Warren Buffett On Berkshire's Journey From 1-Trick Pony To Owner Of Diversified Businesses: 8 Biggest Companies It Has Major Ownership

Berkshire Hathaway, Inc.’s (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B) Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett took a trip down memory lane in his annual shareholder letter released Saturday.

What Happened: In the letter, Buffett said Berkshire was once a one-trick pony and a "doomed" New England Textile operation, which has evolved to now enjoying major ownership in an “unmatched collection of huge and diversified businesses.”

After the textile business faced the risk of going under, Berkshire was looking for a fresh start, and it was then the “National Indemnity” became available, the investment guru said. The company then shifted its resources toward insurance and other non-textile operations, he added.

Berkshire's growth was spurred by a combination of “continuous savings” by shareholders, “power of compounding,” "avoidance of major mistakes," and the “American Tailwind,” he said.

At the end of 2022, Berkshire had major ownership in eight of the corporate giants which are part of the S&P 500 Index, Buffett noted.

See also: Is Berkshire (BRKA) Stock A Good Buy

Berkshire’s Biggest Bets:

• American Express Company AXP
• Bank Of Americ Corp. BAC
• Chevron Corp. CVX
• Coca-Cola Company KO
• HP, Inc. HPQ
• Moody’s Corp. MCO
• Occidental Petroleum Corp. OXY
• Paramount Global PARA

Berkshire has about $161.2 billion invested in tech giant Apple, Inc. AAPL. A 13F filing from the company showed that it bought an incremental 20.8 million Apple shares during the fourth quarter, giving it a 5.8% stake.

Broadly Aligned With Economic Future: Berkshire also owns 100% of freight railroad operator BNSF Railway and 92% of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, both of which contribute earnings of over $3 billion, Buffett noted.

Additionally, Berkshire’s insurance operation, though conducted through many individually-managed subsidiaries, has a value comparable to BNSF or BHE, he noted.

“All told, our ten controlled and non-controlled behemoths leave Berkshire more broadly aligned with the country’s economic future than is the case at any other U.S. company,” the billionaire said.

Read next: Warren Buffett Says In 58 Years Of Managing Berkshire His Decisions 'No Better Than So-So': Here's His 'Secret Sauce'

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