Ownership of Berkshire Hathaway is widely distributed among many shareholders; nonetheless, its principal holders include individuals and entities like Warren E. Buffett, Ronald L. Olson, Vanguard Group, Inc., and BlackRock, Inc.
As a multinational holding company, Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. (BRK.B) operates in various sectors such as insurance, freight rail transportation, and energy generation and distribution. At the helm of this conglomerate is the billionaire investor and CEO Warren Buffett, who, along with the aforementioned individuals and entities, holds more than 15% of the Class B shares of the conglomerate, making them the primary owners of Berkshire Hathaway.
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Top Individual Insider Shareholders
Warren E. Buffett
Warren E. Buffett is renowned as one of the most successful investors in the world, accumulating a net worth of $106.2 billion. Holding considerable shares in Berkshire Hathaway, a company widely considered to be the best performing globally, Mr. Buffett currently has 276 Class B shares, amounting to less than 0.01% of all outstanding shares reported by the SEC on June 14, 2022.
As of June 14, 2022, Mr. Buffett held 229,016 shares of Class A common stock, accounting for 37.4% of the outstanding shares in that class, according to Item 5 of Schedule 13D in the same SEC filing. His combined Class A and Class B stocks have a total voting power of 30.9%, giving him an overall economic interest equivalent to 15.6%.
On June 14, 2022, Warren E. Buffett executed his previously announced irrevocable pledge by converting 9,608 Class A stocks into 14,412,000 Class B stocks and donating 11,003,166 Class B stocks to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In addition, he allocated 1,100,316 to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation and donated 770,218 to each of three other foundations: the Sherwood Foundation, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, and the Novo Foundation.
Nicknamed the Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffett took control of Berkshire Hathaway through his investment group in 1965. He has since built it up with numerous acquisitions and significant investments into public companies for their equity holdings. His success has made him a much-admired figure around the world, inspiring countless aspiring investors with his seemingly effortless strategies that have resulted in immense wealth over many decades.
Ronald L. Olson
Ronald L. Olson is a long-time director of Berkshire Hathaway, having served on the board for 23 years. He currently owns 2,435 class B shares in the company, representing less than 0.01% of the total shares outstanding. His extensive experience and role as a senior partner at the law firm Munger, Tolles & Olson have been instrumental in approving Warren Buffett’s significant acquisitions into hitherto unrelated industries. These investments have resulted in tremendously increased revenue and net income for Berkshire Hathaway. As an individual insider shareholder, Ronald L. Olson has provided invaluable insight and guidance to ensure that his investment in this world-leading corporation yields substantial returns, both financially and strategically.
Meryl B. Witmer
Since 2013, Meryl B. Witmer has been a Director of Berkshire Hathaway and is presently one of the company’s most prominent individual shareholders. She owns 2,000 class B shares, representing less than 0.01 percent of the company’s total outstanding shares.
Witmer is a general partner of Witmer Asset Management LLC, which offers investment advisory and management services, as well as a founding managing member of Eagle Value Partners LLC, which specializes in portfolio management for clients.
Top Institutional Shareholders
Institutional investors constitute the vast majority of Berkshire Hathaway’s Class B stockholders, owning around 65.76% of all issued shares. This suggests that institutional investors have a significant influence over the company’s operations and decision-making processes.
Vanguard Group, Inc.
Vanguard Group, Inc., is one of the top institutional shareholders for Berkshire Hathaway, owning 10.13% of the total shares outstanding, or 131.8 million shares, as reported by CNN Money. With over $6.2 trillion in worldwide assets, Vanguard Group is a leading provider of mutual fund and ETF management services. One of its premier ETFs is the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO), boasting an impressive AUM of around $7.2 trillion, with 1.2% of its total holdings attributed to Berkshire Hathaway. By holding such a sizable portion of the conglomerate’s stock, Vanguard Group, Inc., reinforces its commitment to investing in top-quality companies that show promise for long-term growth potential and stability.
BlackRock, Inc.,
BlackRock, Inc., is one of the world’s leading providers of investment management services and has a significant stake in Berkshire Hathaway. As stated in its 13F filing for the period ending December 31, 2022, BlackRock owns 104.5 million class B shares, worth $32.3 billion, representing 8% of the total shares outstanding. This gives them a huge influence on company decisions as one of its top institutional shareholders.
Founded in 1988, BlackRock currently manages over $10 trillion worth of assets under its various mutual funds and ETFs (exchange-traded funds). Among these is their popular iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV), which holds approximately $307.3 billion in AUM (assets under management). Surprisingly enough, Berkshire Hathaway is included among IVV’s top 6 holdings, comprising 1.64% of its total holdings.
State Street Corp.
State Street Corp. is one of the largest institutional shareholders in Berkshire Hathaway, with a 5.06% stake in the iconic company. This amounts to 65.9 million Class B shares, according to State Street’s 13F filing as of December 31st, 2022. State Street Corp. is primarily an asset manager, handling mutual funds, ETFs, and other investments for its clients, managing in total about $3.48 trillion in AUM.
The most prominent of State Street’s ETFs is SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), which has an enormous asset base of $361 billion AUM. Berkshire Hathaway stands among SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust’s 6th biggest holdings too, comprising 1.65% of the fund’s total investments as of February 27th, 2023.
Warren Buffett’s role as CEO
Warren Buffett is renowned for his ability to make wise investments that ultimately have proved very profitable for him, his shareholders, and the companies he operates. As CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett manages all aspects of the corporation with a hands-on approach that focuses on long-term value creation.
Buffett leads an operating team within Berkshire Hathaway that oversees the company’s portfolio of businesses in areas such as insurance, manufacturing, retailing, investment banking, and finance. He has been credited with transforming the company from a struggling manufacturer into one of the world’s leading conglomerate corporations through prudent investments in high-quality stocks over time.
The key element to his success has been his willingness to take risks when making investment decisions while also staying focused on reducing costs and improving operations across all subsidiaries under his direction. Buffet believes that by carefully investing in companies with strong growth prospects, they will produce optimal results both financially and strategically down the road. Consequently, he prioritizes research prior to any investment or acquisition decision made by himself or members of his team at Berkshire Hathaway, as well as considering industry trends when evaluating potential acquisitions or investments.
Warren Buffett approaches each subsidiary business individually rather than relying on generalizations across sectors or industries, while maintaining clear lines of communication between each department head regarding their respective strategies and goals; this ensures coordination throughout all operating divisions, resulting in improved efficiency and greater overall profits for the company as a whole.
How Warren Buffett Became the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway
Early Life and Education
Warren E. Buffett was born on August 30th, 1930, in Omaha, Nebraska, to Howard and Leila Buffett. His father had a successful career in both investing and politics, which means that Mr. Buffett and his siblings were able to receive a private school education at Rose Hill Elementary School.
Eventually, Buffett went on to attend Woodrow Wilson High School, where he excelled in math, science, and music. Despite his desire to pursue a business career instead of college, Buffett’s father ultimately convinced him to further his studies; thus, he enrolled in the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania before transferring to the University of Nebraska, from where he graduated two years later, in 1949, with a degree focused on business administration.
Career Path
Buffett began working for various firms upon graduation, such as Graham-Newman Corp., where he gained valuable experience as a securities analyst. Within four years, Warren left this position to form his own business called Buffett Partnership Ltd., partnerships that invested in both the securities and commodities trading markets. His success with these events caught the attention of Benjamin Graham, who hired him at his partnership in 1954.
In May 1965, Warren Buffett purchased Berkshire Hathaway after its sales declined, becoming its CEO indefinitely until today, along with Charlie Munger, who has been working closely with him since 1978. Currently, under Buffet’s watchful eye, Berkshire Hathaway is one of the world’s largest conglomerates, worth billions, with investments ranging from food production companies like Coca-Cola and Dairy Queen to insurance companies like Geico or electric utilities like PacifiCorp, just to name a few.
Founding of Berkshire Hathaway
Berkshire Hathaway began as a textile manufacturing company based in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The company was initially founded in 1839 by Oliver Chace and named after the Hathaway family, which had been involved in the business since its inception. Near the end of World War II, Berkshire Hathaway’s business began to decline due to increased competition from overseas markets and changing consumer tastes. By the mid-1960s, Berkshire’s board of directors decided to sell off its assets.
At this time, Warren Buffett became involved with Berkshire for the first time through his investment partnership. He purchased large amounts of stock in the company. Eventually, he gained enough control over it that he was able to replace most of the members on its board with individuals who shared his vision for reviving the struggling business. Through careful investments and some well-timed acquisitions, including buying out the National Indemnity Company’s insurance division along with its holdings in Coca-Cola Co. and Apple, Warren Buffett turned what could have been yet another failed business venture into one of the world’s most successful conglomerates.
Conclusion
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. In addition to these individual holders, some of the largest institutional stockholders include Vanguard Group Inc., BlackRock Inc., and State Street Corp.
This suggests that institutional investors have a significant influence over the company’s operations and decision-making processes. Even though Warren E. Buffett controls most of the individual stake in Berkshire Hathaway, larger institutional investors maintain a strong presence within this influential entity.