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Quote of the Day
“What is Buffett Enterprises?”
-In a letter, written on this day in 1965, by a unionized worker of Berkshire Hathaway who has just learned that “Buffett Enterprises Ltd.” has taken control of Berkshire Hathaway. Of course soon enough, the world would learn of Warren Buffett and what he was doing at Berkshire.
May 10th – This Day in Stock Market History
May 10th, 1837 – Banks in New York suspend withdrawals as the Panic of 1837 intensifies. The panic would last roughly 7 years, unemployment would rise as high as 25% and half the banks in country would fail.
Outgoing President Andrew Jackson would receive a bulk of the blame due to his veto of the charter of the Second National Bank of the U.S. (Like today’s Federal Reserve).
Source: Wall Street And The Stock Markets: A Chronology (1644-1971)
May 10th, 1965 – Warren Buffett’s reign at Berkshire Hathaway begins as the previous president of the company, Seabury Stanton, resigns due to policy disagreements between him and an “outside interest” that has gained a controlling stake in Berkshire Hathaway.
Shares of Berkshire Hathaway were at $15 at the time.
Buffett initially did not intend to take over Berkshire Hathaway. In fact, he had reached a deal to sell his 7% stake in the company to Mr. Stanton for $11.50 per share a year prior.
However, on May 6th 1964, Stanton sent Buffett a letter offering him just $11.375. This enraged Buffett, who instead of selling, began to aggressively buy shares of Berkshire Hathaway. On this day in 1965, Buffett had purchased 40% of Berkshire Hathaway’s shares.
Of course, the rest is history. Buffett has racked up one of the best long term track records of capital allocation in history. Today, shares of Berkshire Hathaway are near $300,000:
Best May 10th in Dow Jones Industrial Average History
1901 – Up 6.37%, 3.14 points.
Worst May 10th in Dow Jones Industrial Average History
1940 – Down 2.29%, 3.4 points.
Read of The Day
Want to see more about the condition Berkshire Hathaway was in when Buffett took control? See our post here:
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