Berkshire Hathaway, founded in 1839 and led for decades by Warren Buffett, is among the world’s largest companies by market capitalization.
The company began as a textile manufacturer and later became a diversified holding company. Under Buffett’s leadership, Berkshire acquired businesses and invested in publicly traded companies across insurance, railroads, utilities, energy, manufacturing, and consumer goods.
Berkshire’s insurance operations are central to its structure. Premiums collected by its insurers provide investment capital, while subsidiaries such as BNSF Railway and Berkshire Hathaway Energy give the group large operating businesses beyond the stock portfolio.
Berkshire is unusual among giant public companies because its Class A shares have an exceptionally high per-share price and it has historically avoided stock splits. Its market capitalization, however, depends on total shares and share prices rather than the price of one share alone.