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Animation: Berkshire Hathaway’s Holdings Since 1994

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Visualizing Berkshire Hathaway’s Holdings Since 1994

If you’re a long-time follower of Visual Capitalist, then you probably know that we’re big fans of Warren Buffett.

We’ve written numerous articles about the world-famous investor, covering everything from his early years to his most famous quotes. As one of the wealthiest and most influential investors in the world, he’s an important market player to keep track of.

As our latest addition to the Warren Buffett archives, this animated video by Sjoerd Tilmans highlights three decades of Warren Buffett’s investments. It shows what his holding company, Berkshire Hathaway, has been invested in since 1994, using data from the company’s financial reports.

A Rocky Start: The Early Years of Berkshire Hathaway

Before becoming the multinational conglomerate that it is today, Berkshire Hathaway was once a massive (yet struggling) textile company in Rhode Island.

Buffett first invested in the company in the late 1950s, when the company’s shares were declining. By 1964, things still hadn’t picked up for the company, and Buffett was ready to cut his losses and move on.

But when industrialist Seabury Stanton, the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway at the time, offered to buy Buffett out for less than the price he’d originally promised, things got interesting. Buffett was so furious by the offer that instead of selling his shares, he bought more, eventually taking control of the company and letting Stanton go.

The textile company never recovered, and Berkshire Hathaway eventually became Buffett’s holding company for other investments. He estimates that his investment in Berkshire Hathaway ultimately cost him $200 billion.

A Brighter Future: Berkshire Hathaway Now

Despite its tumultuous past, Berkshire Hathaway is now associated with tremendous financial success. In 2021, the conglomerate generated over $276 billion in total revenue.

And Buffett has about a 38% stake in the company, which means he’s one of the wealthiest people on the planet. As of today’s publication date, his net worth sits at $93.3 billion.

In the long run, Berkshire Hathaway has outperformed the market by a landslide. Here’s a look at the holding company’s compounded annual gain, and overall gain, compared to the S&P 500:

Berkshire HathawayS&P 500
Compounded Annual Gain (1965-2021)20.1%10.5%
Overall Gain (1964-2021)3,641,613%30,209%

Note: These figures are from Berkshire Hathaway’s (BH) Annual Report. BH’s market value is after-tax, and S&P 500 is pre-tax, including dividends.

According to the conglomerate’s website, it owns 62 different companies outright, including big names like GEICO, Dairy Queen, Kraft Heinz, and Duracell, and also has large investments in companies like Apple, Wells Fargo, and Coca-Cola.

However, as the graphic above indicates, the exact composition of its portfolio has certainly evolved over the years. As of June 2022, here’s a breakdown of Berkshire Hathaway Holdings:

CompanyValue (Millions)% of Portfolio
Apple$122,33740%
American Express$21,0167%
Bank of America$31,44410%
Coca-Cola$25,1648%
Chevron$23,3738%
Kraft Foods$12,4194%
Other$71,55923%

It’s a well-balanced portfolio of big tech, banks, and consumer goods. Despite being 92 years old, Buffett remains the chairman and CEO of the conglomerate.

As for future succession plans, Greg Abel has been selected as the successor to Buffett as CEO, while the the Guardian has reported that Buffett’s oldest son Howard is expected to take over as non-executive chair when his father is no longer in charge.

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This article was published as a part of Visual Capitalist's Creator Program, which features data-driven visuals from some of our favorite Creators around the world.

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Markets

Visualizing $79 Trillion in U.S. Financial Sector Assets

From banks to hedge funds, we break down the assets held in major institutions across the U.S. financial sector.

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Circle graphic showing the size of financial institutions across the U.S. financial sector by assets as of Q2 2024.

Visualizing $79 Trillion in U.S. Financial Sector Assets

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

The U.S. financial sector holds trillions of assets, with the largest institutions being banks, mutual funds, and insurance companies.

Overall, banks and credit unions hold 35% of the total assets of major institutions, growing by 5.6% on average annually since 1998. Meanwhile, assets held in mutual funds have grown on average 8.3% annually over the period, led by giants Vanguard and Fidelity.

This graphic shows select U.S. financial sectors by total assets, based on data from the Federal Reserve.

Breaking Down the Assets of U.S. Financial Institutions

Below, we show the total assets of major financial institutions as of Q2 2024:

InstitutionTotal AssetsAverage Annual Growth Rate
1998-2024
Banks and Credit Unions$27.7T5.6%
Mutual Funds$20.9T8.3%
Insurance Companies$13.3T5.4%
Hedge Funds$10.9T8.3%
Broker-Dealers$5.9T4.8%
Total$78.7T

Last year, 4,750 commercial banks and 4,604 credit unions in the U.S. held $27.7 trillion in assets.

JPMorgan Chase ranks as the largest bank overall, with $3.6 trillion in assets as of September 2024. Following next in line are Bank of America and Citibank, with $2.6 trillion and $1.7 trillion in assets, respectively.

The mutual fund industry, with 7,222 funds in America as of 2023, holds $20.9 trillion in assets. Roughly one in two American households invest in mutual funds, standing at a historical high. It’s worth noting the Federal Reserve does not specifically note data for exchange-traded funds (ETFs), but data from Cerulli Associates shows that U.S. assets surpassed $10 trillion in November 2024, hitting a historical high.

Insurance companies are the third largest overall, with $13.3 trillion in assets. Overall, life insurance firms hold the majority, at $9.9 trillion in assets. In 2023, New York Life Group and Northwestern Mutual Group stood as America’s biggest life insurance firms, based on the value of direct premiums written. In short, these are the premiums paid by customers that year.

Amid a booming stock market, hedge fund assets grew at the fastest rate, jumping by 16.3% between Q2 2023 and Q2 2024. Notably, hedge fund leverage stood near its highest level in more than a decade, reflecting strong risk appetite amid investor optimism.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about this topic from an asset market perspective, check out this graphic on the size of U.S. asset markets in 2024.

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