As you reflect back on your life, What are some of the great honors that you have had? Without a doubt, when I was asked by my oldest niece Jessica & awesome fiance (Daniel) to not only come to their wedding but to Officiate it, I will so treasure it. Here are some of my paraphrased comments in the video, “Jessica was the Next Youngest in our immediately family after me. I was 15 years old when she was born. Even though I paid Scotty to change her diapers, she grabbed my heart immediately. She single handedly made me want to have kids of my own someday. Thank you Jessica for your awesome heart. And Daniel, You seem too good to be true. Not only is it evident of how much you love and care about Jessica, but it shows with everyone you come in contact with. It is truly an honor to not only have you in our family, but to call you a friend. On behalf of our crazy but loving family, we welcome you with open arms!” Love You Guys!!
The Article Below shows that you would have earned over $9.98 million dollars if you had invested in Berkshire Hathaway from 1964 when Buffett bought Berkshire to January 2016 when Brk.a share was $189,640. If we use the formulaA = P(1 + r/n)nt to find out what the annual interest was compounded annually then that would be 19.346% per year. This has made Warren Buffett one of the Most Wealthiest people in the World and arguably the greatest investor of all times.
If You Had Invested Right After Berkshire Hathaway’s IPO (BRK.A)
By Damian Davila | February 9, 2016 — 3:21 AM EST
One of the largest publicly traded companies in the world, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK.A) claimed an overall 751,113% gain during the 1964-2014 period in its 2014 letter to shareholders. In Aug. 14, 2014, Berkshire Hathaway’s Class A shares reached the $200,000 price per share milestone, the largest dollar price per share for any stock trading in the United States.
An investment of $1,000 on Berkshire Hathaway’s estimated 1964 stock price in 1964 would have generated over $9.98 million, excluding the 1967 dividend payment. An investment of $1,180 on Berkshire Hathaway’s initial public offering (IPO) date of May 9, 1996 would have generated $6,294.50 after stock split.
The Berskhire Hathaway Story
Originally a New England textile company that Warren Buffett acquired, Berkshire Hathaway became an investment vehicle for Buffett’s other investments, mostly in the insurance industry. Among its wholly owned subsidiaries, one of the most notable is GEICO, which provided coverage for over 22 million cars at the end of 2014.
While Berkshire Hathaway’s insurance portfolio and list of wholly owned subsidiaries are a major driver of profits, the company also has holdings of major non-insurance corporations, including American Express, Coca-Cola, Johnson & Johnson and Visa.
Classes of Berkshire Stock
Trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), Berkshire’s stock trades in two classes, A shares and B shares.
While Berkshire existed long before Buffett’s takeover in 1964 (he began buying stock in 1962), the company considers 1964 as its starting year to measure corporate performance. The initial IPO from the Class A shares was before Buffett’s arrival, but the cost per share is estimated at $19.
A strong believer in long-term value investing, Buffett did not allow any stock splits for the Class A shares. Trading at more than $22,000 per share in 1995, Berkshire’s Class A shares were out of reach for most investors.
In response to the market’s demands for higher accessibility and liquidity, on May 9, 1996, Berkshire issued Class B shares to allow average investors to include the company in their portfolios. A holder of one Class B share has 1/1,500th stock rights and 1/10,000th of the voting rights of a Class A share holder. The holder of a Class A share has the right to convert it into 1,500 shares of Class B common stock, but this conversion privilege does not work in the opposite direction. Both Class A and B stockholders can attend the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting, which is held on the first Saturday in May.
How Much Money You Would Have if You Had Invested in BRK.A and BRK.B
If you had invested $1,000 in Class A shares at the $19 price per share during Buffett’s takeover in 1964, you would have owned 52 shares. At the closing price of BRK.A shares of $189,640 on Jan. 26, 2016, your 52 shares would have been worth $9,861,280, providing a theoretical 986,028% rate of return over a 52-year period. These calculations exclude the one-time dividend from 1967 because Berkshire’s policy holds that it is more auspicious to allocate the company’s earnings in other ways.
If you had invested $1,180 right after Berkshire Hathaway’s IPO, assuming you could purchase that share of Berkshire at its IPO price of $1,180, you would have just one share. After Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares’ 50-for-one stock split in Jan. 21, 2010, you would own 50 shares instead of one. At the closing price of $125.89 on Jan. 26, 2016, your investment would have been worth $6,294.50, providing a 433.43% rate of return over a 21-year period.
These are just hypothetical returns. Due to commission costs and liquidity issues, it is typically not feasible to buy just one share, for example. However, these are great examples of the power of value investing.
The Future
While Berkshire is much more diversified than companies that operate mainly in the insurance industry, the company has a considerable part of its portfolio in insurance companies. There is the risk that U.S. regulators may designate Berkshire as systemically important, forcing enhanced capital and liquidity restrictions.
In its August 2015 quarterly report, Buffett announced a contrarian bet (8.5 million shares) on cable operator Charter Communications. Given the imminent threat of cord cutting, this move puzzles some investors.
On the other hand, in the same quarterly report, it was revealed that Berkshire completely liquidated its shares of Phillips 66 and National Oilwell Varco in response to dropping oil prices . This move, combined with the company’s ability to return around 20% per year on a book value basis since 1965 through a diverse portfolio, provides support that Berkshire may still continue to outperform the market in the future.
Met Ben Stein on an Airplane headed to a buddy, Larry Tyerman’s wedding. While on the plane, I poked my buddy Jason in the ribs with my elbow to get his attention discreetly and said, I think that is Ben Stein walking around in the airplane. He said, “no, it couldn’t be!” We looked longer and finally realized that it was him! After awhile, we went up to his seat to talk with him in his monotone voice. Nice guy and We had him sign our buddy’s wedding card and he wrote, “IT’S A BIG STEP!! – Ben Stein” Ha! He is definitely one of the sharp ones out there and shouldn’t just be remembered for saying, “Buehler?, Buehler?, Fry?, Fry?”..ha:)
A New Study done by the Administrators & Retirement Plan Professionals reveals the NUMBER ONE factor in determining who is going to retire wealthy! How well you do this ONE THING will determine within 74% accuracy of who is going to WIN FINANCIALLY! How Well Are you Doing this??
Ravens-Bengals Season Finale Is Coldest Home Game in Ravens History
Posted Dec 31, 2017
Ryan Mink BaltimoreRavens.com Staff Writer @Ravens All Ryan Mink Articles
The temperature at kickoff is 19 degrees with a wind chill that makes it feel like 10 degrees.
Ravens tight end Maxx Williams took the field for pre-game warm-ups without a shirt before Sunday’s regular-season finale.
Even for a Minnesota native, that’s crazy.
Today’s game marks the coldest home game in Ravens franchise history. The temperature at kickoff was 19 degrees with a wind chill that made it feel like 10 degrees.
The previous coldest game was the Ravens’ 2000 wild-card game on Dec. 31, which ended in a 21-3 victory over the Denver Broncos.
That game had a temperature of 22 degrees at kickoff with a wind chill of 5 degrees.
On Friday, Head Coach John Harbaugh was asked his strategy for dealing with the cold temperatures.
“I try to store fat – as much fat between now and the game time as possible,” he joked.
One of the great football coaches of all time, Vince Lombardi (whom the Super Bowl Trophy is still named after) said, “The Quality of One’s Life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence regardless of their chosen endeavor.”
Is doing the EASIEST things in life really going to help us grow? Many times we are faced with the decision… I could take the easy way or go for it. How much better do you feel when you go for it then when you don’t?
In golf, an ole buddy of mine (Larry Tyerman) and I made up the name of a golf club called the “GFL” Club. The GFL Club is used when there is a decision whether to Go For It or Lay Up. It can be any club but is used when there is a decision whether to play it safe, for example, 150 yards in front of the water OR to go for the green that is 225 yards to clear the water and be on the green. Why we named it is cause many times when either of us went for it, we would take such a big swing that we would miss hit it and it would only go 150 yards anyway. So, we would say, “Used your GFL Club!” then laugh. There is something special about Going for it even when it doesn’t work out.
In Work terms, if we take the easiest job possible then we will get paid some of the lowest wages. In School, if you take only the classes that are easiest, how much are you really going to get out of it? I bet you remember some of the Oral Reports you had to do in highschool. Why? Because it challenged you!
The Great Jim Rohn said one of my favorite quotes of all times that has been hanging in my office for many years, “Don’t Wish it were easier; wish you were better. Don’t wish for less problems; wish for more skills. Don’t wish for less challenges; wish for more wisdom.” Think about the POWER of thinking this way! Myles Monroe said the wealthiest place on earth is the Cemetery because there is so much POTENTIAL left there that was never used!! There is so much wisdom in those 2 quotes. Please read them again!
If you are in college and thinking about switching your major because you have a couple tough classes, consider this: One of the great lessons is being faced with a challenge that is tough and tackling it head on. Look, some classes are going to challenge you more than others. What are you made of?? It’s the easy path to drop the class. Easy path to switch majors. It is understood that when you squeeze an orange as hard as you can then orange juice comes out of it. So, when you are squeezed (and challenged), what comes out of you? Is it…get off this road or is it.. “I GOT THIS” or like Rocky said, “Relax boys, this isn’t no pie eating contest. I got this” when challenged by Tommy Guns.
When I was a kid, you heard about I.Q. Tests a lot where the people that were the smartest had the most advantages in life. You know what they found out? That many of the most successful people don’t have a high I.Q. In fact, I remember reading that Henry Ford was questioned in court by his lack of intelligence. You know what is found in the Most Successful People? Not a high I.Q., but rather a high A.Q. or Adversity Quotient. Adversity Quotient (which is a book) states a comparison or level that you can OVERCOME whatever obstacle is in your way. Quitting is the most easiest thing on earth to do, many do all the time, and that would give a person a low A.Q. level. Like all things, quitting can become a habit. But, so can looking your challenge square in the eyes and saying…one of us is going down and it ain’t me!!
One last thought here is that I know it seems forever away, but it is always good to look through your FUTURE glasses. Imagine when you are 20, 30 or even 40 years older than you are now, when you look back at your life, Are you going to want to see a person that quits and runs from challenges. Or a person that fought threw the challenges of life. Get Tough Minded, Be the Best you can be, and Remember that the little decisions that make everyday can change the destiny of your life. It’s Go Time!
