The Berkshire Archive

1998

Index Book About

Berkshire Hathaway · Year by year

1998

Annual percentage change
Measure 1998
Per-share book value of Berkshire 48.3
Market value of Berkshire 52.2
S&P 500 with dividends included 28.6
Where 1998’s change in book value came from
Where the change came from — points of per-share book value

Assets

  • Cash23.0
  • Fixed income40.2
  • Common stocks63.1
  • Financial products2.5
  • Other net assets33.7

Funded by

  • Net worth100.0
  • Debt4.0
  • Insurance float38.5
  • Deferred tax float19.9
What the company was made of — percent of net worth. Every dollar of net worth carried $1.63 of assets.

Note: figures in parentheses are losses. Source: Berkshire Hathaway annual reports.

What happened

The 1998 letter The 1998 meeting

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