Which company, led for decades by Warren Buffett, is the parent of GEICO and BNSF Railway?

Berkshire Hathaway, led for decades by Warren Buffett, is the parent of GEICO and BNSF Railway.

Berkshire Hathaway began as a textile manufacturing company formed in 1955 through the merger of Berkshire Fine Spinning Associates and Hathaway Manufacturing. Warren Buffett began buying its stock in the 1960s and eventually transformed it into a diversified holding company rather than continuing as a textile business.

Its major businesses include insurance operations such as GEICO and Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance Group, the BNSF freight railroad, and Berkshire Hathaway Energy. It also owns many consumer, industrial, and service businesses, while holding large portfolios of publicly traded shares.

Buffett became chairman and chief executive in 1965. Berkshire’s unusual structure means it is not simply an investment fund: its operating companies generate cash, and the parent can allocate that capital among acquisitions, subsidiaries, securities, and buybacks. Charlie Munger was Buffett’s longtime business partner until his death in 2023.