/ Source: Reuters
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett, whose Berkshire Hathaway Inc. will hold its annual shareholder meeting on Saturday in Omaha, Nebraska, is perhaps America's most revered capitalist.
- Buffett, 75, bought Berkshire, a textile maker, in 1965, and transformed it through buying a slew of businesses. Berkshire is now worth about $136 billion.
- The company has a diverse range of some 50 subsidiaries, including auto insurer GEICO Corp., ice cream maker Dairy Queen, and utility MidAmerican Energy Holdings. It also owns large stakes in many public companies, such as Coca-Cola Co. , Procter & Gamble Co., Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and The Washington Post Co.
- Buffett holds a board position at The Washington Post. He has announced plans to step down from the Coca-Cola board later this year, though he continues to drink five cans of Cherry Coke a day. He gave up a seat on the Gillette Co.'s board when the razor maker was acquired in 2005 by Procter & Gamble.
- Buffett tells his shareholders that he thinks of them as "owner-partners" and that he hopes they keep their part ownership in Berkshire "indefinitely."
- Berkshire's share price is high, around $88,000 for a Class "A" share, because there are few shares outstanding. Buffett does not believe in stock splits, and wants to encourage long-term investors. Berkshire has Class "B" shares valued at about 1/30th of Class "A" shares.
- Berkshire has not declared a cash dividend since 1967.
- Buffett said in his last annual report that he has about 99 percent of his net worth invested in Berkshire. He also said every share of Berkshire that he owns is destined to go to philanthropies after his death.
- Despite being the world's second richest person, with a net worth of about $42 billion according to Forbes magazine, Buffett draws an annual salary of just $100,000 to run Berkshire.
