Buffett: Ett steg närmare ett tronskifte i Berkshire

Warren Edward Buffett, född 30 augusti 1930 i Omaha, Nebraska, är en amerikansk investerare och affärsman. Han är av många ansedd som den bästa investeraren någonsin. Han har byggt upp en förmögenhet på omkring 64,7 miljarder dollar (augusti 2016) – främst via Berkshire Hathaway, som han äger 32,4 procent av. Tidskriften Forbes rankade Buffett som den rikaste personen i världen 2008. Trots sin enorma förmögenhet lever Buffett ett relativt sparsamt liv och är inte känd för att slösa pengar. Han bor till exempel kvar i sin medelklassvilla som han köpte 1957 i en förort till hemstaden Omaha.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is an American multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. The company wholly owns GEICO, Dairy Queen, BNSF Railway, Lubrizol, Fruit of the Loom, Helzberg Diamonds, Long & Foster, FlightSafety International, Pampered Chef, and NetJets, and also owns 38.6% of Pilot Flying J; 26.7% of the Kraft Heinz Company, and significant minority holdings in American Express (17.15%), The Coca-Cola Company (9.4%), Wells Fargo (9.9%), IBM (6.9%), and Apple (2.5%). Since 2016, the company has acquired large holdings in the major US airline carriers, and is currently the largest shareholder in United Airlines and Delta Air Lines, and a top three shareholder in Southwest Airlines and American Airlines. Berkshire Hathaway has averaged an annual growth in book value of 19.0% to its shareholders since 1965 (compared to 9.7% from the S&P 500 with dividends included for the same period), while employing large amounts of capital, and minimal debt. The company is known for its control and leadership by Warren Buffett, who serves as chairman and chief executive and Charlie Munger, the company's vice chairman. In the early part of Buffett's career at Berkshire, he focused on long-term investments in publicly traded companies, but more recently he has more frequently bought whole companies. Berkshire now owns a diverse range of businesses including confectionery, retail, railroads, home furnishings, encyclopedias, manufacturers of vacuum cleaners, jewelry sales, newspaper publishing, manufacture and distribution of uniforms, and several regional electric and gas utilities. According to the Forbes Global 2000 list and formula, Berkshire Hathaway is the third largest public company in the world, and the ninth largest conglomerate by revenue. Berkshire is currently the seventh largest company in the S&P 500 Index by market capitalization, and is famous for having the most expensive share price in history with a Class A share costing more than $250,000 each. This is due to the fact that there have been no recent stock splits.