Warren Buffett: Is there a single family office?

Where does the fortune of Warren Buffett come from?

Buffett is one of the world’s most famous and successful investors. Buffett’s holding company Berkshire Hathaway has an annual turnover of $364 billion in 2024. After studying at the Wharton School, the University of Nebraska and Columbia University, he founded his first investment company, the Buffett Partnership, in 1956. In 1969, his family and friends were given the opportunity to exchange their shares in the Partnership for Berkshire Hathaway shares (then worth $43). Today, Berkshire’s Class A shares (which have never been split) are worth more than $300,000.

Update 2024: Buffett, who still owns almost 20% of the company, has an estimated net worth of $133 billion.

How did Buffett’s company Berkshire Hathaway develop?

Berkshire Hathaway was formerly a textile company formed by the merger of Berkshire Fine Spinning and Hathaway Manufacturing. In 1962, Buffett began buying shares in the company. Over the next few years, Buffett turned the company into his holding and investment company. He bought either whole companies (such as Shaw Industries) or shares in blue-chip companies (such as Coca-Cola). Buffett is best known for his long-term ‘value’ investment style. Berkshire’s shares have risen by an average of 20% since 1960.

Is there a Warren Buffett single family office?

No, there is no Warren Buffet family office. Buffett’s wealth is concentrated in Berkshire Hathaway. When Buffett and his colleague Charlie Munger were asked at a Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting if they had a family office, he replied: “We would be the last people in the world to have a family office”. Instead, they focus on and rely on their own investment firm. Interestingly, many global family offices rely on Buffett’s investment style for their own investments.

How is Warren Buffett investing?

Buffet’s company, Berkshire Hathaway, invests mainly in private and public companies. Berkshire’s portfolio includes many different companies such as Business Wire, Dairy Queen, GEICO and Fruit of the Loom. Buffett’s investment holding also owns minority stakes in Coca Cola, American Express, Apple and Bank of America.

Update 2024: Berkshire Hathaway is also involved in non-American companies such as the Chinese car manufacturer BYD and the Japanese Mitsubishi Corporation.

This article is part of our detailed report “The single family offices of the richest US families“.

Picture source: Markus Spiske