50 facts about Berkshire, Buffett Omaha World-Herald
Hello, brand new Berkies.
This year, a gang of railroaders is sprinkled among the crowd of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. shareholders lined up outside the Qwest Center Omaha for their annual meeting, thanks to Warren Buffett's “all-in wager” on the rail industry and the U.S. economy.
At the same time he bought the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp., Buffett decided to split Berkshire's Class B stock into 50 pieces, so that all of the 65,000 BNSF shareholders could qualify for a tax savings by taking Berkshire shares instead of cash if they wanted.
Thousands of other small investors also bought the newly split “Baby Berkshire” shares, and the combined flood of new Berkshire “partners” is expected to drive the crowd at Saturday's meeting to a record 40,000 people. If you're a new shareholder attending your first meeting, or if you're a veteran meeting attendee, we've made a 50-for-1 split of our own. Here's 50 facts you should know about Berkshire and its chariman and CEO: