Berkshire Hathaway is the investment company led for decades by Warren Buffett, the conglomerate associated with the nickname Oracle of Omaha.
Berkshire Hathaway began as a textile manufacturer, but Buffett gradually transformed it into a diversified holding company. Its businesses include insurance, freight rail, utilities, energy, manufacturing, retail, and investments in publicly traded companies.
Buffett became chairman and chief executive after acquiring control of the company in the 1960s. He built Berkshire’s reputation around disciplined value investing, long holding periods, and the use of insurance operations to generate investable funds.
Berkshire is unusual among the world’s largest public companies because its Class A shares have an exceptionally high individual share price. That price should not be confused with market capitalization, which depends on both share price and the number of shares outstanding.