If You Invested $1,000 In Berkshire Hathaway When Warren Buffett Became The World's Richest Person, Here's How Much You'd Have Today

Warren Buffett is one of the richest people in the world, a title he has earned through years of leading Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE: BRK-A)(NYSE: BRK-B) and as one of the most legendary stock pickers of all time.

Here's a look at how an investment in Berkshire Hathaway has fared based on a key moment in Buffett’s life.

What Happened: Buffett acquired control of Berkshire Hathaway in 1965, a move that came after taking an initial stake and increasing his investment over time.

As the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway for many years, Buffett has led the company through a series of acquisitions that includes notable names such as Geico, General Re, Dairy Queen, Netjets, Fruit of the Loom, BNSF, Duracell, Precision Castparts, Pilot Flying J and more.

Buffett has also taken stakes in public companies, with one of the most notable examples being an investment in Coca-Cola Co KO back in 1988.

An investment in Berkshire Hathaway gives investors exposure to the large number of companies owned by the conglomerate across segments like insurance, manufacturing, services, retail, energy and railroads.

Investors also get exposure to the stakes in public companies owned by Berkshire Hathaway.

These are the current top five holdings for Berkshire Hathaway:

Apple Inc AAPL

Bank of America BAC

American Express AXP

Coca-Cola

Chevron Corporation CVX

With not a lot known outside of Buffett’s ownership stake in Berkshire Hathaway into the assets owned by the legendary investor, it has been hard to pinpoint exactly when he became a billionaire.

Estimates point to Buffett becoming a billionaire in the late 1980s or by 1990.

Another important milestone came on the night of March 5, 2008, when Forbes declared Buffett the richest person in the world with a wealth of $62 billion.

While this marked an important milestone for Buffett, it also meant that he passed Bill Gates for the title, after the Microsoft co-founder had topped the list for 13 straight years. Gates was ranked third at the time with a wealth of $58 billion.

Buffett’s wealth has grown since the 2008 ranking with a current wealth of $118 billion according to Bloomberg, ranking sixth in the world.

A continued rise in the price of Berkshire Hathaway could move Buffett up the list, but it is unlikely he will ever be the world’s richest person again. Buffett has pledged to give away his wealth with donations made every year.

Berkshire Hathaway is valued at $745 billion, ranking eighth among all public companies.

Related Link: Warren Buffett Makes Predictions About Crypto, Housing, Even About His Own Death

If You Invested $1,000 in Berkshire Hathaway: Investors who were inspired by news that Buffett had become the world’s richest person may have decided to put money into Berkshire Hathaway stock.

Before Buffett became the world’s richest person, Berkshire Hathaway shares had increased over 4,700% in 20 years.

A $1,000 investment in Berkshire Hathaway A shares on the morning of March 6, 2008, could have purchased 0.0072 shares. The $1,000 investment would be worth $3,751.20 today. This represents a gain of 275.1% over the last 15 years.

The same $1,000 invested in the broader market with an investment in the SPDR S&P 500 Global ETF SPY would have returned 229.3% over the same time period.

This means an investment in Berkshire Hathaway since news of Buffett becoming the world’s richest person has outperformed the broader market.

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