What are examples of successful conglomerates?
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A, BRK.B) is one of the best modern examples of a well-run conglomerate. When Buffett acquired the then struggling firm in the early 60s, it was a textile manufacturing company. But now, according to Wikipedia, Berkshire owns such diverse holdings of businesses including candy production, retail, home furnishings, encyclopedias, vacuum cleaners, jewelry sales, newspaper publishing, manufacture and distribution of uniforms, and footwear manufacturing and distribution. And that’s in addition to the insurance businesses that Berkshire is perhaps best known. For investors who want to buy a piece of Berkshire, the bar has been set high. Buffett has never allowed a split of the stock, resulting in Class A shares that have traded as high as $151,650.00 per share in the past year. Even the Class B shares, at 1/30th the value, have traded in a range of $3,538 to $5,059 in the past 52 weeks. If you’re not going to buy Berkshire stock, it still makes
