Which investment company has Warren Buffett as its longtime chairman and CEO?

Berkshire Hathaway is the investment company led for decades by Warren Buffett as chairman and chief executive officer.

Berkshire Hathaway began as a textile manufacturer formed through the 1955 merger of Berkshire Fine Spinning Associates and Hathaway Manufacturing Company. Buffett acquired shares in the struggling textile business during the 1960s and eventually transformed it into a diversified holding company. The textile operations were later closed, while the corporate structure remained.

Today Berkshire owns operating businesses and substantial investments in publicly traded companies. Its subsidiaries have included GEICO, BNSF Railway, and numerous manufacturing, retail, and service businesses. This broad collection of assets helps explain why Berkshire has ranked among the world’s largest companies by market capitalization.

Berkshire is often mistaken for a mutual fund. Unlike a mutual fund, it owns controlling interests in operating companies and is itself a publicly traded corporation. Buffett became chairman in 1965, while Charlie Munger was a key longtime vice chairman.