- Business
- Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is a diversified holding company engaged through subsidiaries in insurance and reinsurance, freight rail transportation, utilities and energy, and a broad range of manufacturing, service and retail businesses. Founded in 1839 and headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, the company is domiciled in Delaware and operates through a highly decentralized structure under which its chief executive officer oversees major capital allocation and investment decisions. Its insurance operations include GEICO’s private passenger auto and related direct-response coverage; Berkshire Hathaway Primary Group’s commercial, specialty, workers’ compensation, liability and healthcare liability policies; and Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance Group’s global property, casualty, life and health reinsurance, including retroactive reinsurance and periodic payment annuity products. Berkshire also owns Burlington Northern Santa Fe, one of the largest freight rail networks in North America; Berkshire Hathaway Energy, which includes regulated electric and gas utilities, pipelines and power generation and distribution businesses; and numerous manufacturing, service and retail subsidiaries spanning industrial products, building products, consumer products, distribution, travel centers, home furnishings, food and non-food wholesale distribution, and retailing. The company’s businesses serve customers in the United States and internationally, with insurance operations in multiple countries and BHRG activities in 23 countries, and Berkshire employed approximately 387,800 people worldwide at the end of 2025. Recent strategic developments include Berkshire’s January 2, 2026 completion of the OxyChem acquisition and its July 24, 2026 completion of the Taylor Morrison acquisition, following the May 31, 2026 agreement to acquire the homebuilder for $8.5 billion, marking a major expansion in housing and building products under chief executive Greg Abel.