Berkshire Hathaway Hits $1.1 Trillion Market Cap as Buffett Steps Down

American billionaire Warren Buffett built a distinguished investment career, transforming Berkshire Hathaway from a struggling textile firm into one of the world’s largest investment conglomerates before stepping down as its chief executive officer.

Buffett launched his investment career early, founding an investment partnership in Omaha in 1956 upon returning from New York. Through this vehicle, he managed capital for investors and began establishing his investment track record.

The Berkshire Hathaway acquisition

Approximately a decade later, Buffett entered a new phase by beginning to acquire shares of the distressed textile company Berkshire Hathaway. He gained control of the firm in 1965.

The textile business did not drive the company’s subsequent success. Under Buffett’s leadership, Berkshire Hathaway gradually evolved into a holding company that acquired businesses and invested across a broad range of industries and equities.

The textile operations were shut down in 1985 after two decades of unsuccessful efforts to revive and reorient the business. Buffett continued using Berkshire Hathaway as a platform to build his investment empire.

Entry into insurance

In 1967, Berkshire Hathaway acquired National Indemnity, marking its entry into the insurance sector. Insurance activities later became one of the group’s most important sources of liquidity, which Buffett used to fund investments in other companies and assets.

Coca-Cola and Gillette

In 1988, Berkshire Hathaway began purchasing shares of Coca-Cola — an investment that remains among the company’s largest holdings to this day.

By 1989, Buffett had begun intensively investing in Gillette, reflecting his preference for owning businesses with simple, easily understandable operations capable of delivering stable long-term returns.

Salomon Brothers intervention

In 1991, Buffett personally stepped in to serve as interim chairman of Salomon Brothers after a scandal involving unauthorized U.S. Treasury bond trades threatened the bank’s survival and placed Berkshire Hathaway’s approximately $700 million investment at risk.

Over the following months, Buffett led efforts to restore regulatory and investor confidence in the bank. Salomon Brothers avoided collapse and continued operating.

Expansion in insurance and energy

Between 1996 and 1998, Berkshire Hathaway significantly expanded its insurance operations, acquiring GEICO outright and purchasing General Re.

This period cemented insurance as one of the core investment pillars within Berkshire Hathaway’s portfolio.

In 1999, Berkshire Hathaway entered the energy and utilities sector through its acquisition of MidAmerican Energy, later renamed Berkshire Hathaway Energy. The unit became one of the group’s major operating subsidiaries.

Philanthropy and global financial crisis

In 2006, Buffett pledged to donate the majority of his wealth to charitable causes. He began transferring large blocks of his Berkshire Hathaway stock to charitable foundations, including the Gates Foundation and four family-run charitable institutions — totaling tens of billions of dollars.

At the height of the global financial crisis in 2008, Berkshire Hathaway invested $5 billion in Goldman Sachs through a financing deal that provided the investment bank with a return and special investment terms amid severe market turbulence.

In 2011, Berkshire Hathaway invested $5 billion in Bank of America in a transaction that included preferred shares and additional rights. That investment later generated billions of dollars in profits.

Railroad and technology investments

In 2010, Berkshire Hathaway acquired the railroad company BNSF for $26.4 billion — one of the group’s largest transactions.

BNSF became one of Berkshire Hathaway’s most prominent operating subsidiaries, adding extensive freight transportation activity to the group’s economic footprint.

In 2026, Berkshire Hathaway made one of its most significant forays into the technology sector by initiating purchases of Apple shares. Apple later became one of the largest components of Berkshire Hathaway’s investment portfolio.

In 2022, Berkshire Hathaway intensified its equity purchases, deploying tens of billions of dollars into stakes in companies including Chevron, HP, and Occidental Petroleum.

Trillion-dollar valuation and leadership transition

In 2024, Berkshire Hathaway’s market capitalization surpassed $1 trillion, making it the first non-technology U.S. company to reach that milestone.

In 2026, Buffett concluded his tenure as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway after approximately 61 years at the helm. Greg Abel assumed the role of CEO, while Buffett’s son Howard Buffett became board chairman.

Buffett became honorary chairman of the company, bringing to a close an extraordinary investment career during which he transformed Berkshire Hathaway from a distressed enterprise into a conglomerate with a market value of nearly $1.1 trillion.