Berkshire Hathaway stock tops $200,000

Naysayers have been calling shares of Warren Buffett’s company overpriced for decades.

But Berkshire Hathaway Class A stock, which first topped $1,000 in 1983, on Thursday surpassed $200,000.

Berkshire has long had the most expensive U.S. stock. Buffett never split Berkshire’s A shares, although he did create more affordable Class B shares in 1996 that now sell for just over $135 each. A look at Berkshire’s stock, by the numbers:

$202,850

Closing price of Berkshire Hathaway Class A stock on Thursday, after reaching an all-time high of $203,081 earlier in the day. The stock first topped six figures in October 2006.

$151,650

Peak price of the stock in December 2007, before the Great Recession began. They fell as low as $70,050 in March 2009.

$7-$8

Price per share of Berkshire Hathaway, then a New England textile company, when Buffett’s investment partnership started buying shares in 1962. Berkshire became Buffett’s investment vehicle in 1969 and he used revenue from the textile firm to begin buying other companies.

Number of Berkshire’s 80 subsidiaries, which include insurance, utility, railroad and other businesses. Berkshire employs more than 330,000 people and also has major investments in companies including Coca-Cola Co., IBM and Wells Fargo & Co.

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