Warren Buffett has long been hailed as the GOAT of long-term investing — and for good reason. Under his leadership, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) transformed from a struggling textile mill into a multibillion-dollar empire spanning insurance, railroads, fast food, and tech.
So what would’ve happened if you had put $1,000 into BRK.B 20 years ago? The answer: it would be worth about $8,500 today. That beats the $7,600 you’d have made with the same investment in an S&P 500 index fund. Solid? Yes. Life-changing? Not quite.
The truth is, Berkshire’s most explosive gains came decades ago, when Buffett was snapping up undervalued companies with the float from his insurance holdings. He turned Geico, BNSF Railway, Dairy Queen, and stakes in Apple, American Express, and Coca-Cola into engines of compounded wealth. But today, Berkshire is a behemoth, and the law of large numbers makes triple-digit growth virtually impossible.
Since 1965, Berkshire has delivered a jaw-dropping 20% annual return, nearly double the S&P 500’s 10%. A $1,000 investment back then? Try $33 million today. But for modern-day investors, those returns have cooled. Over the past decade and a half, BRK.B has mostly lagged the S&P.
Buffett’s upcoming 2025 retirement is stoking questions about Berkshire’s future. While Wall Street remains bullish, the days of meteoric gains appear behind us. Still, BRK.B offers stability, solid performance, and exposure to the broader U.S. economy.
Bottom line: If you’re looking for slow-and-steady, Berkshire still has value. But if you’re chasing Buffett-like gains? You might’ve needed that time machine.