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112-545: It was founded in 1905 and locally owned by the Lorton family for almost 100 years until February 2013, when it was sold to BH Media Group, a Berkshire Hathaway company controlled by Warren Buffett . The Tulsa World Media Company became part of Lee Enterprises in 2020. The paper was jointly operated with the Tulsa Tribune from 1941 to 1992. Republican activist James F. McCoy and Kansas journalist J.R. Brady published

224-491: A compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.8% compared to a 10.2% CAGR for the S&;P 500 . However, in the 10 years ending in 2023, Berkshire Hathaway produced a CAGR of 11.8% for shareholders, compared to a 12.0% CAGR for the S&P 500 . From 1965 to 2023, the stock price had negative performance in only eleven years (1966, 1970, 1973, 1974, 1984, 1990, 1999, 2002, 2008, 2011, 2015). In August 2024, Berkshire Hathaway became

336-455: A joint operating agreement in June 1941. Eugene Lorton died in 1949, leaving majority interest in the newspaper to his wife Maude and smaller shares to four daughters and 20 employees. Eugene's presumed successor, Robert Lorton, had died at age 24 in 1939. In the 1950s, Maude Lorton transferred one-fourth of the company to attorney Byron Boone, who became publisher in 1959. Upon her death, she left

448-605: A libel lawsuit against noted local blogger Michael Bates, Urban Tulsa Weekly , and the Weekly ' s editor and publisher, over a column Bates wrote for the weekly paper, in which Bates expressed doubts about the World ' s circulation numbers based on a 2006 report by the Audit Bureau of Circulation . On January 20, The Tulsa World said it would drop the case against Urban Tulsa Weekly and its editor and publisher, after

560-491: 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

672-470: 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

784-741: A bond issue to pipe the water from Spavinaw. He sold a companion paper, Tulsa Democrat , to Richard Lloyd Jones , who renamed it the Tulsa Tribune . In the 1920s, the Tulsa World was known for its opposition to the Ku Klux Klan , which had risen to local prominence in the wake of the Tulsa Race Riot in the spring of 1921. Lorton was active in Republican Party politics until he was defeated by William B. Pine , in

896-1182: A chain of jewelry stores based in Kansas City that began in 1915, was acquired Berkshire in 1995 after a chance run in between Buffett and Barnett Helzberg on a street in New York City. In June 2000, the company acquired Justin Brands, the parent company of Justin Boots , Acme Boots , and Acme Brick for $ 600 million in cash. Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas , Acme manufactures and distributes clay bricks (Acme Brick), concrete block (Featherlite), and cut limestone (Texas Quarries). Justin Brands also owns Chippewa Boots , Nocona Boots , and Tony Lama Boots . In December 2000, Berkshire acquired Benjamin Moore & Co. , headquartered in Montvale, New Jersey . Moore formulates, manufactures, and sells architectural coatings that are available primarily in

1008-633: A company-wide evaluation by management of operational efficiencies." The World says "the reduction represents approximately 3 percent of its staff." Also in January 2009, the Tulsa World and Oklahoma City 's daily newspaper, The Oklahoman , announced a content-sharing agreement in which each paper would carry some content created by the other. The papers also said they would "focus on reducing some areas of duplication, such as sending reporters from both The Oklahoman and Tulsa World to cover routine news events." In mid-January 2009, Tulsa World filed

1120-563: A diversified group of 32 brands that manufactures and distributes products for residential, industrial, and institutional use. It included Kirby Company , which was sold in 2021, Wayne Water Systems, and Campbell Hausfeld products. Campbell Hausfeld was transferred to Marmon, also a Berkshire subsidiary, in 2015. Scott Fetzer also manufactures Ginsu knives and World Book Encyclopedia . In January 1986, Berkshire acquired Fechheimer Brothers. Fechheimer Brothers owns Flying Cross and Vertx. Flying Cross manufactures public safety uniforms and Vertx

1232-428: 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

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1344-511: A five-year agreement to allow Lee Enterprises to manage Berkshire Hathaway's newspaper and digital operations. In 2020, Lee Enterprises acquired BH Media Group's publications and The Buffalo News for $ 140 million in cash, retaining WPLG . In conjunction with the sale, Berkshire lent $ 576 million to Lee. In 1983, Berkshire acquired Nebraska Furniture Mart for $ 60 million. In 2000, Nebraska Furniture Mart purchased Homemakers Furniture. In 1986, Berkshire acquired Scott Fetzer Company ,

1456-549: A general decline in the textile industry after World War I . At this time, Hathaway was run by Seabury Stanton , whose investment efforts were rewarded with renewed profitability after the Great Depression . 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 . However, seven of those locations were closed by

1568-620: 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

1680-458: A letter to readers In March 2008, the World closed its zoned suburban newspapers, called the "Community World," and laid off its 18 staff members. Tulsa World laid off 28 employees in early 2009. Twenty-six newsroom employees were terminated immediately. Editors said in a memo that staff members would be challenged to produce a quality product after the layoffs, and editors asked remaining newsroom employees to take on new duties. On March 29, 2009,

1792-560: 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

1904-531: A major interest in a declining textile business. While Buffett maintained Berkshire's core business of textiles, he gradually moved capital to other industries, beginning with the March 1967 acquisition of the National Indemnity group of companies, which include National Indemnity Company, National Liability & Fire Insurance Company, and National Fire & Marine Insurance company, among others. It

2016-672: A morning edition. Berkshire formed BH Media Group with a purchase of the Omaha World-Herald 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 , including the Richmond Times-Dispatch and Winston-Salem Journal , for $ 142 million in cash. In 2012, Berkshire Hathaway bought Texas dailies The Bryan-College Station Eagle and

2128-483: A per-share value originally kept (by specific management rules) close to 1 ⁄ 30 of that of the original shares (now Class A) and 1 ⁄ 200 of the per-share voting rights, and after the January 2010 split, at 1 ⁄ 1,500 the price and 1 ⁄ 10,000 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

2240-425: 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

2352-422: 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

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2464-486: 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

2576-627: A slight by an individual), it would have paid off several hundredfold. On March 16, 1980, Berkshire became a public company via an initial public offering , selling Class A shares for $ 290 each. Buffett has had a long relationship with Jeff Bezos ; he turned down an opportunity to invest in Amazon.com in 1994 as he was unable to predict the company's future growth and it was losing money. Berkshire Hathaway purchased shares in Amazon in 2019 currently worth $ 2 billion. Shares closed over $ 100,000 for

2688-571: 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

2800-557: 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,

2912-517: 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

3024-514: 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

3136-552: Is a civilian tactical clothing company. In 1991, Berkshire acquired H.H. Brown Shoe Group . In May 1995, Berkshire acquired RC Willey Home Furnishings . In June 1997, Berkshire acquired Star Furniture Company. In February 1997, Berkshire acquired FlightSafety International (FSI), a pilot training company founded in 1951 by Albert Lee Ueltschi and headquartered at LaGuardia Airport in Flushing, New York . It supplies high technology pilot training to aircraft operators in

3248-404: Is a major area of operations and the retained premiums (float) serves as an important source of capital. As of September 30, 2024, the company had $ 325 billion in cash and cash equivalents, more than any other U.S.-based public company . The company is focused on shareholder returns; between 1965, when Buffett gained control of the company, and 2023, the company's shareholder returns amounted to

3360-581: Is a major source of capital for Berkshire Hathaway's other investments. In 1985, the last textile operations were shut down. Buffett has described purchasing the Berkshire Hathaway textile company as the biggest investment mistake he had ever made, denying him compounded investment returns of about $ 200 billion over the subsequent 45 years. He has estimated that had he invested the same money directly in insurance businesses instead of indirectly via Berkshire Hathaway (due to what he perceived as

3472-498: Is an American multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska . Founded in 1839 as a textile manufacturer, it transitioned into a major conglomerate starting in 1965 under the management of chairman and CEO Warren Buffett and vice chairman Charlie Munger (1924-2023). Greg Abel now oversees most of the company's investments and has been named as the successor to Buffett. Buffett personally owns 38.4% of

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3584-517: 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

3696-468: 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

3808-640: Is ranked 5th on the Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations by total revenue and 9th on the Fortune Global 500 . Berkshire is one of the ten largest components of the S&P 500 and is on the list of largest employers in the United States . Its class A shares have the highest per-share price of any public company in the world, reaching $ 700,000 in August 2024, because

3920-462: 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

4032-436: Is unrestricted to all readers. "In reality, more people are engaged with our content than ever before. But it no longer seems fair to have a portion of our readers pay for our content while others do not. Therefore, like many publications, we have decided to charge a fee for our digital content. Print subscribers will continue to receive unlimited access to our digital products," wrote then publisher and CEO Robert E. Lorton III in

4144-672: 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),

4256-586: The Waco Tribune-Herald . In 2013, the company purchased the Tulsa World , the Greensboro, North Carolina -based News & Record , Virginia's Roanoke Times , and Press of Atlantic City . In 2014, Graham Holdings Company sold its Miami television station, ABC affiliate WPLG to BH Media in a cash and stock deal. In June, 2018, Lee Enterprises and Berkshire Hathaway reached

4368-549: The 1924 primary election for the US Senate ; Pine went on to win the general election. Lorton then supported Democrats Alfred E. Smith in the 1928 Presidential election and Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932 and 1936 . However, Lorton refused to support Roosevelt's third term bid in 1940 ; he returned to the Republicans and remained a GOP supporter for the rest of his life. The Tulsa Tribune and Tulsa World entered

4480-960: The CHI Health Center Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska. Attendance generally totals over 40,000 people and the meetings last for 6 to 8 hours, with Buffett himself, as well as Abel and Jain, answering questions from shareholders. Known for their humor and light-heartedness, the meetings typically start with a cartoon made for Berkshire shareholders. Current members of the board of directors of Berkshire Hathaway are Warren Buffett (chairman), Greg Abel (vice chairman of non-insurance business operations), Ajit Jain (vice chairman of insurance operations), Chris Davis, Susan Alice Buffett (Buffett's daughter), Howard Graham Buffett (Buffett's son), Ronald Olson , Kenneth Chenault , Steve Burke , Susan Decker , Meryl Witmer, Charlotte Guyman, Esteban Rodriguez Jr. Charlie Munger served as vice chairman of

4592-669: The Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 was repealed in 2005. It owns Northern Powergrid , which operates in the UK. In 2005, it acquired PacifiCorp for $ 5.1 billion in cash, and assumed $ 4.3 billion in PacificCorp debt and preferred stock. MidAmerican was rebranded as Berkshire Hathaway Energy (BHE) in April 2014. The division owns a residential real estate brokerage business, which, in March 2013,

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4704-573: 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

4816-537: The Tulsa World . As of September 2012, weekday circulation was 95,003; Saturday circulation was 104,602; and Sunday circulation was 133,066. In April 2011, the World introduced a metered model to its digital products that limits the amount of locally produced articles that a non-subscriber can view at no charge. Once viewers have opened 5 stories in 30 days, they will be asked to purchase a subscription. The home page, all section pages, classifieds and most syndicated content

4928-547: 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

5040-674: 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,

5152-719: 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

5264-498: 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

5376-525: The World published a column by its then publisher, Robert E. Lorton III, responding to what Lorton called "an unusual amount of concerned correspondence in regard to the future of this company and our industry." Lorton asserted that despite the difficult economy and general downward trends in the newspaper industry and the World's own staff cuts, that Tulsa World remains profitable and has a healthy capital structure. The World further reduced staff on March 1, 2011 by terminating eighteen employees, "the result of

5488-472: The World' s outstanding shares and made the newspaper entirely family-owned once again. In May 2005, he passed the title of publisher to his son Robert E. Lorton III. During the same year, World Publishing Company had 700 employees, and was ranked as one of Oklahoma's largest employers. In February 2013, the paper announced that it would be sold to Berkshire Hathaway 's BH Media Group, controlled by Warren Buffett . In 2015, BH Media bought six weekly papers and

5600-543: The board of directors has historically been opposed to stock splits . Berkshire Hathaway traces its roots to Valley Falls Company , a textile manufacturing company established by Oliver Chace in 1839 in Valley Falls, Rhode Island . Chace, who was a carpenter, started working for Samuel Slater , the founder of the first successful textile mill in America. Chace founded his first textile mill in 1806. In 1929,

5712-557: The hedge fund Castle Point Capital, would join as an investment manager . In early 2012, 50-year-old Ted Weschler , founder of Peninsula Capital Advisors, joined Berkshire as a second investment manager. In the 2015 letter to shareholders, Buffett described hiring them both as "one of my best moves". In the 2016 letter to shareholders, Buffett revealed that each of them independently manages over $ 10 billion on behalf of Berkshire. In January 2018, Berkshire Hathaway appointed Ajit Jain and Greg Abel to vice-chairman roles. Abel

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5824-931: 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

5936-463: 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

6048-454: 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

6160-433: 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

6272-670: The American people had been presented with "the least acceptable list of candidates for president in modern times." The paper had maintained its loyalty to the GOP after Eugene Lorton's death; it had endorsed the GOP standardbearer in every election since 1940. In February 2013, the paper announced that it would be sold to Berkshire Hathaway 's BH Media Group, controlled by Warren Buffett . Lee Enterprises announced an agreement to buy BH Media Group publications and The Buffalo News for $ 140 million cash on January 29, 2020. The acquisition includes

6384-2230: The Class A voting shares of Berkshire Hathaway, representing a 15.1% overall economic interest in the company. Notable companies wholly-owned by Berkshire include GEICO , Gen Re , BNSF Railway , Precision Castparts Corp. , Lubrizol , Dairy Queen , Duracell , Benjamin Moore & Co. , Pilot Flying J , Clayton Homes , Fruit of the Loom , Business Wire , NetJets , Oriental Trading Company , Pampered Chef , Ben Bridge Jeweler , CTB International , Central States Indemnity , Johns Manville , Scott Fetzer Company , McLane Company , See's Candies , WPLG , Berkshire Hathaway Energy , Berkshire Hathaway Assurance , and HomeServices of America . Notable stakes in public companies owned by Berkshire as of September 30, 2024, in order of value as of that date, include 2.0% of Apple Inc. ($ 69.8 billion), 21.5% of American Express ($ 46.2 billion), 9.99% of Bank of America ($ 36.4 billion), 9.3% of The Coca-Cola Company ($ 25.7 billion), 6.6% of Chevron Corporation ($ 19.0 billion), 27.2% of Occidental Petroleum ($ 12.8 billion), 13.6% of Moody's Ratings ($ 12.1 billion), 26.9% of Kraft Heinz ($ 10.4 billion), 6.7% of Chubb Limited ($ 7.7 billion), 44.0% of DaVita ($ 6.0 billion), 8.9% of Mitsubishi ($ 5.9 billion), 7.5% of Itochu ($ 5.7 billion), 8.4% of Mitsui ($ 5.2 billion), 2.9% of Citigroup ($ 3.9 billion), 6.9% of Kroger ($ 3.0 billion), 32.5% of Sirius XM ($ 3.0 billion), 8.6% of Visa Inc. ($ 2.6 billion), 1.2% of Verisign ($ 2.3 billion), 8.5% of Marubeni ($ 2.1 billion), 9.5% of Sumitomo Group ($ 2.1 billion), 0.4% of Mastercard ($ 2.1 billion), 0.1% of Amazon.com ($ 2.0 billion), 4.9% of BYD Auto ($ 1.8 billion), 2.4% of Capital One ($ 1.7 billion), 1.9% of Aon ($ 1.6 billion), 1.8% of Nubank ($ 1.2 billion), 9.5% of Ally Financial ($ 1.1 billion), 0.4% of T-Mobile US ($ 1.1 billion), 2.0% of Charter Communications ($ 1.1 billion), 8.6% of Louisiana-Pacific ($ 0.7 billion), 3.7% of Domino's ($ 0.6 billion), 1.3% of HEICO ($ 0.2 billion), 1.1% of Pool Corporation ($ 0.2 billion), and 0.4% of NVR, Inc. ($ 0.1 billion). Insurance

6496-481: 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

6608-427: 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

6720-658: The United States and Canada. Buffett agreed not to sell the products through major retail chains. In January 2001, Berkshire acquired 87% of Dalton, Georgia -based Shaw Industries . It acquired the remaining 12% in January 2002. 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. Warren Buffett Warren Edward Buffett ( / ˈ b ʌ f ɪ t / BUF -it ; born August 30, 1930)

6832-766: The Valley Falls Company merged with the Berkshire Cotton Manufacturing Company established in 1889, in Adams, Massachusetts . The combined company was known as Berkshire Fine Spinning Associates . In 1955, Berkshire Fine Spinning Associates merged with Hathaway Mills which had been founded in 1888 in New Bedford, Massachusetts , by Horatio Hathaway with profits from whaling and the China Trade . Hathaway had been successful in its first decades, but it suffered during

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6944-610: The acquisition. 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. Buffett's salary has not changed in 35 years. Buffett also receives approximately $ 300,000 worth home security services from the company annually. Abel and Jain each receive a salary of $ 20 million per year, with a possible $ 3 million annual bonus approved by Buffett. Buffett's letters to shareholders are published annually. Berkshire's annual shareholders' meetings, nicknamed " Woodstock for Capitalists", take place at

7056-588: 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

7168-451: The company for $ 11.50 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 $ 11.375. 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 in 1965 he did. However, this left Buffett's fund with

7280-713: The company from 1978 until his death on November 28, 2023. With some exceptions, Berkshire Hathaway usually does not invest in real property due to precise pricing, lack of competitive advantage, complex management, and corporation tax disadvantages. Insurance and reinsurance business activities are conducted through approximately 70 domestic and foreign-based insurance companies. Berkshire acquired See's Candies in 1972 for $ 25 million. It 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

7392-399: 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

7504-515: 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

7616-518: 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

7728-494: The daily Tulsa Business & Legal News from Community Publishers Inc. On April 20, 2015, four Tulsa World journalists—including two nominated for the Pulitzer Prize —suddenly resigned their jobs to accept positions at The Frontier , a new online-only publication launched by the former World publisher, Bobby Lorton. In 2016, the World announced it would not endorse any candidate in the 2016 election , saying that

7840-422: 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

7952-564: 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

8064-510: The eighth U.S. public company and the first non-technology company to be valued at over $ 1 trillion on the list of public corporations by market capitalization . The company has generally avoided investing in the technology industry ; Buffett has said he prefers evergreen businesses that generate predictable long-term returns, that he doesn't invest in companies that he doesn't understand, and that he does not like to invest in companies that may undergo significant change. Berkshire Hathaway

8176-460: The end of the decade, accompanied by large layoffs. In 1962, Warren Buffett began buying Berkshire Hathaway stock for his fund, anticipating that as the company liquidated textile mills there would come a tender offer when he could sell the shares at a profit. A year later, Buffet and his associates became the largest shareholder of the company, eventually securing a 49% stake. In 1964, Stanton made an oral tender offer to buy back Buffett's stake in

8288-545: The fields of military, governmental, corporate, and regional or mainline flying. FlightSafety is the largest provider of professional aviation training services, with 1,800 instructors and offers more than 4,000 individual courses for 135 aircraft types, using more than 320 flight simulators to serve customers from 167 countries. In October 1997, Berkshire acquired Dairy Queen , based in Edina, Minnesota, for $ 585 million. It franchises approximately 6,000 stores operating under

8400-602: The first edition of the Tulsa World on September 14, 1905 at the time Brady was starting Tulsa World , he was also publishing the Indian Republican a weekly newspaper, which was previously edited by a con artist named Myron Boyle. Brady had bought the Indian Republican in 1905 and fired Boyle in the following year. Boyle borrowed $ 500 from Dr. S. G. Kennedy, ostensibly to pay some personal debts. Instead, he left town without repaying Dr. Kennedy. Brady

8512-417: The first time on October 23, 2006. David L. Sokol , CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Energy until early 2008, was a top lieutenant for Buffett. Sokol, who was paid $ 24 million per year, resigned from Berkshire in 2011 after it was disclosed that he personally made a $ 3 million profit from Berkshire Hathaway's purchase of Lubrizol . In October 2010, Berkshire announced that 39-year old Todd Combs , manager of

8624-432: 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

8736-475: 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. In 1999, Berkshire acquired MidAmerican Energy Holdings. At the time of purchase, Berkshire's voting interest was limited to 10% of the company's shares, but this restriction ended when

8848-601: 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,

8960-613: 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

9072-422: 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

9184-410: 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

9296-567: The months of November and December. By 2019, the $ 25 million investment had returned over $ 2 billion, or an 8000% return, to Berkshire. In 1977, Berkshire purchased the Buffalo Evening News and resumed publication of a Sunday edition of the paper that had ceased in 1914. After the morning newspaper Buffalo Courier-Express 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

9408-452: 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

9520-431: The names Dairy Queen, Orange Julius , and Karmelkorn . The stores offer various dairy desserts, beverages, prepared foods, blended fruit drinks, popcorn, and other snack foods. In July 1998, Berkshire Hathaway acquired NetJets , formerly Executive Jet Aviation, for $ 725 million in cash. NetJets is the world's largest provider of fractional ownership programs for general aviation aircraft. In 1986, NetJets created

9632-519: 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

9744-404: 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

9856-494: The rest of her shares to her grandson Robert. In 1964, Robert Lorton became director of the News Publishing Corporation, which oversaw the non-editorial operations of both the Tulsa Tribune and Tulsa World . In 1968, he became president of the Tulsa World and publisher upon Boone's death in 1988. The Tulsa Tribune ceased operations in 1992 and Tulsa World acquired its assets. Robert Lorton reacquired

9968-425: 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

10080-557: 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

10192-626: The sole owner and publisher in 1917. Beginning in 1915, the Tulsa World fought an editorial battle advocating a proposal to build a reservoir on Spavinaw Creek and pipe the water 55 miles to Tulsa. Charles Page was among those who opposed the Spavinaw plan; he advocated a plan in his own newspaper to sell water from the Shell Creek water system, which Page owned. Page's newspaper, the Morning News , closed in 1919 after Tulsans approved

10304-579: 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

10416-478: 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

10528-456: 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

10640-448: The weekly paper agreed to issue a retraction, but Bates remained a defendant. Tulsa World ' s decision to sue a competitor paper was criticized in a column by Slate editor Jack Shafer . On February 12, 2009, the World reported that Bates had issued an apology and retraction, and that the libel lawsuit had been settled on confidential terms. Berkshire Hathaway Berkshire Hathaway Inc. ( / ˈ b ɜːr k ʃ ər / )

10752-465: 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

10864-487: Was acquired in February 2000 by Wesco Financial Corporation, an 80.1% owned subsidiary of Berkshire and is the largest U.S. provider of rental furniture, accessories and related services in the "rent-to-rent" segment of the furniture rental industry. In May 2000, Berkshire acquired Ben Bridge Jeweler , a chain of jewelry stores established in 1912 with locations primarily in the western United States. Helzberg Diamonds ,

10976-512: 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

11088-526: 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

11200-464: Was appointed vice chairman for non-insurance business operations, and Jain became vice chairman of insurance operations. In May 2021, Buffett named Greg Abel to be his successor as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. Berkshire Hathaway has never undergone a stock split of its Class A shares because of management's desire to attract long-term investors as opposed to short-term speculation . However, in 1996, Berkshire Hathaway created Class B shares , with

11312-474: 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,

11424-672: 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

11536-713: 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

11648-457: 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

11760-661: 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

11872-624: Was rebranded as HomeServices of America , a division of Berkshire Hathaway Energy . In addition to brokerage services, it provides mortgage loan originations, title insurance and closing services, home warranty , property insurance and casualty insurance and other related services. The company has acquired several residential real estate brokerages including Long & Foster , acquired in September 2017. In October 1999, Berkshire acquired Jordan's Furniture for an estimated $ 200 million to $ 300 million. CORT Business Services Corporation

11984-409: Was reluctant to create the class B shares but did so to thwart the creation of unit investment trusts that would have marketed themselves as Berkshire look-alikes. In January 2010, as part of the acquisition of BNSF Railway , Berkshire completed a 50-to-1 stock split of its class B shares . The increased market liquidity resulted in the company's inclusion in the S&P 500 upon consummation of

12096-555: 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

12208-442: Was sufficiently successful establishing the Tulsa World that it attracted a Missouri mine owner, George Bayne, and his brother-in-law, Charles Dent, who bought and ran the paper for the next five years. In 1911, Eugene Lorton , who had just sold his stake in a Walla Walla, Washington newspaper, and moved to Tulsa, bought an interest in the Tulsa World , becoming its editor, and then, with financial backing from Harry Ford Sinclair ,

12320-520: Was valued at $ 35 per share, but Buffett offered $ 50 per share for the company, or $ 8.6 million. In 1963, Franklin Otis Booth Jr. invested $ 1 million in the company and in 1968, David Gottesman invested in the company. The investments made both individuals billionaires. In the late 1970s, Berkshire acquired an equity stake in GEICO , which forms the core of its insurance operations today and

12432-462: 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

12544-420: 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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