Warren Buffett bought his first Berkshire Hathaway shares for $7.50 each, 55 years ago today (2024)

FAQs

What price did Warren Buffett buy Berkshire Hathaway stock? ›

He got control of Berkshire by purchasing about 49% of the shares. As controlling owner he controlled 100% of Berkshire's book value and assets. He had paid about $8.3 million (49% of 1.138 million shares at an average purchase price of $14.86).

He knew he was going to make money anyways because of the cheapness,” Berkshire Vice Chairman Charlie Munger said in the “Becoming Warren Buffett Documentary,” CNBC reported. Buffett bought his first shares of textile company Berkshire Hathaway in December 1962 for $7.50 each.

He created Buffett Partnership, Ltd in 1956 and his investment firm eventually acquired a textile manufacturing firm called Berkshire Hathaway, assuming its name to create a diversified holding company, and later as the company's chairman and majority shareholder in 1970.

Berkshire Hathaway Stock: 1962 =$8 1972 =$80 1975=$38 (53%⬇️) S&P 500 ⬇️ only 14% b/w 1972-1975 Just in one year (1975 to 1976) ⬆️ $94 from $38 1982=$775 Today=$297060 (CAGR 20.26% for 57 years) Suppose someone who sold in 1975 coz of stock ⬇️ 53% or sold in 1972 coz of 10X.

On this day in 1965, Warren Buffett took control of an ailing textile company named Berkshire Hathaway when its shares were valued at $19 each.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK. B), led by billionaire investor and CEO Warren Buffett, is a diversified holding company whose subsidiaries are involved in insurance, freight rail transportation, energy generation and distribution, manufacturing, and retailing.

In January of 2000, shares of Berkshire Class B traded at about $1,646.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

Berkshire Hathaway, the conglomerate headed by legendary investor Warren Buffett, has the most expensive stock in the world, with shares trading at over $400,000 each. Berkshire Hathaway's market capitalisation is over $640 billion, making it one of the giant companies in the world.

Who owns the most stocks in the world? ›

'Billionaire Stocks': Bill Gates, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B)

The natural stock pick held by the world's wealthiest person is Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), the giant tech company Bill Gates co-founded with Paul Allen in 1975. Gates still owns almost 103 million shares of the company worth $15.4 billion.

Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett has never allowed a stock split of the company's A shares, despite their high trading prices. Buffett believes that splitting the stock would go against his strategy and that the high price tag attracts like-minded investors seeking long-term gains in intrinsic value.

If you invested $100 in the S&P 500 at the beginning of 1930, you would have about $574,655.93 at the end of 2023, assuming you reinvested all dividends. This is a return on investment of 574,555.93%, or 9.75% per year.

This implies that Berkshire Hathaway's stock price was just $12.37 at the time Buffett took over the company.

Warren Buffett's conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway was sitting $129 billion of cash at the end of 2022.

S&P 500: $100 in 1965 → $24,931.97 in 2023

This is a return on investment of 24,831.97%, or 9.97% per year. This lump-sum investment beats inflation during this period for an inflation-adjusted return of about 2,501.93% cumulatively, or 5.77% per year.

What was the price of BRK b when it split? The price of BRK B stock was around $3,500 before the stock split on a 50-for1 basis on 21 January, 2010. This brought the price per share down to around $66.

What is the return of Berkshire since 1965? ›

Berkshire Hathaway saw a 19.8% compounded annual gain from 1965 to 2022, compared to 9.9% for the S&P 500 Index. In terms of overall gain, Berkshire saw a 3,787,464% rise during that time period while the S&P rose 24,708%.

Investors interested in buying into Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway have two options: Class A stock (BRK-A) and Class B stock (BRK-B). The two types of shares each provide access to the famous conglomerate, but they have important differences. The main difference between the two types of shares is their price.

Look for a brokerage that supports fractional shares. This means you can purchase just a tiny piece if you don't have enough money for a full share. This lets you to still invest in Berkshire Hathaway even if you only have $10.

The investor owns 1.14% of the outstanding Berkshire Hathaway stock. The first Berkshire Hathaway trade was made in Q2 2010. Since then Bill Gates bought shares thirteen more times and sold shares on 37 occasions. The stake costed the investor $2.99 Billion, netting the investor a gain of 167% so far.

Key Takeaways. Berkshire Hathaway's portfolio's five largest positions are in Apple Inc. (AAPL), Bank of America Corp (BAC), Chevron (CVX), The Coca-Cola Company (KO), and American Express Company (AXP). Apple is Berkshire's largest holding, accounting for 39% of its stock portfolio.

Buffett famously resisted splitting Berkshire's shares, something companies normally do to make it easier to trade their stock. As the company's chief executive officer (CEO), he kept the price high to make it harder to trade and to discourage short-term trading which would increase the stock's volatility.

Winner: Amazon. One day after Meta's staggering loss, another tech giant set a new record for single-day gains. On January 4, 2022, Amazon (AMZN)'s market capitalization rose by $190 billion in a single day, beating out Apple's record of $179 billion a week earlier.

A majority of the roughly four dozen securities held in Berkshire Hathaway's $335 billion investment portfolio pays a dividend.

Who is the most successful person in the stock market? ›

Warren Buffett is widely considered to be the most successful investor in history.

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala

In addition to being known as "India's Warren Buffet" and "The Big Bull," Rakesh Jhunjhunwala is one of India's most renowned and helpful stock market analysts.

Our new analysis shows that foreign investors owned about 40 percent of US corporate equity in 2019, up substantially over the last few decades. Retirement accounts of US households owned about 30 percent in 2019, and the taxable accounts of US investors owned about 25 percent, which is most of the rest.

Berkshire Hathaway holds a diversified basket of companies in dependable industries. The company's massive cash pile is an additional safety net. The stock's attractive valuation makes it a no-brainer for investors seeking safety.

While holding or moving to cash might feel good mentally and help avoid short-term stock market volatility, it is unlikely to be wise over the long term. Once you cash out a stock that's dropped in price, you move from a paper loss to an actual loss.

Stock splits in 2023

Thus far for 2023, the only high-profile stock split is from Monster Beverage Corp. (MNST 3.27%). The energy drink leader announced the stock split during its fourth quarter 2022 financial update on Feb. 28, 2023.

Stock Price Forecast

The 2 analysts offering 12-month price forecasts for Berkshire Hathaway Inc have a median target of 367.26, with a high estimate of 371.00 and a low estimate of 363.52. The median estimate represents a +13.33% increase from the last price of 324.06.

Average Market Return for the Last 10 Years

Looking at the S&P 500 from 2012 to 2021, the average S&P 500 return for the last 10 years is 14.83% (12.37% when adjusted for inflation), which is also higher the annual average return of 10%.

Formula and Calculation of Future Value

For example, assume a $1,000 investment is held for five years in a savings account with 10% simple interest paid annually. In this case, the FV of the $1,000 initial investment is $1,000 × [1 + (0.10 x 5)], or $1,500.

With that, you could expect your $10,000 investment to grow to $34,000 in 20 years.

How much would $10000 invested in the S&P 500 in 1980 be worth today? ›

Assuming an expense ratio of 0.1% on your index fund (you can find even lower costs now), this means that a $10,000 investment would have turned into just over $760,000 as of Feb.

The $1,000 investment would be worth $62,841,899.58 today based on a price of $471,326.03 for Berkshire Hathaway shares today.

His father took interest in educating the young Warren, at one point taking him to visit the New York Stock Exchange when he was 10. At 11, he bought three shares of Cities Service Preferred for himself, and three for his sister Doris Buffett (who also became a philanthropist).

On May 6, 1964, Berkshire Hathaway, then run by a man named Seabury Stanton, sent a letter to its shareholders offering to buy 225,000 shares of its stock for $11.375 per share. I had expected the letter; I was surprised by the price. Berkshire then had 1,583,680 shares outstanding.

This difference is often only pertinent for shareholders who take an active role in the company. Nevertheless, because of the voting rights, A-shares are often more valuable than B shares. Some companies even have three or more share classes, in some special circ*mstances.

The majority of Berkshire Hathaway's Class B stock is owned by institutional investors, with individual shareholders such as Warren E. Buffett, Ronald L. Olson, and Meryl B. Witmer having a much smaller stake in the company.

S&P 500: $100 in 1990 → $2,391.06 in 2023

This is a return on investment of 2,291.06%, or 10.07% per year. This lump-sum investment beats inflation during this period for an inflation-adjusted return of about 935.37% cumulatively, or 7.32% per year.