Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
Company History
Berkshire Hathaway History: Founding, Growth & Key Milestones
Founded 1839 in Omaha, United States
When was Berkshire Hathaway founded?
Berkshire Hathaway was founded in 1839 in Omaha, United States by Oliver Chace and Warren Edward Buffett, making it 187 years old.
- Founded
- 1839
- Founding place
- Omaha, United States
- Founders
- Oliver Chace and Warren Edward Buffett
- Headquarters today
- Omaha, Nebraska
- Milestones documented
- 18 (1839–2026)
- Current CEO
- Greg Abel
- Acquisitions
- 7
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1839 | Valley Falls Company Founded |
| 1955 | Berkshire Fine Spinning and Hathaway Manufacturing Merge |
| 1962 | Buffett Partnership Buys Its First Berkshire Shares |
| 1964 | Tender Offer Dispute With Seabury Stanton |
| 1965 | Buffett Takes Control and Names Ken Chace President |
| 1967 | Entry Into Insurance With National Indemnity |
| 1972 | See's Candies Bought for $25 Million |
| 1985 | Textile Operations Closed |
| 1996 | GEICO Becomes Wholly Owned and Class B Shares Created |
| 1998 | General Re and Executive Jet Acquired |
| 2010 | BNSF Railway Acquired |
| 2016 | Precision Castparts Acquired |
| 2018 | Abel and Jain Named Vice Chairmen |
| 2022 | Alleghany Corporation Acquired |
| 2024 | Market Value Tops $1 Trillion |
| 2024 | Pilot Travel Centers Fully Owned |
| 2025 | Board Approves Abel as CEO From January 2026 |
| 2026 | Abel Becomes CEO and Buffett Becomes Chairman Emeritus |
- Where was Berkshire Hathaway founded?
- Berkshire Hathaway was founded in Omaha, United States in 1839. wikidata.org
- Who founded Berkshire Hathaway?
- Berkshire Hathaway was founded by Oliver Chace and Warren Edward Buffett.
- When did Berkshire Hathaway start?
- Berkshire Hathaway was founded in 1839.
- How old is Berkshire Hathaway?
- Berkshire Hathaway is 187 years old as of 2026.
Founding Story
Buffett Partnership bought its first Berkshire Hathaway shares in December 1962, attracted by a pattern: the textile company kept closing plants and using the proceeds to buy back stock. In May 1964 Berkshire president Seabury Stanton asked at what price the partnership would sell. Buffett said $11.50 and Stanton agreed, but the tender offer that arrived was for $11.375, an eighth of a point less. Buffett did not tender. He bought enough stock to take control in 1965, Stanton left, and Buffett was left owning a northern textile manufacturer in an industry heading south. He has called it a monumentally stupid decision, and the corporate shell it handed him became the vehicle for everything that followed.
Founders
Oliver Chace
Berkshire Hathaway is famous not for the men who originally founded it, but for the man who conquered and reinvented it. The original company, the Valley Falls Company, was a textile manufacturer established by Oliver Chace in Rhode Island in 1839. Through a series of mergers over the next century, it combined with the Berkshire Fine Spinning Associates and the Hathaway Manufacturing Company, eventually becoming Berkshire Hathaway in 1955. By the early 1960s it was a failing textile mill in New Bedford, Massachusetts, operating in an industry being decimated by cheap foreign competition. Enter Warren Buffett. In 1962, Buffett, then a young, successful investment manager running a partnership in Omaha, noticed a pattern in Berkshire's stock price. Whenever the company closed a mill and sold off equipment, management would use the proceeds to buy back shares, causing a brief bump in the stock price. Buffett began buying shares to profit from this spread. In 1964, Berkshire's management made a verbal offer to buy out Buffett's stake for $11.50 per share, but subsequently sent a written tender offer for only $11.375. Incensed by being shortchanged by 12.5 cents, a furious Buffett refused to sell. Instead, he bought more stock, took a controlling interest, and fired the management team. Buffett would later famously call this emotional acquisition the 'dumbest stock I ever bought,' calculating that tying up his capital in a dying textile business cost him hundreds of billions of dollars in compounded returns over his lifetime. However, he salvaged the mistake. Realizing the textile mills would never generate adequate returns, he began using the meager cash flows they produced to buy insurance companies. He used the insurance premiums ('float') to buy a bank in Illinois, then a newspaper, then a candy company (See's Candies). By 1985, he had permanently closed the last of the textile operations, but kept the name. Today, the name Berkshire Hathaway represents not a textile mill, but the ultimate expression of Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger's philosophy of value investing and decentralized corporate management. Oliver Chace was born in 1769.
Warren Edward Buffett
Warren Buffett effectively refounded Berkshire Hathaway beginning in 1965 when his investment partnership gained control of the struggling New England textile company and he became its chairman and CEO. Over the following six decades, Buffett transformed Berkshire from a failing textile operation into one of the world's most valuable and admired companies, deploying insurance float into a diverse portfolio of wholly-owned businesses and publicly traded equities. Buffett's investment approach, patient, value-oriented, concentrated, and long-term, generated compound annual returns that significantly outpaced the S&P 500 over his tenure. His record over six decades is among the most closely studied in finance. His annual letters to Berkshire shareholders have become required reading in business schools worldwide for their clarity of thought, ethical grounding, and practical wisdom about capital allocation. Buffett has pledged to donate virtually his entire fortune to philanthropy through the Giving Pledge he co-founded with Bill and Melinda Gates. Buffett handed the chief executive role to Greg Abel on January 1, 2026, and on September 18, 2026 he was named Chairman Emeritus while remaining a director, with his son Howard G. Buffett becoming chairman. Education: University of Nebraska–Lincoln. (Exact birth year remains publicly undisclosed).
Key Milestones
Valley Falls Company Founded
Oliver Chace founds the Valley Falls Company in Valley Falls, Rhode Island, as a cotton textile manufacturer. Chace had learned the trade working with Samuel Slater and built his first mill in 1806. Valley Falls is the earliest corporate ancestor of Berkshire Hathaway.
Source: history.textiles.ncsu.eduBerkshire Fine Spinning and Hathaway Manufacturing Merge
Berkshire Fine Spinning Associates and Hathaway Manufacturing combine and take the Berkshire Hathaway name. Buffett later wrote that the merged company had fourteen plants and about 10,000 employees and was the giant of New England textiles, but that it operated at an overall loss for the next seven years while its net worth shrank by 37%.
Source: berkshirehathaway.comBuffett Partnership Buys Its First Berkshire Shares
Buffett Partnership Ltd. buys its first Berkshire Hathaway shares in December 1962. Buffett was drawn to the pattern of Berkshire closing plants and using the liquidation proceeds to repurchase its own stock.
Source: berkshirehathaway.comTender Offer Dispute With Seabury Stanton
Berkshire president Seabury Stanton asks Buffett at what price Buffett Partnership would sell, agrees to $11.50 a share, then mails a tender offer at $11.375. Buffett does not tender and starts buying shares to take control, a decision he later called monumentally stupid because it tied his capital to a dying business.
Source: berkshirehathaway.comBuffett Takes Control and Names Ken Chace President
Buffett Partnership takes control of Berkshire Hathaway in May 1965 and Stanton leaves. Buffett selects Ken Chace, a long-time employee, as president to run the textile operation, and the cash it generates is pointed at other industries.
Source: berkshirehathaway.comEntry Into Insurance With National Indemnity
Early in 1967 Berkshire pays $8.6 million to buy National Indemnity Company and a small sister insurer from owner Jack Ringwalt. The purchase gives Berkshire insurance float, the policyholder money it holds before claims are paid, which becomes the engine of the whole company.
Source: berkshirehathaway.comSee's Candies Bought for $25 Million
Blue Chip Stamps, controlled by Buffett and Munger and later merged into Berkshire, buys See's Candies for $25 million. See's then had sales of $30 million, pre-tax earnings under $5 million and only $8 million of capital in the business, and it taught Buffett what brand pricing power is worth.
Source: berkshirehathaway.comTextile Operations Closed
Buffett decides in July 1985 to close Berkshire's textile operation and the shutdown is largely complete by year end. He described it as finally throwing in the towel after twenty years of unremitting struggle with the business.
Source: berkshirehathaway.comGEICO Becomes Wholly Owned and Class B Shares Created
Berkshire buys the remaining 49% of GEICO on January 2, 1996, having held 51%, and GEICO becomes a wholly owned subsidiary. Shareholders also approve a recapitalization creating Class B shares with the economic rights of one thirtieth of a Class A share.
Source: berkshirehathaway.comGeneral Re and Executive Jet Acquired
Berkshire acquires reinsurer General Re and fractional-aircraft operator Executive Jet. General Re brings a large reinsurance book and investment portfolio to Berkshire, and its underwriting loss in 1998 reduced Berkshire's per-share operating earnings that year.
Source: berkshirehathaway.comBNSF Railway Acquired
Berkshire completes its purchase of Burlington Northern Santa Fe in the first quarter of 2010. The November 2009 agreement paid $100 a share for the 77.4% of BNSF that Berkshire did not own and valued the transaction at about $44 billion including $10 billion of BNSF debt. Buffett called it an all-in wager on the economic future of the United States.
Source: berkshirehathaway.comPrecision Castparts Acquired
Berkshire completes the purchase of Precision Castparts, an aerospace and industrial components maker, for $235 a share in cash. The transaction was announced in August 2015 and valued at about $37.2 billion including PCC net debt, the largest acquisition in Berkshire's history.
Source: berkshirehathaway.comAbel and Jain Named Vice Chairmen
Berkshire's board expands from twelve to fourteen directors and elects Greg Abel and Ajit Jain. Abel is appointed Vice Chairman for non-insurance business operations and Jain Vice Chairman for insurance operations, the step that set up the later CEO succession.
Source: berkshirehathaway.comAlleghany Corporation Acquired
Berkshire completes the acquisition of insurer Alleghany Corporation on October 19, 2022, paying $848.02 a share in cash for a total equity value of about $11.6 billion and adding the TransRe reinsurance business.
Source: berkshirehathaway.comMarket Value Tops $1 Trillion
Berkshire's market capitalization passes $1 trillion on August 28, 2024, making it the first US company outside the technology sector to reach that level.
Source: cnbc.comPilot Travel Centers Fully Owned
Berkshire acquires the remaining 20% of Pilot Travel Centers on January 16, 2024 and takes full ownership. It had bought 38.6% in 2017 and a further 41.4% for about $8.2 billion in January 2023.
Source: berkshirehathaway.comBoard Approves Abel as CEO From January 2026
Berkshire announces in May 2025 that Greg Abel will become President and Chief Executive Officer on January 1, 2026, with Warren Buffett remaining Chairman of the Board.
Source: berkshirehathaway.comAbel Becomes CEO and Buffett Becomes Chairman Emeritus
Abel takes over as CEO on January 1, 2026 and Berkshire completes the $9.7 billion purchase of OxyChem from Occidental on January 2. On September 18, 2026 Buffett is named Chairman Emeritus and remains a director, and his son Howard G. Buffett becomes chairman.
Source: berkshirehathaway.comMajor Acquisitions
GEICO Corporation
1996Berkshire bought the remaining 49% of GEICO that it did not already own, making the direct-selling auto insurer a wholly owned subsidiary on January 2, 1996. At the time GEICO was the seventh largest auto insurer in the United States with about 3.7 million cars insured, and Buffett had followed the company since visiting its Washington office as a student in 1951.
General Re Corporation
1998Berkshire acquired General Re in an all-stock deal to add a global property and casualty reinsurance platform and a large investment portfolio, roughly doubling the insurance float available for investment.
McLane Company
2003Wal-Mart decided to sell McLane, a wholesale distributor of groceries and nonfood items to convenience stores, drug stores, wholesale clubs, mass merchandisers, quick service restaurants and theaters. Buffett agreed the purchase after a single two-hour meeting with Wal-Mart's chief financial officer and no due diligence, and the deal closed in May 2003.
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation (BNSF)
2010Berkshire agreed in November 2009 to pay $100 a share in cash and stock for the 77.4% of BNSF it did not own, a transaction valued at about $44 billion including $10 billion of BNSF debt and the largest in Berkshire's history at the time. Buffett described Berkshire's $34 billion investment in the railroad as an all-in wager on the economic future of the United States.
Precision Castparts Corp.
2016Berkshire paid $235 a share in cash for Precision Castparts, a maker of investment castings, forgings and fastener systems for aerospace, power generation and industrial customers. The transaction was announced in August 2015 and valued at about $37.2 billion including PCC net debt.
Alleghany Corporation
2022Berkshire bought insurance and investment holding company Alleghany for $848.02 a share in cash, a total equity value of about $11.6 billion, adding the TransRe reinsurance business and Alleghany's specialty insurance operations. The deal closed on October 19, 2022.
OxyChem (Occidental Chemical Corporation)
2026Berkshire agreed in 2025 to buy Occidental's chemicals business and completed the purchase on January 2, 2026 for $9.7 billion in cash, subject to post-closing adjustments. Abel wrote that Berkshire first came across the business through its investment in Occidental and valued its integrated asset base and low-cost raw materials.
Keep researching Berkshire Hathaway
Berkshire Hathaway Company History FAQ
What are the major eras in Berkshire Hathaway's corporate history?
Four: the New England textile era from the 1839 Valley Falls Company through the 1955 merger that created Berkshire Hathaway Inc.; Buffett's takeover in 1965 and the shift into insurance and investments; the large acquisitions from GEICO in 1996 through BNSF, Precision Castparts and Alleghany; and the post-Buffett era that began when Greg Abel became CEO on January 1, 2026.
Why did Warren Buffett call buying Berkshire Hathaway a mistake?
Because he bought control out of irritation rather than analysis. Berkshire president Seabury Stanton agreed verbally to pay $11.50 a share for Buffett Partnership's stock in 1964 and then offered $11.375. Buffett refused to tender, took control instead, and spent twenty years in a textile business he later described as a monumentally stupid place to have tied up his capital.
How did Berkshire Hathaway use the 2008 financial crisis?
It supplied capital when few others could, investing $5 billion in Goldman Sachs preferred stock and $3 billion in General Electric preferred stock, both paying 10% and carrying warrants to buy common shares. The pattern is deliberate: Berkshire keeps a large cash and Treasury position so it can act when financing dries up.
When did Berkshire Hathaway reach a $1 trillion market capitalization?
On August 28, 2024, when it became the first US company outside the technology sector to pass $1 trillion in market value. Its market capitalization was about $1.07 trillion on September 30, 2026.
Why are Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder letters so widely read?
Because they explain accounting, insurance economics and capital allocation in plain language and name the author's own mistakes, including the Precision Castparts write-down and the textile purchase. Buffett wrote them for six decades; Greg Abel wrote his first for 2025.
Why did Berkshire create Class B shares in 1996?
To stop outside promoters from selling high-fee trusts that would have packaged fractional interests in Class A stock. Berkshire issued its own lower-priced shares instead, each with the economic rights of one thirtieth of an A share and one two-hundredth of its vote, and split them 50-for-1 in 2010.
What did Charlie Munger change about how Berkshire invests?
Munger, vice chairman from 1978 until his death in 2023, pushed Buffett away from buying statistically cheap but weak businesses toward paying fair prices for strong ones. The 1972 See's Candies purchase is the clearest example: $25 million for a business with $30 million of sales and only $8 million of capital employed.
What is Berkshire Hathaway's governance structure after Buffett?
Greg Abel is President and CEO, Howard G. Buffett is chairman, Warren Buffett is Chairman Emeritus and still a director, and Susan Decker is lead independent director. Ajit Jain oversees insurance underwriting, and Todd Combs and Ted Weschler manage parts of the equity portfolio.
Was Berkshire Hathaway a textile company?
Yes, it was originally a struggling textile manufacturing company. Warren Buffett bought a controlling stake in 1965 purely out of spite after the CEO tried to shortchange him on a stock tender offer.
Related Strategic History
Compare founding milestones and corporate evolution
Explore Berkshire Hathaway
Core profile pages, founders and related research hubs for this company.