Berkshire Hathaway vs Hyundai: Founders, CEOs and History

Company facts

Founders

CEOs and their tenures

Timeline: Berkshire Hathaway and Hyundai side by side

1. 1839Berkshire Hathaway

   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.

2. 1955Berkshire Hathaway

   Berkshire Fine Spinning and Hathaway Manufacturing Merge

   Berkshire Fine Spinning Associates and Hathaway Manufacturing combine and take the Berkshire Hathaway name.

3. 1962Berkshire Hathaway

   Buffett 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.

4. 1964Berkshire Hathaway

   Tender 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.

5. 1965Berkshire Hathaway

   Buffett 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.

6. 1967Berkshire Hathaway

   Entry 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.

7. 1967Hyundai

   Hyundai Motor Company Founded

   Chung Ju-yung established Hyundai Motor Company, creating the automotive arm that would become the flagship of South Korea's car industry.

8. 1972Berkshire Hathaway

   See'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.

9. 1975Hyundai

   Hyundai Pony

   The Hyundai Pony became Korea's first mass-produced passenger car and gave Hyundai a domestic platform for exports and engineering learning.

10. 1985Berkshire Hathaway

    Textile 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.

11. 1986Hyundai

    U.S. Market Entry

    Hyundai entered the U.S. market with the Excel, rapidly building awareness as a value-oriented global automaker.

12. 1996Berkshire Hathaway

    GEICO 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.

13. 1998Berkshire Hathaway

    General Re and Executive Jet Acquired

    Berkshire acquires reinsurer General Re and fractional-aircraft operator Executive Jet.

14. 1998Hyundai

    Kia Stake Acquired

    Hyundai acquired a controlling stake in Kia during the Asian financial crisis, creating the basis for Hyundai Motor Group's modern platform scale.

15. 2010Berkshire Hathaway

    BNSF Railway Acquired

    Berkshire completes its purchase of Burlington Northern Santa Fe in the first quarter of 2010.

16. 2015Hyundai

    Genesis Luxury Brand

    Hyundai launched Genesis as a standalone luxury brand, supporting premiumization and higher-margin global growth.

17. 2016Berkshire Hathaway

    Precision Castparts Acquired

    Berkshire completes the purchase of Precision Castparts, an aerospace and industrial components maker, for $235 a share in cash.

18. 2018Berkshire Hathaway

    Abel and Jain Named Vice Chairmen

    Berkshire's board expands from twelve to fourteen directors and elects Greg Abel and Ajit Jain.

19. 2020Hyundai

    E-GMP EV Platform

    Hyundai introduced its dedicated E-GMP electric-vehicle platform, giving models such as Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6 fast-charging and packaging advantages.

20. 2021Hyundai

    Boston Dynamics Acquisition

    Hyundai Motor Group acquired a controlling stake in Boston Dynamics, adding robotics to its long-term mobility and automation strategy.

21. 2022Berkshire Hathaway

    Alleghany 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.

22. 2024Berkshire Hathaway

    Market 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.

23. 2024Berkshire Hathaway

    Pilot 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.

24. 2025Berkshire Hathaway

    Board 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.

25. 2025Hyundai

    Jose Munoz Becomes CEO

    Jose Munoz, previously Hyundai's global COO and head of its North American business, became President and CEO effective January 1, 2025, succeeding Jaehoon Chang. He is the first non-Korean to lead the company.

26. 2025Hyundai

    Record Revenue, Tariff-Hit Profit

    Hyundai reported FY2025 revenue of ~$132 billion (KRW 186.25 trillion), up 6.3%, while operating profit fell 19.5% to ~$8.14 billion (KRW 11.47 trillion) and net profit fell 21.7% to ~$7.36 billion (KRW 10.36 trillion), largely due to U.S. tariffs.

27. 2025Hyundai

    Georgia Battery Plant Raid

    In September 2025, U.S. immigration agents detained hundreds of workers, many of them Korean, at the Hyundai-LG Energy Solution battery plant under construction in Georgia, delaying its opening by months.

28. 2026Berkshire Hathaway

    Abel 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.

29. 2026Hyundai

    Full Ownership of Boston Dynamics

    In July 2026 Hyundai Motor Group moved to buy SoftBank's remaining stake in Boston Dynamics, a deal reported at about $325 million, making the robotics company wholly owned.

30. 2026Hyundai

    2026 CEO Investor Day

    At its August 2026 CEO Investor Day, Hyundai reaffirmed a 2030 target of 5.55 million global sales and detailed its $26 billion U.S. investment plan through 2028.

Acquisitions

Questions about Berkshire Hathaway vs Hyundai