Berkshire Hathaway is Warren Buffett’s conglomerate and has ranked among the world’s most valuable public companies by market capitalization.
The company owns or invests in businesses across insurance, railroads, utilities, manufacturing, retail, and finance. Its insurance operations, especially GEICO and reinsurance businesses, have historically supplied capital that Berkshire can invest elsewhere.
Berkshire’s modern history began when Buffett acquired control of the struggling textile company in 1965. The textile operations were eventually closed, while the corporate structure became a vehicle for acquiring businesses and holding shares in large public companies.
A common mix-up is treating Berkshire as only an investment fund. It is a diversified operating conglomerate, and its insurance subsidiaries are central to its business model. Berkshire has two listed share classes, Class A and Class B, with the same underlying company but very different per-share prices.