Berkshire Hathaway is Warren Buffett’s conglomerate and has Class A shares with one of the highest prices in stock-market history.
Berkshire Hathaway owns or invests in businesses across insurance, railroads, utilities, energy, manufacturing, retail, and financial services. Warren Buffett has served as its chairman and chief executive for decades, making the company closely associated with his value-investing approach and long-term ownership strategy.
Its Class A shares are unusual because Berkshire has never carried out a conventional stock split. As a result, one Class A share can trade for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Berkshire also offers lower-priced Class B shares, created in 1996, which represent a smaller economic interest and make ownership more accessible to individual investors.
Berkshire’s history began as a textile manufacturer. Buffett acquired control in the 1960s and gradually transformed it into a diversified holding company. It is regularly ranked among the world’s largest companies by market capitalization, although its valuation moves with the prices of its shares.