It goes without saying that Warren Buffett is a living legend. He is generally considered the most successful investor of the 20th century. Through his conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway, Warren oversees a diverse portfolio of investments in a wide range of industries.
Contrary to what you might assume, Warren is not actually the founder of Berkshire. Like all of his assets, he first started out as a regular investor. He started buying shares of Berkshire in 1962 as a simple stock investment. He took majority control in 1965 and, from that point on, has used Berkshire as his investment vehicle and umbrella holding company.
Let’s do a hypothetical for fun… Let’s say you had $1,000 in 1965. FYI, that would be the same as having $10,000 today. And let’s say you decided to invest that $1,000 into Berkshire Hathaway. What would that investment be worth today?
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Over the last several decades, Warren has used a disciplined investing strategy to make large investments in companies via Berkshire. He has also outright acquired dozens of companies. Some of the notable companies that Berkshire Hathaway owns outright or has significant investments in include:
- Apple: Berkshire Hathaway holds a significant stake in Apple, worth over $120 billion
- Coca-Cola: Berkshire Hathaway is one of the largest shareholders in Coca-Cola, with a stake worth over $22 billion
- American Express: Berkshire Hathaway has a large stake in American Express, worth over $15 billion
- Bank of America: Berkshire Hathaway is a major shareholder in Bank of America, with a stake worth over $30 billion
- Burlington Northern Santa Fe: Berkshire Hathaway owns one of the largest railroad companies in North America, which it acquired in 2010 for $26 billion.
- See’s Candies: Berkshire Hathaway owns this California-based candy company, which has been an extremely successful investment for the company.
- Geico: Berkshire Acquired 100% of the insurance giant Geico in 1996
- Fruit of the Loom: Acquired 100% of the underwear maker in 2002
Back in 1965 when Warren became the majority owner of Berkshire Hathaway, a single share cost on average…
$19
Twenty years later, in the mid-1980s, a single share of Berkshire Hathaway Class A stock would cost you…
$1,500
Today, a single share would cost you around…
$685,000
The company’s current market cap is around $980 billion. How much money would you have today if you had invested just $1,000 with Warren Buffett back in 1965?
The Answer: $35.6 million
Here’s the more specific math: As we stated earlier, a single share of Berkshire Class A stock cost $19 in 1965. So, $1,000 would have purchased 52 shares. At today’s price per share of $685,000, your 52 shares would be worth… $35.62 million.
What if you had $67,000 in 1965 and invested it all with Warren Buffett?
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$67,000 Invested In 1965
Back in 1965, Dorothy and Myer Kripke were Warren’s next-door neighbors in Omaha. Warren was 35 years old at the time. Unsure of what to do with the roughly $67,000 they had saved, Dorothy encouraged Myer to ask their neighbor if he would oversee the money. Warren agreed.
Thirty years later, their $67,000 was $25 million. Assuming they never sold a single share, on the day Myer Kripke died in 2014 (Dorothy died in 2000), their $67,000 had grown to be worth over $150 million. If his relatives still own those shares, they are worth around $500 million. 🙂