Berkshire Hathaway

History

The Hathaway Manufacturing Company was founded in 1888 in New Bedford, Massachusetts. In the 1950s, Hathaway merged with Berkshire Fine Spinning Associates, another textile company that was founded in Valley Falls, Rhode Island in the early 19th century.

By 1967, Berkshire Hathaway started expanding into the insurance industry and other investments. Berkshire acquired an equity stake in the Government Employees Insurance Company (GEICO) in the late 1970s.

GEICO forms the core of Berkshire Hathaway’s insurance operations now-a-days. In 1985, the last textile operations were shut down and today Berkshire Hathaway is well established in its core insurance business.

Area of Operation

The businesses of Berkshire Hathaway are:

• Insurance:
  1. Property and Casualty Insurance
  2. Reinsurance
  3. Specialty nonstandard insurance.
• Diversified Investments
• Apparel
• Building Products
• Flight Services
• Retail Businesses

Key Statistics

• Berkshire Hathaway holds assets of $198,325.0 millions.
• Berkshire Hathaway has made profits of $8,528.0 millions in 2006.
• Berkshire Hathaway operates in a worldwide basis.
• Berkshire Hathaway has 192,012 employees.

Organization

The corporate governance of Berkshire Hathaway is controlled by:

• Board of Directors
• Board Committees

International Ranking

• Berkshire Hathaway ranks 18 in the world according to Forbes Magazine list.
• Berkshire Hathaway ranks 42 in Fortune Global 500 list.

Subsidiaries

Berkshire Hathaway is a holding company owning many subsidiaries engaged in a number of diverse business activities, the most important of which are insurance businesses conducted nationwide on a primary basis and worldwide on a reinsurance basis.

Insurance and finance subsidiaries:

• GEICO
• General Re
• Kansas Bankers Surety Company
• National Indemnity Company
• Wesco Financial Corporation
• Applied Underwriters Inc.
• Medical Protective

Other Subsidiaries:

• Xtra Lease
• Borsheim's Fine Jewelry
• Dairy Queen
• Fruit of the Loom
• Nebraska Furniture Mart
• Jordan's Furniture
• The Pampered Chef
• See's Candies
• World Book
• FlightSafety International
• NetJets
• Forest River
• Business Wire
• Russell Corporation
• ISCAR Metalworking

Headquarter Address

Berkshire Hathaway, Inc.
1440 Kiewit Plaza
Omaha, 68131
USA
Phone: (402) 346-1400
Fax: (402) 346-3375
Website URL: www.berkshirehathaway.com
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