Warren Buffett's Berkshire Delivered A 16,000% Gain Since Listing— But Bitcoin, The Asset He Called 'Rat Poison,' Turned Pennies Into Fortunes Faster

Warren Buffett, who recently announced his retirement as Berkshire Hathaway Inc. BRK BRK CEO, has built a towering investment legacy over the years, turning the holdings company into a $1.2 trillion behemoth and its stock into one of the most sought-after globally.

What happened: Buffett began buying Berkshire Hathaway stock in 1962 and eventually bought enough shares to take full control of the company in 1965.

Berkshire's original stock offering, the high-priced Class A shares, began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Nov. 29, 1988, after being available only on the over-the-counter market for decades.

At the time, the stock traded at $4,700 per share. Fast forward to May 2025, and its price has ballooned to stratospheric levels.

At its latest closing, the Class A stock was worth $778,172.77, reflecting a solid 16,456.9% surge. This means that a person investing $1,000 during its NYSE debut would be sitting on a fortune of $165,568.67 today.

Now, if you think that’s a spectacular rise, hold your horses.

Bitcoin BTC/USD, an asset Buffett strongly opposes and has refused to include in its portfolio, has comprehensively outgained Berkshire's Class A growth since it came into existence.

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Since Satoshi Nakamoto mined the genesis block of the chain back in January 2009, the apex cryptocurrency has skyrocketed an eye-popping 161334304.77%.

It’s worth remembering that Buffett famously predicted a “bad ending” for cryptocurrencies. As for Bitcoin, the seasoned investor has used considerably more nasty terms, describing it as “rat poison squared.”

Price Action: At the time of writing, Bitcoin was exchanging hands at $99,732.68, up 2.88% in the last 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

Shares of Berkshire Class A stock closed 1.32% higher at $778,172.77 during Wednesday’s regular trading session, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

The stock ranked high on growth and momentum indices as of this writing. Check more details on Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings.