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Legendary investor Warren Buffett is one of the most established figures in the world of finance. Known as the Oracle of Omaha, Buffett is the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE:BRKA)(NYSE:BRKB), a conglomerate that is one of the largest companies in the world.
Here’s a look at how Buffett got started with Berkshire Hathaway and how much investing alongside him could have been worth.
What Happened: Buffett is one of the greatest investors of the current generation and is known for a buy-and-hold approach for investing. He also uses that approach in his life, living in the same house for the past 65 years.
Before his buy-and-hold approach used today, Buffett was interested in buying low-priced stocks in the 1960s, including companies that were well-run but trading at low prices.
“If (the stocks) were cheap enough, he didn’t care it was a lousy company and lousy management. He knew he was going to make money anyways because of the cheapness,” Berkshire Vice Chairman Charlie Munger said in the “Becoming Warren Buffett Documentary,” CNBC reported.
Buffett bought his first shares of textile company Berkshire Hathaway in December 1962 for $7.50 each.
“I bought the first shares of Berkshire in 1962 and it was a northern textile business destined to become extinct eventually,” Buffett said. “It was a statistically cheap stock and a terrible business.”
Buffett saw an opportunity with the low price.
“Berkshire Hathaway was closing mills, and as they close mills it would free up some capital, and then they would re-purchase shares. So I bought some stock with the idea that there would be another tender offer at some point, and we would sell the stock at a modest profit.”
Buffett was right as he received an offer from Berkshire Hathaway to buy his 7% stake in the company. Buffett was asked at what price he would sell the holdings and told Berkshire head Seabury Stanton the price would be $11.50. Stanton agreed, but later sent a letter with an offer for $11.375.
The Oracle of Omaha was taken aback by the letter and offer, which led Buffett to refuse to tender his shares.
“That was a monumentally stupid decision,” Buffett said of this move.
“That made me very mad, so I just started buying more stock. I just felt that I had been double-crossed by the management.”
Buffett began buying more shares and eventually took control of Berkshire Hathaway. Seabury was let go from the company.
The textile business proved okay for a couple of years for Buffett before later shutting down in 1985 and becoming what Buffett has called one of his worst investments of all time.
Berkshire Hathaway would grow to be more than just a textile business over the years, buying up companies such as Geico, See’s Candies, Fruit of the Loom, Dairy Queen and others.
Buffett also used the company’s cash to acquire stakes in publicly traded companies such as Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO), Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) and American Express Company (NYSE:AXP).
Related Link: If You Invested $1,000 In Berkshire Hathaway Stock When Warren Buffett Acquired Dairy Queen, Here's How Much You'd Have Now
Investing $1,000 in Berkshire Hathaway: As Buffett’s first investment took place in Berkshire Hathaway in 1962, there’s a good chance that if you’re reading this you might not have been born yet or old enough to buy stock.
If you, your parent, or your grandparent was lucky enough to invest in Berkshire Hathaway stock when Buffett did or when he started accumulating more shares, the returns would be incredible.
Investing $1,000 in Berkshire Hathaway in December 1972 for $7.50 a share at the time Buffett bought shares could have purchased 133.33 shares.
The $1,000 investment would be worth $62,841,899.58 today based on a price of $471,326.03 for Berkshire Hathaway shares today.
Berkshire Hathaway is worth more than $675 billion today and one of the 10 most valuable public companies in the world.
Buffett’s investment style has produced strong annual returns for investors over the years.
While the hypothetical investment could have people wishing they invested back in 1962 with the Oracle of Omaha, the conglomerate owns many businesses and stock holdings that could set the company up for a successful future of annual returns.
Read Next: If You Invested $1,000 In Apple Stock When Warren Buffett Bought In, Here's How Much You'd Have Now
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