Berkshire Hathaway Stock Hits $100K
Oct. 24, 2006 — -- Way back in 1962, when John F. Kennedy was president, the Chevy Impala was the hottest-selling car and "Father Knows Best" was one of TV's most popular shows. Turns out, there was someone else who knew best: Warren Buffett.
Forty-four years ago the man who would eventually become known as the greatest investor in history bought stock in a small company. This week, the share price for that company, Berkshire Hathaway, hit $100,000 setting a new record for the most-expensive U.S. stock.
Buffett turned 32 in 1962, and he had his eye on stock in a small New England textile company called Berkshire.
So he bought the stock, at $7 dollars a share. And he kept buying.
In just three years, it was worth $18 dollars a share. And by that time Buffet owned so much of it he now had control of the company.
By the 1970s, Berkshire Hathaway stock was on the rise. That $7 dollar stock was worth $158, and Buffet's portfolio holdings grew to include insurance, Coca-Cola, candy:
"He has always relied on the staples he saw in the supermarket -- the things he was familiar with, and America was familiar with," said Justin Fuller, a market analyst with Morningstar
In the 1980s, as Michael Douglas was wheeling and dealing in "Wall Street," Buffet's stock neared $7,000 a share.
Around that time, a friend told investor Gerry Miller it was a deal, even at that price.
"I invested in one stock for about $6,500 to $7,000 around that time," Miller said.And was that amount a big investment?
"For me it was, yes," Miller said
But it sure paid off. Because Gerry went on to buy four shares at about $7,000 thousand apiece. Nearly two decades later, Miller is now sitting on $400,000.
Too bad Miller's friend didn't call the rest of us.
But it's not too late -- analysts say it may still be a good buy, even at $100,000 a share
"It's still a bargain!" said Fuller.
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