The Complete Financial History of Berkshire Hathaway
13 April 2021Synopsis
For the first time the complete financial history of Berkshire Hathaway is available under one cover in chronological format. Beginning at the origins of the predecessor companies in the textile industry, the reader can examine the development of the modern-day conglomerate year-by-year and decade-by-decade, watching as the struggling textile company morphs into what it has become today.
This comprehensive analysis distils over 10,000 pages of research material, including Buffett's Chairman's letters, Berkshire Hathaway annual reports and SEC filings, annual meeting transcripts, subsidiary financials, and more. The analysis of each year is supplemented with Buffett's own commentary where relevant, and examines all important acquisitions, investments, and other capital allocation decisions. The appendices contain balance sheets, income statements, statements of cash flows, and key ratios dating back to the 1930s, materials brought together for the first time.
The structure of the book allows the new student to follow the logic, reasoning, and capital allocation decisions made by Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger from the very beginning. Existing Berkshire shareholders and long-time observers will find new information and refreshing analysis, and a convenient reference guide to the decades of financial moves that built the modern-day respected enterprise that is Berkshire Hathaway.
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13 April 2021
9780857199126Reviews
The question must be asked, 'Why another book?' When you read this monumental effort by Adam Mead, the answer will be obvious...read cover to cover, both the uninitiated to Berkshire and its most ardent followers will derive enormous utility and satisfaction from it...I learned so many new and important things about Berkshire and its history. It is my pleasure to encourage you to enjoy this gem.Chris Bloomstran
If you are a value investor, a Berkshire Hathaway, or Warren Buffett fan, this book is the motherlode! The most comprehensive and detailed history of Berkshire Hathaway to date. A must-read that belongs on the bookshelf of any serious investor.Guy Spier
Few activities can be more rewarding for any value investor than studying the history and evolution of Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway. Adam has done us all a huge favor with his yeoman efforts in producing this treatise. Since it is chronologically ordered, it is an invaluable reference guide for all things Berkshire.Mohnish Pabrai
For students of history, especially the history of Berkshire Hathaway’s early days, Adam Mead’s book is a must read... It contains storied theft of intellectual property, occurring as early as 1789 when a certain Samuel Slater snuck out of England with knowledge of how to build a viable water-powered mill. It is a story of venture capital. Financial backers in Pawtucket, Rhode Island (including, none other than notorious financier, Hetty Green, a rich heiress to a new Bedford shipping fortune) provided venture capital funding for Slater’s business. It involves internet-like speedy growth, with 20 Slater-style mills dotting New England within just the first 20 years. Finally, it entails early versions of SPACs, then called joint-stock corporations, underwritten by wealthy Boston merchant, Francis Lowell. Adam commences his story with reference to an entrenched dominant nation, in this case England, worried about their loss of global standing to the upstart, United States, through both fair competition and through America’s use of stolen technology. Sound familiar?Thomas Russo
