Berkshire Hathaway is the investment company chaired by Warren Buffett and regularly ranked among the world’s largest companies by market capitalization.
Berkshire Hathaway began as a textile manufacturer, but Warren Buffett and his investment partners acquired control in the 1960s. Buffett eventually shifted the company away from textiles and toward insurance, investments, and ownership of operating businesses. The company’s insurance subsidiaries provide a large pool of investable capital known as “float.”
Berkshire owns or has owned businesses in sectors including railroads, utilities, manufacturing, consumer products, and insurance. It also holds substantial publicly traded stock investments. This diversified structure distinguishes Berkshire from a focused technology company, even though its market capitalization places it among the largest listed corporations.
Berkshire is unusual among major public companies because it has two principal share classes, Class A and Class B. Class A shares have much greater voting power and a far higher price per share, but both classes represent ownership in the same corporation.