Berkshire Hathaway's Net Worth as of 2024
$143.688 Billion
Berkshire Hathaway is an American holding company that started in the textile industry and later became one of the most successful investment companies in the world.
So how much is Berkshire Hathaway’s net worth? As of mid 2016, it is reported to be $143.688 billion, acquired from years as a textile and later on an investment company.
Berkshire Hathaway Net Worth $143.688 billion
Berkshire Hathaway is a combination of two textile manufacturing companies. The first one is Valley Falls Company that started in Valley Falls, Rhode Island. The company started in 1839 and later on merged with another textile company Berkshire Manufacturing Company. The two later on became known as Berkshire Fine Spinning Associates.
On the other hand, in 1888 Hathaway Manufacturing Company started as a China trader. The company focused on mill cotton and enjoyed years of success before facing some low point during the First World War.
In the 1950s the two companies merged with each other and became known as the Berkshire Hathaway. It became one of the largest textile companies in the country with over 15 plants and 12,000 employees. The combined assets of the company raised its net worth.
After the merger, unfortunately due to increasing competition both local and abroad, slowly Berkshire Hathaway is closing down plants just to survive.
In 1962, business man Warren Buffett saw that the pattern that the company does in its stock pricing whenever a plant closes. He bought a few shares and slowly increasing it overtime. A couple of years later, Buffett decided that the textile industry is continually declining and he wanted to sell back his stocks to the company. When he was given a lower offer by some of the officers of Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett decided to buy more shares out of spite and soon he got enough shares to control the company.
As Buffett later on got control over the company, he maintained the textile business but also slowly began to invest in other companies. In 1967, Berkshire Hathaway decided to purchase two companies in Nebraska, namely the National Indemnity and National Fire and Marine Insurance as steps towards becoming an investment company. This move helped maintain the company’s net worth.
In 1985, after some time keeping the company going, later on Buffett decided to discontinue the textile business. As much as he wanted to keep it, he simply cannot turn around the business.
Buffett decided to take Berkshire Hathaway’s direction towards investment. In 1970s the company acquired some stakes in the Government Employees Insurance Company (GEICO) and it became one of the company’s most important moves.
From long-term investments in publicly traded companies, soon Berkshire Hathaway is buying companies as a whole. They now own various lines of businesses from retail, to newspaper publishing, and even home furnishing.
Today, Berkshire Hathaway owns companies like GEICO, Lubrizol, Dairy Queen, and NetJets. The company also holds part ownerships in companies like Kraft Heinz Company, Mars, Inc. American Express, Wells Fargo and The Coca-Cola Company to name a few. These ownerships and investments is what make up Berkshire Hathaway’s net worth. It is now the fourth largest company in the world according to Forbes Global 2000.
