In any Amazon book search, one can find some 200 titles about Warren Buffett, Charlie Munger or Berkshire Hathaway. Yet, the book Adam Mead was searching for never existed – a complete listing of every purchase that Berkshire Hathaway made from its very beginning. Even Hagstrom doesn’t come close in his great book, The Warren Buffett Way. It took him 5 years to write it, and Adam Mead finally has the book he was wanting to read himself.
Interview Questions
- Why the love affair with Warren and Charlie?
- Why another Buffett book?
- How does this compare to Hagstrom’s book?
- Have Warren and Charlie commented on the book yet?
- What did the early Berkshire Hathaway years look like?
- Address the influence of Benjamin Graham.
- How is the book organized?
- How about the deals BH didn’t pull off?
- What are some of the obvious moats surrounding the companies BH acquired?
Adam, What’s a Question You Would Ask Warren Buffett Right Now?
Tell us, now that some time has passed, of some of the deals in the 70s or 80s that you passed on that we never knew about. Why didn’t they happen?
Adam Mead – author of The Complete Financial History of Berkshire Hathaway
The 12.5 Percent Return
When I first met Adam, I already knew one of the first questions I’d want to ask him. What’s your favorite Berkshire Hathaway purchase? I was expecting him to say Burlington Northern Santa Fe, GEICO, Nebraska Furniture Mart, See’s Candies, or possibly Clayton Homes. Scott Fetzer Company? I had to look them up.
Berkshire Hathaway purchased this company in 1986 for about $400 million. The company was averaging around $50 million per year from 1986 to 2002, the period that Berkshire reported those earnings separately.
If you are like me and did not know about Scott Fetzer’s business, according to their website, they were founded in 1914 as a machine shop in Cleveland, Ohio.
Today, the company is a diversified manufacturer and marketer of high-quality products for the home, family, and industry comprised of more than 20 brands.
Another favorite pick of Adam’s was Justin Industries which was purchased by Berkshire in 2000 (it owns the Justin Boots brand).
Relevant Links
- Adam’s Twitter Page
- Adam’s LinkedIn Profile
- The Oracle Classroom (Outstanding)
- Adam’s Book Recommendations
Books Mentioned by Adam Mead
I like to ask every guest what they are reading. Below are a few of the titles mentioned by Adam during the conversation.
The Most Important Question for Adam Mead
Adam’s book is the definitive document listing all of Berkshire Hathaway’s acquisitions. The question that I have for Adam is one he cannot answer right now. How many updates will there be to this massive undertaking that took him 5 years to originally compile? Two more updates? How about 5? More?
Berkshire Hathaway is the greatest of all holding companies, and its story is far from complete. Sorry Adam, your job isn’t over yet. You’ll be updating this labor of love for years to come.
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