Berkshire Beyond Buffett

While Berkshire subsidiaries are diverse, they all share common core values.

Starting from humble roots in 1965, Berkshire Hathaway has grown to become one of the world’s largest corporations.

This company’s iconic leader, Warren Buffet, rocketed to fame in the 1990s as his savvy stock-picking gained him shares in top companies such as American Express, Coca-Cola and the Washington Post Company.

As a corporation, Berkshire Hathaway’s holdings are vast and diversified, and its influence extends over a wide array of commercial, financial and manufacturing interests.

Some of the companies it owns include: GEICO, the second most-popular car insurer in the United States; Burlington Northern Santa Fe, one of North America’s major transcontinental railroads; and MidAmerican Energy, a global energy supplier.

And it’s not just through Berkshire Hathaway’s broad engagement in many different businesses that it demonstrates its ability to diversify. The company’s subsidiaries differ widely in almost every measurable category, such as acquisition price, company size and number of employees.  

With such a variety of companies under one roof, a degree of homogeneity might be expected.

Berkshire Hathaway’s subsidiaries do indeed share its own unique corporate culture, built on core values that serve to bring unity to such a wide-ranging portfolio.

One of the company’s core values is eternality. Long-term partnerships are highly valued at Berkshire Hathaway; the firm presents itself to subsidiaries, including many family businesses, as a place where they can find a permanent home.

In this way, unifying traits and commonalities are found in bonds of trust rather than in simple financial metrics. These traits when taken together create the Berkshire Hathaway culture.