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1. Warren Buffett Biography.com
Business Leader, Philanthropist(1930–)
Known as the "Oracle of Omaha," Warren Buffett is an investment
guru and one of the richest and most respected businessmen in the
world.
Synopsis
Born in Nebraska in 1930, Warren Buffett demonstrated keen business abilities at a young age.
He formed Buffett Partnership Ltd. in 1956, and by 1965 he had assumed control of Berkshire
Hathaway. Overseeing the growth of a conglomerate with holdings in the media, insurance,
energy and food and beverage industries, Buffett became one of the world's richest men and a
celebrated philanthropist.
Early Life
Businessman and investor. Born Warren Edward Buffett on August 30, 1930, in Omaha,
Nebraska. Buffett's father, Howard, worked as stockbroker and served as a U.S. congressman.
His mother, Leila Stahl Buffett, was a homemaker. Buffett was the second of three children and
the only boy.
Buffett demonstrated a knack for financial and business matters early in his childhood. Friends
and acquaintances have said the young boy was a mathematical prodigy who could add large
columns of numbers in his head, a talent he occasionally demonstrated in his later years.
Warren often visited his father's stockbrokerage shop as a child, and chalked in the stock prices
on the blackboard in the office. At 11 years old he made his first investment, buying three shares
of Cities Service Preferred at $38 per share. The stock quickly dropped to only $27, but Buffett
held on tenaciously until they reached $40. He sold his shares at a small profit, but regretted the
decision when Cities Service shot up to nearly $200 a share. He later cited this experience as an
early lesson in patience in investing.
First Entrepreneurial Venture
By the age of 13, Buffett was running his own businesses as a paperboy and selling his own
horseracing tip sheet. That same year, he filed his first tax return, claiming his bike as a $35 tax
deduction.
In 1942, Buffett's father was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, and his family moved
to Fredricksburg, Virginia, to be closer to the congressman's new post. Buffett attended
Woodrow Wilson High School in Washington, D.C., where he continued plotting new ways to

2. make money. During his high school tenure, he and a friend purchased a used pinball machine
for $25. They installed it in a barbershop, and within a few months the profits enabled them to
buy other machines. Buffett owned machines in three different locations before he sold the
business for $1,200.
Higher Education and Early Career
Buffett enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania at the age of 16 to study business. He stayed
two years, moved to the University of Nebraska to finish up his degree, and emerged from
college at age 20 with nearly $10,000 from his childhood businesses.
Influenced by Benjamin Graham's 1949 book, The Intelligent Investor, Buffett enrolled at
Columbia Business School to study under the acclaimed economist and investor. After earning
his master's degree in 1951, he sold securities for Buffett-Falk & Company for three years, then
worked for his mentor for two years as an analyst at Graham-Newman Corp.
In 1956, Buffet formed the firm Buffett Partnership Ltd. in his hometown of Omaha. Utilizing
the techniques learned from Graham, he was successful in identifying undervauled companies
and became a millionaire. One such enterprise Buffett valued was a textile company named
Berkshire Hathaway. He began accumulating stock in the early 1960s, and by 1965 he had
assumed control of the company.
Business Empire
Despite the success of Buffett Partnership, its founder dissolved the firm in 1969 to focus on the
development of Berkshire Hathaway. He phased out its textile manufacturing division, instead
expanding the company by buying assets in media (The Washington Post), insurance (GEICO)
and oil (Exxon). Immensely successful, the "Oracle of Omaha" even managed to spin seemingly
poor investments into gold, most notably with his purchase of scandal-plagued Salomon Brothers
in 1987.
Following Berkshire Hathaway's significant investment in Coca-Cola, Buffett became director of
the company from 1989 until 2006. He has also served as director of Citigroup Global Markets
Holdings, Graham Holdings Company and The Gillette Company.
Recent Activity and Philanthropy
In June 2006, Buffett made an announcement that he would be giving his entire fortune away to
charity, committing 85 percent of it to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. This donation
became the largest act of charitable giving in United States history. In 2010, Buffett and Gates
announced they had formed The Giving Pledge campaign to recruit more wealthy individuals for
philanthropic causes.
In 2012, Buffett disclosed that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. He began undergoing
radiation treatment in July, and successfully completed his treatment in November.
The health scare did little to slow the octogenarian, who annually ranks near the top of
the Forbes world billionaires list. In February 2013, Buffett purchased H. J. Heinz with private

3. equity group 3G Capital for $28 billion. Later additions to the Berkshire Hathaway stable
included battery maker Duracell and Kraft Foods Group, which merged with Heinz in 2015 to
form the third-largest food and beverage company in North America.
Warren Buffett at a Town Hall rally for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton at
Sokol Auditorium on December 16, 2015 in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo: Steve Pope/Getty
Images)
In 2016, Buffett launched Drive2Vote, a web site aimed at encouraging people in his Nebraska
community to exercise their right to vote - and to assist in registering and driving voters to a
polling location if they needed a ride. He’s been a vocal supporter of Democratic
nominee Hillary Clinton, whom he’d endorsed in 2015. He also challenged the Republican
nominee, Donald Trump, to meet and share their tax returns. "I will meet him in Omaha or Mar-
a-Lago or, he can pick the place, anytime between now and election. I'll bring my return, he'll
bring his return. We're both under audit. And believe me, nobody's going to stop us from talking
about what's on those returns,” said Buffett at an August 1st rally in Omaha. Unlike other
presidential candidates since the 1970s, to date, Trump has refused to make his tax returns
public.
Warren Buffett: Success Story
Warren Buffett’s name is practically synonymous with his biggest success: Berkshire
Hathaway (BRK.A). Warren became an integral part of Berkshire Hathaway in the
early 1960s and helped the company expand into one of the largest conglomerates in the world.
In 1956, his path to success began to accelerate when he moved back to Nebraska with his
family.
Before working for Benjamin Graham, Warren had been an investment salesman – a job that he
liked doing, except when the stocks he suggested dropped in value and lost money for his clients.
To minimize the potential of having irate clients, Warren started a partnership with his close
friends and family. The partnership had unique restrictions attached to it: Warren himself would
invest only $100 and, through re-invested management fees, would grow his stake in the
partnership. Warren would take half of the partnerships gains over 4% and would repay the
partnership a quarter of any loss incurred. Furthermore, money could only be added or
withdrawn from the partnership on December 31st, and partners would have no input about the
investments in the partnership.
By 1959, Warren had opened a total of seven partnerships and had a 9.5% stake in more than a
million dollars of partnership assets. Three years later, Warren was now a millionaire and
merged all of his partnerships into a single entity.

4. 1. Warren
Buffett:
His Life
and
Education
2. Warren
Buffett:
Success
Story
3. Warren
Buffett:
Net
Worth &
Current
Influence
4. Warren
Buffett:
Most
Influential
Quotes
Warren Buffett’s name is practically synonymous with his biggest success: Berkshire
Hathaway (BRK.A). Warren became an integral part of Berkshire Hathaway in the
early 1960s and helped the company expand into one of the largest conglomerates in the world.
In 1956, his path to success began to accelerate when he moved back to Nebraska with his
family.
Before working for Benjamin Graham, Warren had been an investment salesman – a job that he
liked doing, except when the stocks he suggested dropped in value and lost money for his clients.
To minimize the potential of having irate clients, Warren started a partnership with his close
friends and family. The partnership had unique restrictions attached to it: Warren himself would
invest only $100 and, through re-invested management fees, would grow his stake in the
partnership. Warren would take half of the partnerships gains over 4% and would repay the
partnership a quarter of any loss incurred. Furthermore, money could only be added or
withdrawn from the partnership on December 31st, and partners would have no input about the
investments in the partnership.
By 1959, Warren had opened a total of seven partnerships and had a 9.5% stake in more than a
million dollars of partnership assets. Three years later, Warren was now a millionaire and
merged all of his partnerships into a single entity.

5. In 1962, Warren saw an opportunity to invest in a New England textile company called
Berkshire Hathaway and bought some of its stock. Warren began to aggressively buy shares after
a dispute with its management convinced him that the company needed a change in leadership.
Ironically, the purchase of Berkshire Hathaway is one of Warren’s major regrets. (For more,
see: Always Bet On Berkshire Hathaway.)
Understanding the beauty of owning insurance companies – clients pay premiums today to
possibly receive payments decades later – Warren used Berkshire Hathaway as a holding
company to buy National Indemnity Company (the first of many insurance companies he would
buy) and used its substantial cash flow to finance further acquisitions.
As a value investor, Warren is a sort of Jack-of-all-trades when it comes to industry knowledge.
Berkshire Hathaway is a great example. Buffett saw a company that was cheap and bought it,
regardless of the fact that he wasn’t an expert in textile manufacturing. Over the decades, Warren
has bought, held and sold companies in a variety of different industries.
Some of Berkshire Hathaway’s most well-known subsidiaries are, but not limited to, GEICO
(yes, that little Gecko belongs to Warren Buffett), Dairy Queen, NetJets, Benjamin Moore & Co.,
and Fruit of the Loom. Again, these are only a handful of companies of which Berkshire
Hathaway has a majority share.
The company also has interests in many other companies, including American Express Co.
(AXP), Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST), DirectTV (DTV), General Electric Co. (GE), General
Motors Co. (GM), Coca-Cola Co. (KO), International Business Machines Corp. (IBM), Wal-
Mart Stores Inc. (WMT), Proctor & Gamble Co. (PG) and Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC).
(related: How Does Warren Buffett Choose The Companies He Buys?)
Business for Buffett hasn’t always been rosy though. In 1975, Buffett and his business partner,
Charlie Munger, were investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for fraud.
The two maintained that they had done nothing wrong and that the purchase of Wesco Financial
Corporation only looked suspicious because of their complex system of businesses.
Further trouble came with a large investment in Salomon Inc. In 1991, news broke of a trader
breaking Treasury bidding rules on multiple occasions, and only through intense negotiations
with the Treasury did Buffett manage to stave off a ban on buying Treasury notes and subsequent
bankruptcy for the firm.
In more recent years, Buffett has acted as a financier and facilitator of major transactions. During
the Great Recession, Warren invested and lent money to companies that were facing financial
disaster. Seven years later, the effects of these transactions are surfacing and they’re enormous:
 A loan to Mars Inc. resulted in a $680 million profit
 Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC), of which Berkshire Hathaway bought almost 120
million shares during the Great Recession, is up 6.75 times from its 2009 low
 American Express Co. (AXP) is up about five times since Warren’s investment in 2008

6.  Bank of America Corp. (BAC) pays $300 million a year and Berkshire Hathaway has the
option to buy additional shares at around $7 each – less than half of what it trades at
today
 Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) paid out $500 million in dividends a year and a $500
million redemption bonus when they repurchased the shares.
Most recently, Warren has partnered up with 3G Capital to merge J.H. Heinz Company and Kraft
Foods to create the Kraft Heinz Food Company (KHC). The new company is the third largest
food and beverage company in North America and fifth largest in the world, and boasts annual
revenues of $28 billion.
Modesty and quiet living meant that it took Forbes some time to notice Warren and add him to
the list of richest Americans, but when they finally did in 1985, he was already a billionaire.
Early investors in Berkshire Hathaway could have bought in as low as $275 a share and by 2014
the stock price had reached $200,000, and was trading around $220,000 earlier this year.
How Warren Buffett Made Berkshire A Winner
Berkshire Fine Spinning Associated and Hathaway Manufacturing Company merged in 1955 to
form Berkshire Hathaway.
Warren Buffett bought into it in the 1960s and turned it into a conglomerate in 1967. He used the
textile proceeds to buy National Indemnity. It was the first of many insurance company
purchases that provided Berkshire with the means to make more acquisitions.
Berkshire used float money for its purchases. That’s money paid to Berkshire’s insurance
companies in premiums that have yet to be paid out to cover claims. Technically, the money
doesn’t belong to the insurance companies, and it’s available to be invested as the manager sees
fit.
Berkshire’s float of $77 billion is the world’s largest, and 50 times what it was a generation ago.
It lets Berkshire quickly buy temporarily wounded companies and then revive them. Fruit of the
Loom, purchased for $835 million in 2002 after its stock had fallen 97%, is a good example.
Meanwhile, many of the Fortune 500 companies in which Berkshire owns positions pay steady
dividends. Buffett advocates investing in companies that pay dividends, but despite that, he
himself gives none to Berkshire’s investors. They should not complain, however. Berkshire’s
stock has climbed 693,518% over the past half century, going from $275 a share in 1980 to
$186,000 in 2014.
The rationale is simple – would you rather have a dividend, or see that money reinvested into one
of the most financially robust companies in the world?
How Warren Buffett made Berkshire Hathaway a World-beater
BRK.A

7. 247,004.85
-0.45%
BRK.B
164.76
-0.43%
It would almost be easier to list the industry sectors in which Omaha-based Berkshire Hathaway
Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A
Berkshire Hathaway Inc
BRK.A
247,004.85
-0.45%
) doesn’t turn gargantuan profits. Railroads? Hardly. BNSF Railway, the 2nd-largest freight line
in North America, is a wholly owned Berkshire Hathawaysubsidiary. How about auto insurance?
GEICO, No. 2 in its industry, is also fully under Berkshire Hathaway control. Even
unmentionables are worthy of mention: Berkshire Hathaway’s Fruit of the Loom, Inc. sells more
men’s underwear in the United States than anyone else does. Business jet rental (NetJets),
jewelry (Borsheim's Fine Jewelry, Helzberg Diamonds, Ben Bridge Jeweler, Inc.), furniture (RC
Willey Home Furnishings, CORT), candy (See’s Candies), trucking (McLane Co., Inc.), modular
houses (Clayton Homes), newspapers (The Buffalo News) – there’s seemingly no limit to the
number of diverse businesses under the $400 billion Berkshire Hathaway umbrella.
Founded in the 19th century as two separate Massachusetts cotton mills, Berkshire Fine Spinning
Associates and Hathaway Manufacturing Co. merged in 1955. Warren Buffett first bought into
the declining concern in the early '60s and eventually ended up in control of it on May 10th,
1965. Two years later, Buffett officially made Berkshire Hathaway a conglomerate, using textile
proceeds to purchase National Indemnity, the first of what would be the many insurance
companies that provided Berkshire Hathaway’s lifeblood and enabled it to continue acquiring.
Berkshire's Big War Chest
That lifeblood has an industry-specific name: float. Also known as “available reserve,” it refers
to money paid to Berkshire Hathaway’s insurance subsidiaries in premiums but that has yet to be
paid out to cover any claims. Technically this money doesn’t belong to the insurance company,
but it remains on hand to be invested as its managers see fit. Berkshire Hathaway’s float of $100

8. billion is not only one of the largest in the world, but 50 times what it was a generation ago. It’s
allowed Berkshire Hathaway to make quick purchases of temporarily wounded companies and
breathe life into them. Case in point: Fruit of the Loom, purchased for a mere $835 million in
2002 after its stock had lost 97% of its value.
One of the prime tenets held by Buffett’s mentor, Benjamin Graham, is that dividends are an
investor’s secret weapon. Many of the Fortune 500 companies that Berkshire Hathaway has large
positions in – International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM
International Business Machines Corp
IBM
152.50
+0.31%
), The Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE:KO
Coca-Cola Co
KO
44.90
+1.14%
), American Express Co. (NYSE:AXP
American Express Co
AXP
77.06
-0.18%
) – each have a steady history of maintaining or increasing dividends every year. Coca Cola has
increased its annual dividend 54 years in a row.
While imprudent speculators chase hot stocks whose prices are rising, those speculators’ patient
brethren instead load up on the stocks of companies with fundamentals formidable enough to
allow regular cash payments to shareholders. For some reason financial news outlets rarely
showcase dividend data the way they do stock price and price movement figures, even though
dividends provide one of the surest measures of a company’s potency. After all, management
will hand cash over to owners only when operations turn a large enough profit to make said

9. payments feasible. As much as any other factor, the company chairman’s love for receiving
dividends has made Berkshire Hathaway so consistently successful.
But Pay A Dividend? No Way!
Somewhat unsurprisingly, the same Warren Buffett who advocates investing in companies that
pay dividends eschews paying them out to his own company’s investors. On the surface of it, this
seems so self-evident that it barely counts as an observation – it makes sense to take the cash that
other companies offer you, but never to pay cash out yourself unnecessarily. The next time
Berkshire Hathaway pays a dividend will be – not the first, but close. In 1967 the company paid
its only dividend, totaling 10 cents a share. To this day, Buffett claims that he must have been in
the bathroom when the dividend was authorized.
That being said, it would take galactic-class chutzpah for any Berkshire Hathaway shareholder to
complain about the company’s refusal to pay dividends. The stock price has gained over
$240,000 over the past 51 years, trading at $275 in 1980, $32,500 in 1995, and around $245,000
today, a track record that lacks a meaningful comparison. Berkshire Hathaway’s rationale is
simple, and hard to assail: If you’re an investor, would you rather have a dividend payment for
you to spend or invest at your peril, or would you rather that money be reinvested by the team
that turned a humble textile investment into one of the largest, most respected and most
financially robust companies in existence?
Since a single share of Berkshire Hathaway Class A stock (that’s the class quoted above) is
equivalent to several years’ worth of the average American salary, it’s no wonder that shares
trades infrequently: maybe 300 or 400 change hands a day. Buffett has never entertained the
notion of a Class A split, arguing that to do so would invite speculation. However, he did
authorize the creation of Class B (NYSE:BRK.B
Berkshire Hathaway Inc
BRK.B
164.76
-0.43%
) stock several years ago, valued at 1/30 the value of Class A stock. After a 50-for-1 split of the
former in 2010, and Berkshire Hathaway’s purchase in toto of Standard & Poor’s 500 component
Burlington Northern and Santa Fe, the Class B stock replaced BNSF on the index. The lower
price and concomitant liquidity make Class B stock suitable to be included in an index that
attempts to gauge the value of the market. Class A stock is too expensive and too sparsely held to
make an effective index component.
The Bottom Line
Some investors look for value, then purchase shares of companies that fit their criteria. Berkshire
Hathaway does largely the same thing, only instead of buying a few shares, it buys the entire

10. company. After 40+ years of applying that strategy, the result is the creation of a conglomerate
without peer.
5 of Warren Buffett's most frugal habits
Trying to save more, pay off debt and make the most of your money? You might want to try
living like a billionaire — but only if that billionaire is Warren Buffett.
The investor — known as the “Oracle of Omaha” — is the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, but
there’s more to this American business magnate than just his job. Despite his roughly $74 billion
net worth, the second-wealthiest man in the world enjoys a life with simple taste, frugal living
and generous philanthropy.
“What would Warren do?” is a good question to ask yourself when modeling your lifestyle after
Buffett’s. The billionaire doesn’t describe himself as frugal, just a man with simple tastes. “I buy
everything I want in life,” he told People Magazine recently. “Would 10 homes make me more
happy? Possessions possess you at a point. I don’t like a $100 meal as well as a hamburger from
McDonald’s.”
Here’s a look at how the brilliant billionaire maintains a frugal lifestyle. If you decide to live like
Warren Buffett, who knows — perhaps you can become one of the richest people in the world,
too?
 Warren Buffett lives in the same house he bought in 1958.
Billionaires live in mansions, right? Not Warren Buffett.
He lives in the same Omaha residence he bought in 1958 for $31,500, the equivalent of roughly
$270,000 in 2017 dollars. Buffett has no intention of putting his own home up for sale. “I
wouldn’t trade it for anything,” he said.
In today’s money, Buffett would have paid about $41 per square foot for the 6,570-square-foot
home. But these days, you’ll pay about $180 per square foot for a home in Omaha of that size
and era, including one listed across the street from the multi-billionaire.
If you want to live like Buffett, consider buying less home than you can afford. Instead of paying
pricey mortgage payments, you’ll be able to put more of your money toward savings, retirement
or vacations. And if you must take out a loan, consider getting a 30-year mortgage. It’s “the best
instrument in the world,” Buffett told CNBC. Buffett took out a 30-year mortgage in 1971 when
he bought a vacation home in California.

11. “If you’re wrong and rates go to 2 percent, which I don’t think they will, you pay it off,” he said.
“It’s a one-way renegotiation. It is an incredibly attractive instrument for the homeowner and
you’ve got a one-way bet.”
 Buffett starts his day with a cheap breakfast.
You might assume something like eggs Benedict and mimosas would be part of every
billionaire’s breakfast. Or, all billionaires have a personal chef who can whip up whatever and
whenever they want — right?
Wrong. Adopting Buffett’s lifestyle doesn’t include paying high prices for daily gourmet French
toast prepared in the comforts of your own home.
When it comes to food, the billionaire investor has been known to save money by taking the fast
food route. In fact, he might kick off his day with a trip to McDonald’s during his five-minute
drive to work, reports CNBC.
If he’s feeling prosperous, he’ll splurge by spending $3.17 on a bacon, egg and cheese biscuit
sandwich. If the market’s down, he might spend $2.95 on a sausage, egg and cheese sandwich
instead. On a really bad day, he buys two sausage patties for $2.61, puts them together and
washes it down with a Coke.
Buffett is also known to eat cheap when he’s on the road. But forget the cholesterol-soaked
bacon and eggs at a local restaurant. Buffett’s travel breakfast might consist of a pack of Oreos,
his friend Bill Gates — yes, his good buddy is the Microsoft founder — wrote on his blog.
“One thing that was surprising to learn about Warren is that he has basically stuck to eating what
he liked when he was 6 years old,” wrote Gates. “He did move past baby food, of course, but he
mostly eats hamburgers, ice cream and Coke.”
Buffett explained his bizarre but cheap diet in an interview with Fortune: “I checked the actuarial
tables, and the lowest death rate is among 6-year-olds. So I decided to eat like a 6-year-old. It’s
the safest course I can take.”
 Buffett drives the same car for years.

12. Although some CEOs drive around in multimillion-dollar cars, you’ll likely find Buffett driving
something much more modest. In a BBC documentary, his daughter said he bought cars that he
could get at reduced prices, like those that were hail-damaged. The cars were fixed and didn’t
look hail-damaged and became a regular part of the Buffett lifestyle.
“You’ve got to understand, he keeps cars until I tell him, ‘This is getting embarrassing — time
for a new car,'” said his daughter in the documentary.
Buffett also told Forbes in 2014 about his car-buying habits — or lack thereof. “The truth is, I
only drive about 3,500 miles a year so I will buy a new car very infrequently,” he said.
Remember this the next you’re in the market for a car: Since cars tend to depreciate quickly, it
can be better for your finances if you try to keep your well-working car for as long as possible —
or at least opt to buy a used car instead of new.
 Buffett enjoys affordable hobbies.
A commitment to live like Buffett doesn’t mean all work and no play. After all, even billionaires
have hobbies. But compared to other famous CEOs, investors and entrepreneurs, Buffett’s
hobbies are much more affordable. For example, he enjoys playing bridge.
“If I play bridge and a naked woman walks by, I don’t even see her,” laughed Buffett during a
CBS News “Sunday Morning” interview. Yep, Buffett is a self-proclaimed bridge addict, and
you might even catch him playing the game about 12 hours a week.
“I one time said that I wouldn’t mind going to jail if I had the right three cellmates so we can
play bridge all the time,” he said in the interview.
When Buffett’s not counting cards or investing a ton of money, you might also find him
strumming his ukulele and singing. He’s played for investors, on live television and at charity
events, reports CNBC. He and Gates even went viral after a video was posted on Gates’ blog last
summer.
 Buffett treats his friends well, but not extravagantly.

13. What do you give a friend who’s also a billionaire? Buffett’s long-standing friendship with Gates
is legendary. The Microsoft magnate explained on his blog what’s kept their friendship strong
over the years:
“I’ve learned many things from Warren over the last 25 years, but maybe the most important
thing is what friendship is all about,” he said. “It’s about being the kind of friend you wish you
had yourself. Everyone should be lucky enough to have a friend who is as thoughtful and kind as
Warren. He goes out of the way to make people feel good about themselves and share his joy
about life.”
And those special touches don’t have to be expensive. For example, Buffett drives personally to
the airport to pick Gates up whenever he’s in town, calls frequently and sends news clippings by
mail that he thinks Gates and his wife will enjoy. Those special touches that mean a lot to friends
just might be the best takeaway for those seeking to live the Warren Buffett lifestyle.
7 Companies Where Warren Buffett Owns More Than 10%
In addition to Berkshire Hathaway's subsidiaries, Buffett and company have some big
stock investments.
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett's company Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK-A)
(NYSE:BRK-B) owns more than 60 different subsidiary businesses. In addition, Buffett and
company have a massive portfolio of common stocks, which includes significant stakes in many
prominent American businesses. Here are seven companies that Berkshire owns a particularly
large stake in, and why Buffett loves each of them
Company Symbol Shares Owned % Stake
Kraft Heinz KHC 325,634,818 27.2%
USG Corporation USG 39,002,016 26.1%
Davita Inc. DVA 38,565,570 19.8%
American Express AXP 151,610,700 16.9%

14. Company Symbol Shares Owned % Stake
Phillips 66 PSX 80,689,892 15.6%
Moody's Corp. MCO 24,669,778 12.8%
Verisign Inc. VRSN 12,952,745 12.8%
1. Kraft Heinz
Berkshire's massive stake in Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) resulted from the merger of Heinz --
which Berkshire owned -- with Kraft Foods. Buffett already loved Heinz for its valuable brand
and dominant market position (think about it -- can you even name the number two brand of
ketchup?). The combination with Kraft Foods was a no-brainer, as it added economies of scale to
two already solid food businesses.
2. USG Corp.
Construction materials company USG (NYSE:USG) is Berkshire's second-largest stake by
percentage and is known for its Sheetrock brand of drywall, as well as other building materials,
such as roofboard, insulation, and more. Warren Buffett played a major role in USG's turnaround
a few years ago and is now well-positioned to profit from the expected increase in U.S.
infrastructure spending, as my colleague Neha Chamaria recently explained.
3. DaVita Inc.
Healthcare company DaVita (NYSE:DVA) provides dialysis services in the U.S. and has more
than one-third of the market. What's more, the company's revenue has steadily grown over the
past decade or so. And since the company provides a non-discretionary (needed) service, its
business should do just fine, no matter what the economy is doing.
4. American Express
American Express (NYSE:AXP) has a lot of qualities that Buffett loves to see. According to
Interbrand, American Express has the 25th most valuable brand in the world, worth more than
$18 billion. That's more than Visa or MasterCard, which ranked 61st and 76th, respectively. The
company also has a desirable, affluent cardholder base that gives it pricing power over rivals.
Even with the emergence of new payment technologies, Buffett has recently stated that he's
sticking with Amex as a long-term investment.

15. 5. Phillips 66
Oil giant Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) is a relatively new investment in Warren Buffett's portfolio,
with the company adding shares several times over the past couple of years. The oil refining
business has high barriers to entry and excellent cash flow, both of which Buffett loves to see. In
addition, Phillips 66 has a diverse revenue stream: Some of its business actually does better when
oil prices are low, meaning that it works in any economy.
6. Moody's Corp.
Warren Buffett has been an investor in Moody's (NYSE:MCO) for some time now. The credit
rating agency is in a high-barrier-to-entry industry and generates a lot of capital without
requiring much money to grow. Basically, as long as the need for credit ratings exists, Moody's
should do just fine. Furthermore, its shareholder-friendly management has done a great job of
returning capital to shareholders through aggressive buybacks and ever-increasing dividends.
7. Verisign Inc.
Warren Buffett -- or more likely, one of his stock-pickers -- picked up a stake in Verisign
(NASDAQ:VRSN) in 2013. And just like the other stocks on this list, the internet registry
company has several Buffett-stock qualities. The company is a leader in its industry, has a strong
brand, and produces excellent recurring cash flow.
A few others are close to 10%
It's also worth mentioning that there are several other companies in Berkshire's portfolio that are
just under 10% stakes. Most notably, Berkshire's Wells Fargo stake was over 10% until very
recently, when Buffett announced that he was selling some of Berkshire's shares for the specific
purpose of remaining under the 10% threshold, which is significant in the banking industry.
In addition, Berkshire's stakes in Coca-Cola, Axalta, and American Airlines are all above 9% of
each company's total outstanding shares. The bottom line is that in addition to its wholly-owned
businesses, Berkshire has some rather large (and in some cases, very influential) stakes in
publicly traded businesses, many of which are large, household names.
Warren Buffett is the lowest paid among big company CEOs

16. Among the CEOs of America's 100 largest public companies, Warren Buffett of Berkshire
Hathaway Inc. (BRK-B) was paid the least last year. He was the only CEO on the list to make
less than $1 million. He was also the CEO of the largest company on the list, based on 2016
revenue.
The rank of CEO pay comes from the Equilar 100, a list prepared using proxy statements
through April 1. Equilar is a data provider for company boards. It puts out an update of its list in
May, called the Equilar 200, to catch companies that file proxies later in the year. The second list
is published in a joint venture with The New York Times.
Buffett made $487,881 last year, up 6% from 2015. This included all compensation as defined by
the SEC. Among the components are base salary, cash bonuses, stock awards, stock options,
retirement payments and perks.
Buffett's pay is well below the average among the 100 companies measured. The median for
2016 was $15.0 million, up from $14.5 million the previous year.
Berkshire had revenue of $223 billion last year. Number two on the Equilar 100 based on total
revenue, Apple Inc. (AAPL), posted $215 billion in sales. CEO Tim Cook was also among the
lowest paid CEOs included, with total compensation of $8.75 million.
The second lowest paid CEO on the list was Sears Holding Corp.'s (SHLD) CEO Edward
Lampert, with total compensation of $3.84 million. Like Buffett, he is his company's founder,
having created Sears Holdings in 2005 by combining the assets of Sears and Kmart. Berkshire
Hathaway was a textile company started in 1839. However, Buffett in 1964 remade it into the
cornerstone of his conglomerate that now includes subsidiaries from insurance operations to
railroads. Berkshire also holds large positions in other public companies, like IBM and Wells
Fargo. Among the reasons for Lampert's low pay is almost certainly the disintegration of the
retailer, which has led outsiders to speculate it cannot stay in business.
ALSO READ: Warren Buffett’s 10 Most Profitable Investments of 2017
The highest paid CEO on the list was Thomas Rutlegde of cable company Charter
Communications Inc. (CHTR). He made $98 million last year, while Charter's revenue for the
year was $29 billion. Charter bought Time Warner Cable last year to become the second largest
cable company in the United States after Comcast. Most of his package was from stock option
grants.