4 ms·

Buffett owns about a quarter of Berkshire Hathaway, which owns warrants to purchase about a 10% stake in Bank of America at a deep discount to the current price

by jambo 11y ago

Buffett owns about a quarter of Berkshire Hathaway, which owns warrants to purchase about a 10% stake in Bank of America at a deep discount to the current price. Berkshire does not currently have voting rights because the warrants haven't been exercised. That's not to say Buffett can't or doesn't influence Bank of America, but it is much more of distant relationship than, for example, the dozens of operating companies whose CEOs report to Buffett. It seems a stretch to imagine him involved at this level at all.

jsudhams 11y ago
Doesn't Warren own more parts in other banks? So is he like controlling banks?
- jacquesm 11y ago
  Control is a magic word and requires certain minimum percentages of shares to be held.
  - jsudhams 11y ago
    Yes but then there is that percentage 8 to 10% he owns in large banks which means he will have say in what banks do atleast unofficially.
- jambo 11y ago
  Berkshire, which Buffett manages and effectively controls, owns insurance companies and a mortgage lender outright. Berkshire also has stakes in publicly traded banks including US Bank, Wells Fargo, and American Express (they converted into a deposit-taking bank company in the wake of the financial crisis). Then there's Bank of America, in which Berkshire has warrants to buy a stake < 10%, but they likely won't be exercised until they're about to expire. Beyond this, managers and policy makers listen when Buffett talks/writes; an outcome of his 50-year track record in investing and managing at Berkshire. I personally don't think there's anything sinister going on. You can get a really good overview of Berkshire as a company, including its operating companies, investment philosophy, and current investment holdings from the annual letters that Buffett writes: http://berkshirehathaway.com/letters/letters.html http://berkshirehathaway.com/letters/letters.html If you want to see exactly what securities Berkshire owns, you can look up the 13F filings on http://edgar.sec.gov http://edgar.sec.gov

by jambo 11y ago

jsudhams 11y ago

Doesn't Warren own more parts in other banks? So is he like controlling banks?

jacquesm 11y ago
Control is a magic word and requires certain minimum percentages of shares to be held.
- jsudhams 11y ago
  Yes but then there is that percentage 8 to 10% he owns in large banks which means he will have say in what banks do atleast unofficially.
jambo 11y ago
Berkshire, which Buffett manages and effectively controls, owns insurance companies and a mortgage lender outright. Berkshire also has stakes in publicly traded banks including US Bank, Wells Fargo, and American Express (they converted into a deposit-taking bank company in the wake of the financial crisis). Then there's Bank of America, in which Berkshire has warrants to buy a stake < 10%, but they likely won't be exercised until they're about to expire. Beyond this, managers and policy makers listen when Buffett talks/writes; an outcome of his 50-year track record in investing and managing at Berkshire. I personally don't think there's anything sinister going on. You can get a really good overview of Berkshire as a company, including its operating companies, investment philosophy, and current investment holdings from the annual letters that Buffett writes: http://berkshirehathaway.com/letters/letters.html http://berkshirehathaway.com/letters/letters.html If you want to see exactly what securities Berkshire owns, you can look up the 13F filings on http://edgar.sec.gov http://edgar.sec.gov