Warren Buffett shares an unfortunate story that reflects Berkshire Hathaway's incredible scope
Warren Buffettโs Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A, BRK-B) is massive in both scope and scale. The holding company, worth $559 billion, owns businesses ranging from insurance to furniture to energy utilities to chocolate.
In his annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, Buffett shared an unfortunate story that โunderscores the wide scope of Berkshireโs operations.โ
โSince 2011, we have owned Lubrizol, an Ohio-based company that produces and markets oil additives throughout the world. On September 26, 2019, a fire originating at a small next-door operation spread to a large French plant owned by Lubrizol,โ he said.
โThe result was significant property damage and a major disruption in Lubrizolโs business,โ he continued. โEven so, both the companyโs property loss and business-interruption loss will be mitigated by substantial insurance recoveries that Lubrizol will receive.โ
Thank goodness for insurance. Otherwise, Lubrizol wouldโve been in much worse shape.
Unfortunately, whatโs good for Lubrizol is coming at the cost of another one of Berkshireโs businesses.
โBut, as the late Paul Harvey was given to saying in his famed radio broadcasts, โHereโs the rest of the story.โ One of the largest insurers of Lubrizol was a company owned by ... uh, Berkshire.โ
Berkshireโs businesses appear to be tripping over each other.
โIn Matthew 6:3, the Bible instructs us to โLet not the left hand know what the right hand doeth.โ Your chairman has clearly behaved as ordered,โ Buffett said.
Below is a list of Berkshireโs many portfolio companies (via Berkshire Hathaway's annual letter)
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Sam Ro is managing editor at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter: @SamRo
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