If you had put $10K into Berkshire Hathaway when Warren Buffett took over, you’d be sitting on a mind-blowing fortune today; here’s the jaw-dropping return you missed out on

As billionaire investor Warren Buffett made it official that he would step down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, the 94 years old, is leaving behind a legacy of impressive returns for those who invested in the company when he took over the firm in 1965, as per a report.

Buffett exemplified the value investing principles, becoming a figure of patience, discipline, and long-term thinking in an era where more and more is governed by short-term thinking.

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Warren Buffett vs. the Stock Market

His record is one that speaks for itself, during his tenure, Berkshire Hathaway returned 19.9% compounded annually between 1965 and 2024, according to GobankingRates report. While, S&P500, the standard most investors use to measure themselves against, returned only 10.4% per year during the same period, as per the GoBankingRates report.

According to GoBankingRates, this means that Berkshire Hathaway’s return over the past 60 years was 5,502,284% total through 2024, while the S&P 500’s return was 39,054%, per the report.

The Barron’s analysed that, even if Berkshire had dropped 99%, from $795,400 as of May 2 to $7,954, it would still have outperformed the S&P 500 since 1965, between a 10.5% to 10.4% margin, as reported by GoBankingRates.ALSO READ: Mar-a-Lago to ‘Qatar-a-Lago’: Democrats plan to do this at Donald Trump’s Palm Beach home as the President accepts $400 million jet gift

Mind-Blowing Long-Term Gains

GoBankingRates calculated that if an investor had invested $10,000 in Berkshire Hathaway when Buffett took over the company, the investor would have gotten around $550 million in 2024, as per the report.

The report compared it to a 4% high-yield savings account, that would have provided the investor with $22 million in interest income per year on that amount of money, as per GoBankingRates. However, there is a very low possibility that Berkshire’s long-term shareholders would liquidate their stock and move it to a savings account, reported GoBankingRates.

As of May 7, following a drop on the news of Buffett’s retirement, Berkshire Hathaway Class A shares are up 15.2%, while the S&P 500 lost 4.04%, according to the report. So, for investors who held $10,000 since 1965, their $550 million would have increased another $83.6 million, to $633.6 million, as per GoBankingRates.

FAQs

Is Warren Buffett really retiring?
Yes, he officially stepped down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.

Who will be the new CEO of Berkshire Hathaway?
Buffett selected Greg Abel to be the new CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.