Berkshire Hathaway: The Incomparable Compounder - [Business Breakdowns, EP. 63]

Today’s business needs little introduction. Berkshire Hathaway is one of the largest businesses in the world and run by arguably the most famous investors of our time, Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger. 

To break down the business, I’m joined by Chris Bloomstran. Chris is the President and CIO of Semper Augustus and has gone as deep on Berkshire as anyone I’ve ever encountered, making him the perfect person to do this with. Given the reams of excellent content already out there about Buffett and Berkshire, we focused our conversation on the specific elements that make this business so special. Please enjoy this breakdown of Berkshire Hathaway.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.

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Show Notes

[00:02:26] - [First question] - What Berkshire has taught the world about float

[00:14:00] - How much of Berkshire's success was predicated on insurance 

[00:23:17] - Whether or not Berkshire’s capital source has been more important than stock selection 

[00:30:04] - Why there’s such a disparity between good stock pickers and holding companies

[00:36:24] - What the major signposts of durability are when evaluating companies

[00:38:29] - Acquiring Alleghany and using that as a case study that reflects their values

[00:47:22] - The role that energy has played in Berkshire’s growth 

[00:59:54] - Thoughts about the major pieces of Berkshire and the future of the company 

[01:05:46] - Important lessons learned about investing and business from Berkshire’s story