Editor’s Note: The percentage change figure in the story has been updated for accuracy.
A 95-year-old Berkshire Hathaway Inc. BRK BRK believer just revealed how a million-dollar bet in 1986 helped him net a 29390% increase in value since.
What Happened: In a clip featuring luxury-brokerage CEO Ryan Serhant, the retiree says he snapped up Berkshire Hathaway shares for roughly $2,000 a share for a total of $1.2 million in 1986.
The Math: Although an over-the-counter stock at the time, public price records show Warren Buffett's flagship stock opened that year at $2,470.
Fast-forward to today, each BRK A share changes hands at $788,799, as per its closing price on Wednesday. Multiply that by approximately 485.82 shares that the $1.2 million outlay would fetch, and the stake now sits at above $383.2 million, a 31835% leap.
Even by Buffett’s standards, the haul is eye-popping. Berkshire's book value compounded around 20 percent annually in the 1980s; the Snowball has since rolled through tech booms, dot-com busts, and three recessions. For long-haul investors, the lesson is plain-spoken Buffett lore: buy quality, sit tight, and let time do the heavy lifting.
Serhant, who built a media brand on blockbuster Manhattan listings, posted the exchange to show patience in wealth-building, while also engaging the nerds with some quick math. For his nonagenarian interviewee, that patience turned a starter sum into almost half a billion dollars.
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