In early 1986, a one-paragraph letter to a Cleveland CEO bought Berkshire a $315 million conglomerate that would route more than a billion dollars back to Omaha in its first fifteen years. Forty years later, Scott Fetzer has been quietly absorbed into Marmon — but the archetype it established still defines what a textbook Buffett deal looks like.
From the 2013 Heinz buyout with 3G Capital to Greg Abel's January 2026 registration of all 325 million Kraft Heinz shares for sale, this is the full arc of Berkshire's most instructive capital allocation lesson — and what a divestment would actually mean.
A two-page fax in 2005 bought Berkshire an RV empire. Nineteen years later, Pete Liegl died still running it — leaving Greg Abel a ten-billion-dollar subsidiary now facing 50% steel tariffs, four-dollar gasoline, and the highest RV loan rates in a generation.
Dairy Queen turns 85 this year with 7,800 restaurants across 27 countries, a $6.4 billion system generating nearly $100 million in annual profit for Berkshire — yet it barely rates a paragraph in the annual report. From a 1940 soft-serve stand in Joliet, Illinois to a $10 billion growth target by 2030, this is the story of Berkshire's most delicious invisible subsidiary.
From a $725 million acquisition that nearly went bankrupt to an operation spanning 1,100 aircraft across 150 countries, NetJets is Berkshire Hathaway's most unlikely success story — built by the man who once called private jets "indefensible."
Berkshire Hathaway's National Indemnity acquired a 2.49% stake in Tokio Marine Holdings for $1.8 billion, launching a 10-year reinsurance partnership with Japan's oldest insurer. The deal deepens Berkshire's Japan strategy, generates float through a quota-share agreement, and lands squarely in the middle of a marine insurance crisis triggered by the Iran conflict.
An SEC investigation threatened the reputations of Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger, but Chuck Rickershauser's legal expertise prevented a potential disaster for the duo and Berkshire Hathaway.
Who would have thought that investing in a razor company could lead to owning a battery giant? Join us on a remarkable journey through the history of American corporate success.
Berkshire Hathaway's strategic investment in Texaco bonds during the 1987 bankruptcy led to a remarkable 20% profit. Find out what happened and why it might not be a strategy for private investors.
Warren Buffett's 94th birthday coincides with Berkshire Hathaway reaching a historic $1 trillion market cap, marking a monumental achievement for the legendary investor and his shareholders.