No. of Recommendations: 18
My dad, part owner of a newspaper in Lexington, NC (just sold to the NY Times), died Jan 10, 1975 and I inherited 25 shares of Berkshire in a trust. The trust had several stocks in it and it was worth about $35,000 total. Because for some time after "owning" Berk I'd never heard of Berkshire and had little interest in knowing what the company was about, I often thought to myself, "If I could get my hands on that stock, well I'd sell it and buy a Jeep CJ5." My ignorance ended when I went to work for a stock brokerage and analyst firm (banks and insurance) McDaniel Lewis in Greensboro and Marshall Johnson got my attention. At some point (the year escapes me) Marshal said, "Charlie, you need to re-do the spread sheet on First Citizens Bank and Trust Co. and that 'crackerjack' Warren Buffett has bought a chunk from High Point Bank and Trust's trust department which I manaage." On an electric typeswriter I produced a new spreadsheet including the words that "Warren Buffett has bought the stock from an estate at 50% of book value."
I still own all 25 shares, I've been to 22 annual meetings and shaken hands with Warren Buffett. I've eaten next to him at Gorat's! Fun stuff.
Given time for you young people neither Greg nor Warren will be of any connection to Berkshire and it likely won't be too long before all this comes about. I'm not nearly as positive as most here apparently think and not nearly as convinced that the past will determine the future.
I would hope as a shareholder that Berkshire will be broken up and I think it is inevitable that it will be. It is going to be incredibly difficult for any one manager even as talented at Greg to spread his obvious abilities throughout the organization which is terrifically diversified. People here mention repeatedly the Burlington and Geico underperformance, it is my guess these type things are inevitably going to grow.
I am in a large family of cousins who all own Berkshire and all have owned it for more than 45 years. Most of us think this way and it is not in any way either disrespectful to Buffett nor Greg or Munger. In most ways it is a compliment to them, the challenge of maintaining this business that is so affected by individual skills of people who aren't young is just not something easily achievable or maintained.
