Berkshire Hathaway, led for decades by Warren Buffett, became one of the world’s largest firms by market capitalization.
Berkshire Hathaway began as a textile manufacturing company formed in 1955 through the merger of Berkshire Fine Spinning Associates and Hathaway Manufacturing Company. Warren Buffett acquired a controlling interest in the struggling textile business in the 1960s and gradually transformed it into a diversified holding company.
Its businesses include insurance operations, rail transport through BNSF Railway, utilities, manufacturing, retail, and large investments in publicly traded companies. Insurance has been especially important because premiums provide investment capital known as float.
Berkshire is not a conventional mutual fund or bank. It owns operating companies and stock investments, and its Class A shares are famous for their exceptionally high per-share price. Market capitalization, however, counts the value of all share classes together.