be preserved and address effects of defensive moves by other carriers. No further Class I mergers would take place until
8436-432: The five years following the agreement, and Buffett also received a 10% dividend (callable within three years). In February 2009, Buffett sold some Procter & Gamble Co. and Johnson & Johnson shares from his personal portfolio. In addition to suggestions of mistiming, the wisdom in keeping some of Berkshire's major holdings, including The Coca-Cola Company, which in 1998 peaked at $ 86, raised questions. Buffett discussed
8550-548: The formation of a holding company on September 22, 1995. This new holding company purchased the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (often called the "Santa Fe") and Burlington Northern Railroad , and formally merged the railways into the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway on December 31, 1996. On January 24, 2005, the railroad's name was officially changed to BNSF Railway Company using
8664-715: The former would buy the latter, but this plan was called off on October 25. The Union Pacific Railroad (UP), another major Western system, started a bidding war with BN for control of the SF on October 5. The UP gave up on January 31, 1995, paving the way for the BN-ATSF merger. Subsequently, the UP acquired the Southern Pacific Transportation Company (SP) in 1996, and Eastern U.S. systems CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern Railway split Conrail in 1999. On February 7, 1995, BN and ATSF heads Gerald Grinstein and Robert D. Krebs announced that shareholders had approved
8778-642: The initials of its original name. Warren Buffett 's Berkshire Hathaway acquired BNSF Railway in February 2010, obtaining all of its shares and taking the company private. BNSF and its chief competitor, the Union Pacific Railroad , have a duopoly on all transcontinental freight rail lines in the Western , Midwestern and Southern United States and share trackage rights over thousands of miles of track. BNSF's history dates to 1849, when
8892-653: The instrument at stockholder meetings and other opportunities. His love of the instrument led to the commissioning of two custom Dairy Queen ukuleles by Dave Talsma, one of which was auctioned for charity. In 1952, Buffett married Susan at Dundee Presbyterian Church . The following year, they had their first child, Susan Alice . She was followed by Howard (b. 1954) and Peter (b. 1958). The couple began living separately in 1977, although they remained married until Susan's death in July 2004. Their only daughter Susan lives in Omaha,
9006-613: The insurance sector, and, in 1985, the last of the mills that had been the core business of Berkshire Hathaway was sold. In a second letter, Buffett announced his first investment in a private business — Hochschild, Kohn and Co, a privately owned Baltimore department store. In 1967, Berkshire paid out its first and only dividend of 10 cents. In 1969, Buffett liquidated the partnership and transferred their assets to his partners including shares of Berkshire Hathaway. He lived solely on his salary of $ 50,000 per year and his outside investment income. In 1973, Berkshire began to acquire stock in
9120-446: The latter each day. As of October 2011, there is one local freight that runs out of Klamath Falls twice weekly—south to Clear Creek Jct. on Monday and north to Klamath Falls on Tuesday, and south on Thursday and back north on Friday. Amtrak 's Seattle–Los Angeles Coast Starlight stops at Klamath Falls , but there is no passenger service on the Gateway Subdivision itself. BNSF Railway BNSF Railway ( reporting mark BNSF )
9234-443: The line and operates freight trains as needed. Metra's cars that were originally purchased by BNSF predecessor Chicago Burlington & Quincy have letterboards above the doors. In about 2011, about 15 of the remaining cars had the original "BURLINGTON" lettering restored, while the rest now read "BNSF RAILWAY". Other Metra cars assigned to BNSF have the current BNSF "swoosh" logo next to the door. Many Amtrak routes use BNSF rails:
9348-422: The managers who reap outsized profits, not the clients". In 2007, Buffett made a bet with numerous managers that a simple S&P 500 index fund will outperform hedge funds that charge exorbitant fees. By 2017, the index fund was outperforming every hedge fund that made the bet against Buffett. Buffet has a long-standing aversion to using the services of investment banks via Berkshire Hathaway. This dynamic
9462-410: The men's values dropped, to $ 40 billion and $ 37 billion respectively—according to Forbes, Buffett lost $ 25 billion over a 12-month period during 2008/2009. In October 2008, the media reported that Buffett had agreed to buy General Electric (GE) preferred stock. The operation included special incentives: he received an option to buy three billion shares of GE stock, at $ 22.25, over
9576-672: The merger between Kansas City Southern and Canadian Pacific in April 2023, creating the Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railway . The Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation was incorporated in 1993 to facilitate the merger of Burlington Northern, Incorporated , parent of the Burlington Northern Railroad , and Santa Fe Pacific Corporation , which owned the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (Santa Fe). The corporate merger
9690-471: The merger. UP was satisfied with a single segment of trackage rights from Abilene, Kansas , to Superior, Nebraska , which BN and ATSF had both served. KCS gained haulage rights to several Midwest locations, including Omaha , East St. Louis , and Memphis , in exchange for BNSF getting similar access to New Orleans . SP, initially requesting far-reaching trackage rights throughout the West, soon agreed to
9804-452: The move came as a surprise to many investors and observers. During the interview, in which he revealed the investment to the public, Buffett stated that he was impressed by the company's ability to retain corporate clients and said, "I don't know of any large company that really has been as specific on what they intend to do and how they intend to do it as IBM". In May 2012, Buffett's acquisition of Media General, consisting of 63 newspapers in
9918-519: The needle" at Berkshire with newspaper acquisitions, but he anticipates an annual return of 10 percent. The Press of Atlantic City became Berkshire's 30th daily newspaper, following other purchases such as Virginia, U.S.' Roanoke Times and The Tulsa World in Oklahoma, U.S. During a presentation to Georgetown University students in Washington, D.C. , in late September 2013, Buffett compared
10032-500: The operating companies was held up by issues with unions ; ATSF merged on December 31, 1996, into BN, which was renamed the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company. Union Pacific's merger with Southern Pacific further enlarged the combined BNSF network. Unlike BN and ATSF, UP and SP had significant overlap, where the end of competition between the two risked creating a monopoly for freight carriage in much of
10146-534: The plan, which would save overhead costs and combine BN's coal and ATSF's intermodal strengths. Although the two systems complemented each other with little overlap, in contrast to the Santa Fe-Southern Pacific merger, which failed because it would have eliminated competition in many areas of the Southwest , BN and ATSF came to agreements with most other Class Is to keep them from opposing
10260-404: The potential loss prompted the SEC to demand that Berkshire produce, "a more robust disclosure" of factors used to value the contracts. Buffett also helped Dow Chemical pay for its $ 18.8 billion takeover of Rohm & Haas . He thus became the single largest shareholder in the enlarged group with his Berkshire Hathaway, which provided $ 3 billion, underlining his instrumental role during
10374-502: The railway include yards and terminals throughout its rail network, system locomotive shops to perform locomotive service and maintenance, a centralized operations center for train dispatching and network operations monitoring in Fort Worth , and regional dispatching centers. BNSF Railway also operates numerous transfer facilities throughout the western United States to facilitate the transfer of intermodal containers , trailers, and other freight traffic. BNSF Railway has direct control over
10488-562: The recently privatized Canadian National Railway announced plans to combine as subsidiaries of a new holding company , North American Railways, which would control about 50,000 miles (80,000 km) of railroad. With CN's lines primarily in Canada and, through subsidiary Illinois Central Railroad , on a north–south corridor near BNSF's eastern edge, the two systems had little overlap. The combination would have benefited both companies by expanding available cash for capacity improvements and allowing for longer single-system movements. Shippers and
10602-425: The same quarter or the quarter before, raising concerns about conflicts of interest. On three dates between 2009 and 2012, Buffett sold shares of Johnson and Johnson, Walmart, and Wells Fargo, with the sales totaling $ 80 million in value. Although Buffett has not commented, Berkshire Hathaway's Vice Chairman Charlie Munger dismissed the allegations, saying "I don’t think there’s the slightest chance that Warren Buffett
10716-400: The same time, the now merged company changed its name to Burlington Northern Santa Fe, LLC. It remains an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway. In January 2022, BNSF agreed to purchase Montana Rail Link , a private company, for $ 2 billion, through an "early lease termination". The return to BNSF control required the approval of the Surface Transportation Board , which
10830-557: The single entity Buffett Partnership, Ltd., which would be his primary investment vehicle for the remainder of the decade. Buffett invested in and eventually took control of a textile manufacturing company, Berkshire Hathaway . He began buying shares in Berkshire from Seabury Stanton , the owner, whom he later fired. Buffett's partnerships began purchasing shares at $ 7.60 per share. In 1965, when Buffett's partnerships began purchasing Berkshire aggressively, they paid $ 14.86 per share while
10944-579: The south-eastern U.S., was announced. The company was the second news print purchase made by Buffett in one year. Interim publisher James W. Hopson announced on July 18, 2013, that the Press of Atlantic City would be sold to Buffett's BH Media Group by ABARTA, a private holding company based in Pittsburgh , U.S. At the Berkshire shareholders meeting in May 2013, Buffett explained that he did not expect to "move
11058-478: The spring of 1950, Buffett enrolled at Columbia Business School of Columbia University upon learning that Benjamin Graham taught there. He earned a Master of Science in economics from Columbia in 1951. After graduating, Buffett attended the New York Institute of Finance . The basic ideas of investing are to look at stocks as business, use the market's fluctuations to your advantage, and seek
11172-456: The stock market: I think it's very hard to come up with a persuasive case that equities will over the next 17 years perform anything like—anything like—they've performed in the past 17. If I had to pick the most probable return, from appreciation and dividends combined, that investors in aggregate—repeat, aggregate—would earn in a world of constant interest rates, 2% inflation, and those ever hurtful frictional costs, it would be 6%! Buffett has been
11286-465: Was $ 12,000 a year (about $ 136,000 today). There he worked closely with Walter Schloss . Graham was adamant that stock picks should provide a wide margin of safety after weighing the trade-off between their price and their intrinsic value. In 1956, Benjamin Graham retired and closed his partnership. At this time Buffett, who had amassed personal savings over $ 174,000 (about $ 1.95 million today) , decided to return to Omaha, where he would quickly start
11400-512: Was also reported in Barron's , Insider , and Seeking Alpha , among others. In 1949, Buffett developed a crush on a young woman whose boyfriend had a ukulele . In an attempt to compete, he bought one of the instruments and has been playing it ever since. Though the attempt to capture her attention was unsuccessful, his music interest became a key part of his becoming a part of Susan Thompson 's life, and led to their marriage. Buffett often plays
11514-526: Was announced that over the course of the previous eight months, Buffett had bought 64 million shares of International Business Machine Corp (IBM) stock, worth around $ 11 billion. This unanticipated investment raised his stake in the company to around 5.5 percent—the largest stake in IBM alongside that of State Street Global Advisors . Buffett had said on numerous prior occasions that he would not invest in technology because he did not fully understand it, so
11628-833: Was approved on March 8, 2023. The railroad had over 900 miles (1,400 km) of track, and served 100 stations. The main classification yard was in Laurel, Montana, with smaller yards in Missoula, Billings, Bozeman and Helena. BNSF took over MRL operations on January 1, 2024. This absorbed the MRL into BNSF, integrating MRL operations, technology and personnel. All 1,200 employees were offered employment with BNSF. With BNSF's large system, it hauls many different commodities, most notably coal and grain , as well as intermodal freight . Predecessor Burlington Northern Railroad (BN) entered Wyoming 's low-sulfur coal -rich Powder River Basin in
11742-454: Was consummated on September 22, 1995, at which point shareholders of the previous companies became shareholders of BNSF and the two companies became wholly owned subsidiaries of BNSF. In December 1996, the two holding companies and two railroads were formally merged, and in January 1998 the remaining intermediate holding company was folded into the railroad. Robert Krebs of Santa Fe Pacific
11856-417: Was delayed by a disagreement over the disposition of Santa Fe Pacific Gold Corporation, a gold mining subsidiary that ATSF agreed to sell to stockholders. This announcement began the next wave of mergers, as the "Super Seven" were merged down to four in the next five years. The Illinois Central Railroad and Kansas City Southern Railway (KCS), two of the five "small" Class Is, announced on July 19 that
11970-474: Was forced to sell some stations due to Federal Communications Commission ownership rules. The two companies also owned several radio stations in the same markets. In 1987, Berkshire Hathaway purchased a 12% stake in Salomon Inc., making it the largest shareholder and Buffett a director. In 1990, a scandal involving John Gutfreund (former CEO of Salomon Brothers ) surfaced. A rogue trader , Paul Mozer,
12084-672: Was given Federal Reserve approval to buy back Berkshire's preferred stock in Goldman. Buffett had been reluctant to give up the stock, which averaged $ 1.4 million in dividends per day, saying: I'm going to be the Osama bin Laden of capitalism. I'm on my way to an unknown destination in Asia where I'm going to look for a cave. If the U.S. Armed forces can't find Osama bin Laden in 10 years, let Goldman Sachs try to find me. In November 2011, it
12198-713: Was on the board of GEICO insurance. Taking a train to Washington, D.C., on a Saturday, he knocked on the door of GEICO's headquarters until a janitor admitted him. There he met Lorimer Davidson, GEICO's vice president, and the two discussed the insurance business for hours, and Buffett made his first purchase of GEICO stock. Davidson would eventually become Buffett's lifelong friend and a lasting influence, and would later recall that he found Buffett to be an "extraordinary man" after only fifteen minutes. Buffett wanted to work on Wall Street but both his father and Ben Graham urged him not to. He offered to work for Graham for free, but Graham refused. Buffett returned to Omaha and worked as
12312-508: Was over $ 2 billion. Buffett announced in June 2006 that he would gradually give away 85% of his Berkshire holdings to five foundations in annual gifts of stock, starting in July 2006—the largest contribution going to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation . In 2007, in a letter to shareholders, Buffett announced that he was looking for a younger successor, or perhaps successors, to run his investment business. Buffett ran into criticism during
12426-661: Was overruled by his father. Buffett showcased an interest in business and investing at a young age. He was inspired by a book he borrowed from the Omaha public library at age seven, One Thousand Ways to Make $ 1000 . Much of Buffett's early childhood years were enlivened with entrepreneurial ventures. In one of his first business ventures, Buffett sold chewing gum, Coca-Cola , and weekly magazines door to door . He worked in his grandfather's grocery store. While still in high school, he made money delivering newspapers, selling golf balls and stamps, and detailing cars, among other means. On his first income tax return in 1944, Buffett took
12540-447: Was president of BNSF from the merger until 1999, chief executive from the merger until 2000, and chairman from 1997 until 2002. He was succeeded in all three positions by Matthew K. Rose . On November 3, 2009, Berkshire Hathaway made a $ 26 billion offer to buy the remaining 77.4% of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation it did not already own, valuing the purchase at $ 34 billion. The deal, including Berkshire's previous investment and
12654-608: Was submitting bids in excess of what was allowed by Treasury rules. When this was brought to Gutfreund's attention, he did not immediately suspend the rogue trader. Gutfreund left the company in August 1991. Buffett became chairman of Salomon until the crisis passed. In 1988, Buffett began buying The Coca-Cola Company stock, eventually purchasing up to 7% of the company for $ 1.02 billion. It would turn out to be one of Berkshire's most lucrative investments and one which it still holds. In 1998 Buffett acquired General Re (Gen Re) as
12768-500: Was the Southern Transcon , a fast intermodal corridor connecting Southern California and Chicago . Most traffic is either trailers of trucking companies such as intermodal partner J. B. Hunt , or containers from the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles . The latter begins its trip on the triple-track Alameda Corridor , shared with the Union Pacific Railroad , and then follows BNSF rails from downtown Los Angeles . Its route,
12882-462: Was valued at approximately $ 44 billion (with $ 10 billion of outstanding BNSF debt) and represented an increase of the previously existing stake of 22%. In June 2010, Buffett defended the credit-rating agencies for their role in the US financial crisis, claiming: Very, very few people could appreciate the bubble . That's the nature of bubbles—they're mass delusions. On March 18, 2011, Goldman Sachs
12996-420: Was worth $ 65 per share. This meant that Sanborn's map business was being valued at "minus $ 20". Buffett eventually purchased 23% of the company's outstanding shares as an activist investor , obtaining a seat for himself on the board of directors, and allied with other dissatisfied shareholders to control 44% of the shares. To avoid a proxy fight , the board offered to repurchase shares at fair value, paying with
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