A company that holds a wide variety of
investments for
shareholders. It was founded in 1839 as a textile manufacturing company. In 1962,
Warren Buffett began buying its
shares and eventually took a controlling stake in the company. Buffett expanded Berkshire Hathaway into
insurance and used the proceeds to
finance other investments. Buffett used the
value investing philosophy in picking Berkshire's investments, which in general have been highly profitable. For example, these investments returned 76% to shareholders between 2000 and 2010. It often is held up as a primary example of the success of value investing.