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Billionaire investor Warren Buffett may have had one of the best birthday presents ever: The company he has led for decades passed the $1 trillion market capitalization milestone several days before his 94th birthday.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE:BRK)(NYSE:BRK) became the first non-technology, U.S. based company to join the elite trillion-dollar club on Wednesday, Aug. 28, further solidifying Buffett’s status as one of the top investors of all time.
The milestone for Buffett’s firm, where he remains chairman and CEO, is one of many during this storied career. Here’s a look at a small portion of the great highlights of Buffett’s life, with one highlight for each decade the “Oracle of Omaha” lived in.
1930: Buffett was born Aug. 30, 1930. His father Howard was a former stockbroker. This would have a huge influence on Buffett's decision to get involved in the business.
1940: Buffett purchased his first stock at the age of 11. The purchase was for three shares of Cities Service Preferred, a natural gas company. Buffett bought the shares at $38 only to see them soon drop to $27 each. He waited until they hit $40 to sell for a profit. Shares later hit $200 each, which Buffett has since cited as a lesson on patience in investing.
1950: Despite his growing wealth, Buffett has lived in the same house in Omaha, Nebraska since 1958. The home was purchased for $31,500. Adjusted for inflation, that would be the equivalent of over $333,192 today.
1960: By the year 1965, Buffett had assumed control of textiles company Berkshire Hathaway, thanks to acquiring 49%. He became a director of the company and worked on gaining full control and also diversifying the company away from textiles.
1970: Buffett became the author of the annual Berkshire Hathaway letters in the 1970s. These letters are considered must-reads for investors and every year, what Buffett writes to shareholders is analyzed with great detail. The letters include explanations for investments or why assets were sold. The letters also include life lessons and memorable quotes from the "Oracle of Omaha."
1980: In 1988, Buffett started accumulating shares of Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) for Berkshire Hathaway. After several large purchases, Berkshire Hathaway owned 7% of the company, worth $1.02 billion. Buffett has a long history with Coca-Cola, once selling bottles for a penny profit. Berkshire Hathaway still owns 400 million shares of KO, worth around $28.8 billion.
1990: Geico Insurance has been one of the biggest pieces for Berkshire Hathaway since it acquired full control in the 1990s. Berkshire completed the acquisition of the insurance company by purchasing the remaining 49% stake it didn’t previously own.
Buffett had been an investor in Geico shares dating back to 1951. Benjamin Graham, Buffett's mentor and professor, was once the chairman of Geico. The insurance company is forever linked to two of the most well-known investors.
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2000: The 2000s represented a great period of fortune and giving for Buffett. In 2008, he became the richest man in the world, with Forbes valuing his wealth at $62 billion. Buffett took over the top spot from Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who had held the number one position for thirteen consecutive years. Buffett pledged in 2006 to give away the majority of his wealth after his death.
2010: Berkshire Hathaway started buying stock in Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) in 2016. Buffett has since admitted he wishes he would have bought shares earlier.
"It's probably the best business I know in the world," Buffett told CNBC. Berkshire bought shares of Apple again throughout the decade to make it one of the biggest pieces of its investment portfolio.
"I don't think of Apple as a stock. I think of it as a third business," Buffett told CNBC, referring to Apple being the company's third-biggest holding behind Geico and railroad interests.
While Berkshire Hathaway has sold some of its Apple stock in recent years, the stock remains the largest holding the stock portfolio of the company with 400 million shares valued at $91.9 billion.
2020: Buffett imparted an investor lesson when he sold his stake in the big four airlines. A longtime vocal non-supporter of buying airline stocks, he sold his stake worth around $7 billion at a loss.
He ditched his stakes in American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL), Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL), Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) and United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) believing passenger numbers would not recover after the pandemic. He also cited carriers could be left with too many planes and would be hurt financially due to government loans.
This article was previously published by Benzinga and has been updated.
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